So I switched over one of my 55g tanks to an African Cichlid Tank

[MySpace Mike]

So I did some fish rearranging today, and freed up one of my 55g tanks, I'm going to make it an African Cichlid tank, I'm getting a male Ahli for it that we have been keeping in a back tank at work because no customer wanted him and he only has one eye. I'm getting him half off, he originally was $25, but Im getting him for $12. He's about 4" and I fell in love with him while feeding him in the back, so Im going to get him for the 55g tank, and maybe add a couple of other Africans to the tank.

Some suggestions are very welcomed on what can go with an Ahli, I was thinking of a couple Bumblebee Cichlids, and a few others. I know Ahli's are aggressive, but due to him only having one eye, and has 4 other Africans in the tank with him at work, he's very mild compared to the Ahli's on the showroom floor.

So what do you suggest people to put in the tank with the Ahli who I get next Friday.

[tarheels910]

So I did some fish rearranging today, and freed up one of my 55g tanks, I'm going to make it an African Cichlid tank, I'm getting a male Ahli for it that we have been keeping in a back tank at work because no customer wanted him and he only has one eye. I'm getting him half off, he originally was $25, but Im getting him for $12. He's about 4" and I fell in love with him while feeding him in the back, so Im going to get him for the 55g tank, and maybe add a couple of other Africans to the tank.

Some suggestions are very welcomed on what can go with an Ahli, I was thinking of a couple Bumblebee Cichlids, and a few others. I know Ahli's are aggressive, but due to him only having one eye, and has 4 other Africans in the tank with him at work, he's very mild compared to the Ahli's on the showroom floor.

So what do you suggest people to put in the tank with the Ahli who I get next Friday.
Well I dont suggest it. The ahli should really be smaller than the other fish due to their aggression level. I would only put haps that big in a 90 gallon IMO unless you buy them small and raise them. You should overstock the tank and have superior filtration. (Turn your tank over at least 13-15 times)

[kay-bee]

..The ahli should really be smaller than the other fish due to their aggression level...

Bumblebees also get fairly large and aggressive (how large are the one's you're planning to purchase?). With that said, I'm not a fan of mixing haps with mbuna's.

[MySpace Mike]

Well I want some other Africans around roughly 3-5" to put in the 55g tank with him when i get him. I just don't know much about Africans, I know mainly Central American Cichlids.

[itsjustclair]

also with bumblebees (and most ciclids) they suggest that you have one in your tank unless it is one male with other females. Otherwise the males will fight to the death. There are some africans you can have that will "choose" their gender based on their size and the sizes of that species.
In my tank I only have multiples of a few species due to the aggression range.
Just keep doing your research.

[ChunkyMonkey]

In regards to a previous post, why is it recommended to overstock our tanks?(same was suggested in my 100gal thread, just curous)

[kay-bee]

...There are some africans you can have that will "choose" their gender based on their size and the sizes of that species.

Are you implying these fish are capable of shifting gender? If so, that's not entirely accurate. Color patterns of some sub-dominants may be 'muted' to avoid the wraths of hyperdominants (i.e. a male shifting to 'juvenile'/female coloration). This is not exactly "choosing gender" since the fish's initial gender remains unchanged, it's more of a defense mechanism.


In regards to a previous post, why is it recommended to overstock our tanks?(same was suggested in my 100gal thread, just curous)

Overstocking is an option utilized to curb aggression. It's not a necessary method, however. Whether overstocking is required or not depends on species and particular tank set up. Overstocking increases bioload and will require additional filtration and/or enhanced tank husbandry to maintain water quality. With proper gender ratio's and less aggressive species overstocking isn't required.

There are probably two ways of overstocking:

- Increasing the total population of fish (which works best if a particular is aggressive to tank mates randomly, such as an auratus going after any fish within 18" of it), or

- increasing the quantity of a certain species (as some fish will disregard other species regardless of number and specifically target their own kind, such as pseudotropheus demasoni and others).

[itsjustclair]

Are you implying these fish are capable of shifting gender? If so, that's not entirely accurate. Color patterns of some sub-dominants may be 'muted' to avoid the wraths of hyperdominants (i.e. a male shifting to 'juvenile'/female coloration). This is not exactly "choosing gender" since the fish's initial gender remains unchanged, it's more of a defense mechanism.
I did not state all of them do this I said some here is an example:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile52.html
read about coloration

[MySpace Mike]

So can anyone help me with what can go with a one eyed Ahli? I'm getting him next weekend, I got the 55g tank set up nicely with entire rock work from one side to the other, a couple plants, and got two whisper 30/60 filters on it (which were used on it already before i moved my central american cichlids out of the tank) so the tank is good to go, I have one 5.5" Pseudotropheus Zebra in the tank right now, and the Ahli Im getting is 4".

Just I need to know what else I can put in the tank with these guys, any suggestions????



Here's 2 pics of the tank, my camera sux i know.

http://img407.imageshack.us/img407/9062/africantank001zv5.jpg

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9323/africantank002ka3.jpg

[kay-bee]

I did not state all of them do this I said some here is an example:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile52.html
read about coloration

I firmly believe the statements on that site are misinterpretating the meaning of the color transitions of that particular dimorphic species. For example, in the scenario which states that in a tank devoid of males, a female will become male is most likely a tank containing juveniles (both genders but all in female coloration) with the first of the maturing males completing the color change and being mistaken as a female changing sex.

