brainstorming help

[silentskream]

if you had a 250 gallon tank to make an african cichlid tank, what combinations of things would you put in it?

please include pictures if you can too!

[Ruben Tolon]

I would look into a Tanganyikan cichlid tank. you can go the frontosa colony route, or maybe a community of others you might like. A lot more unique behavior and diversity than Malawi cichlids.

[silentskream]

how many and of which?


(i've never done africans before i have very little idea of what you're talking about)

[Nolapete]

Zaire blue or Zaire purple (dreaming I know) frontosas 1M 10-15F

[silentskream]

from what i'm reading, these are relatively peaceful (although territorial)
they're really cool looking, especially if i could find one with the colors like you mentioned.
are there any more brightly colored fish that i could intermingle them with? will they eat smaller cichlids?

[silentskream]

i like the yellow labs.. but they're malawis.. can you combine cichlids from different lakes? if so, what are the concerns involved?

[Ruben Tolon]

The group of frontosas looks pretty good without other types of fish, but while the frontosas are small, you can probably put some adult altolamprologus (calvus or compressiceps) with them.

[mezzy]

If i had that space i would either go for a front setup or a mixed hap/peacock tank.I would add a pair of venustus a fossochromis rostratus half a dozen crytocora moori [dolphin haps] a trio of peacocks [loads of different colours to choose from] some yellow labs for colour [even though they are mbuna they can live well with haps if you have enough rocks.].IMO the hap tank would be alot more interesting to look at than a frontosa tank

[silentskream]

is that Nimbochromis Venustus? the kinda bigish blue and yellowy ones?


also, anywhere i can order these guys online?
i can find the blue peacocks and the yellow labs, but that's about it around here for africans.. there's a few "mixed cichlids" that seem to all be mbunas of various colors. but they're all little, and i'm just learning this stuff so i dont know what they are or what they'll grow up to be.

[mezzy]

Yes there also called giraffe haps.