Conversely in scenario where it states the same thing can happen in an all male auratus tank (which I can't see lasting very long, but..), is just a sample of a sub-dom male trying to avoid attention as I stated earlier (place that same fish in a tank devoid of male auratus and it's muted male colors will come back within the day). I have, however, read of some female auratus assuming very dominant coloration (but gender remains intact).

But getting back to the original topic... :)


So can anyone help me with what can go with a one eyed Ahli?....I have one 5.5" Pseudotropheus Zebra in the tank right now, and the Ahli Im getting is 4". Just I need to know what else I can put in the tank with these guys, any suggestions????

To avoid the zebra targeting the "ahli"/s. fryeri (because the zebra is aggressive and firmly established in the tank), simultaneous with the acquisition of the one-eyed male, also get several (3-4) female 'ahli's' with the end product being:

1 zebra, the one eyed male "ahli" and several female ahli's).

Not the only way to go though. With african cichlid tanks there are many workable (and un-workable) combinations. Any particular specie candidates you'd like to add or have in mind? You could set up a traditional mbuna tank containing the one ahli, etc.

[MySpace Mike]

Well the zebra i got all it does is hide, same as it was doing at the store i got em from. he's very mild and skittish so that's why i bought him because he seems very mild mannered compared to other fish that were in his tank at the store. The Ahli im getting again has only one eye, and has 4 other african cichlids in the tank with him at work in the back area, and he's pretty peaceful thus far from what ive seen. So i just want a nice variety of african cichlids that can go with the ahli and zebra in the tank.

[kay-bee]

Can you post a pic of your zebra?

Adding new malawi's to a tank can arouse terriorial behavior from the fish already in the tank. But assuming your zebra (and ahli) will continue to be well-behaved, you can add nearly any sort of mbuna (I'd refrain from adding more 'haps' unless they're female s. fryeri's, tank is too small for most of them).

What species are you interested in? There are many colorful species out there and people have their preferences. If you don't have a preference, then how about adding a group (5-8) of yellow labs and a smaller group (3-4, but one male) of pseudotropheus socolofi?

The group size of the labs will provide some protection if the other fish become aggressive with them, and socolofi can most likely cope with the zebra and ahli. That'll give you the s. fryeri's "electric blue", yellow from the labs, & powder blue from the socolofi (not sure what color your zebra is).

[MySpace Mike]

My camera sux really bad its a walmart $40 digital pos haha. but ill try to see if i can borrow my aunts $5,000 digital camera and take some really great pics of my new african tank and get some pics of the zebra, im not 100% positive he's that breed of zebra, but that zebra is the closet ive found that he resembles, i got him from an assorted tank.

For the stocking, you read my mind to a T, i was hoping i would be able to get some electric yellow labs for the tank, because ive owned some in the past and love them. I was also thinking maybe 3 red zebra's, or blue zebra's, ya know something like a blue, yellow, and red mixed tank of africans.



And the reason im getting the Ahli is because no one wants him since he has one eye, and im sick of seeing him stuck in a 29g tank in the back of our store being chased around by the other africans in there with him. So I decided I'd offer my store half price for him and ill take him since he's unique. He actually came to us with one eye from the breeders, and our store doesnt care to send him back, and we keep trying to sell him and our customers say "no i dont want a one eye freak fish" so i feel sorry for him and will give him a good home.

[silentskream]

I firmly believe the statements on that site are misinterpretating the meaning of the color transitions of that particular dimorphic species. For example, in the scenario which states that in a tank devoid of males, a female will become male is most likely a tank containing juveniles (both genders but all in female coloration) with the first of the maturing males completing the color change and being mistaken as a female changing sex.

Conversely in scenario where it states the same thing can happen in an all male auratus tank (which I can't see lasting very long, but..), is just a sample of a sub-dom male trying to avoid attention as I stated earlier (place that same fish in a tank devoid of male auratus and it's muted male colors will come back within the day). I have, however, read of some female auratus assuming very dominant coloration (but gender remains intact).


i think this is what she was trying to say, just more generally. she used the term "choose" in quotations as if asking for some poetic license, which when granted, would lead us to believe that the fish do not literally make a decision, but their resulting gender (at the age that gender is determined) will work as follows:
the larger, more agressive/ dominant fish in the clutch will become the males, and the smaller more passive/submissive of the clutch will become the females.
and, in fact, in some species this is proven true.
the term "choose" in this case was used to avoid overwhelming the OP with paragraphs worth of information they dont really care much about as long as they just get the gist of it.


as far as the ahli goes, i would not worry about other fish picking on it. ahlis are fast, and tough, even when missing an eye. I think the zebra would be a fine tank mate.. but would consider getting more zebras.. in fact, i wouldn't be surprized if the ahli picked on the larger zebra a little.

[MySpace Mike]

My Zebra looks identical to the main guy in the picture, just none of the blue'ish coloring on the fins. And the main fish in the picture is a Pseudotropheus Demasoni.

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1076/pseudotropheus_demasoni_001.jpg

[kay-bee]

...their resulting gender (at the age that gender is determined) will work as follows: the larger, more agressive/ dominant fish in the clutch will become the males, and the smaller more passive/submissive of the clutch will become the females. and, in fact, in some species this is proven true....

My belief is that gender has already formed by the time the fish (specifically mbuna's) are free swimming (if not earlier). Gender is just not apparent at the time.

So rather than "the larger, more agressive/ dominant fish in the clutch will become the males..." it's the other way around: "the males will become larger, more aggressive/dominant fish..."

Myspace Mike, it's hard to say what your striped fish ("the zebra) is since there many non-zebra mbuna species (as well as hybrids) with similar patterns.