-stock for my 55g-

[AquariumNoob13]

-1m/4f red zebras
-2 albino socolofi
-2 blue socolofi
-yellow labs
-1 angel

what do you think?

[tarheels910]

Lose the angel.

[daayda3]

cause... wouldnt the angel get eaten up?

[nmrsco]

definitely no angel

[AquariumNoob13]

darn. angels are so beautiful too! and for sure i can't keep an angel with a JD in a 29g right?

[Lupin]

cause... wouldnt the angel get eaten up?
Not eaten. "Beat". African cichlids are aggressive.

[Lupin]

darn. angels are so beautiful too! and for sure i can't keep an angel with a JD in a 29g right?
Never.

[AquariumNoob13]

hehehe. just checking. but for a 55g all the others will be fine?

[elementkid65]

yes
no angel in either tank

[AquariumNoob13]

and how high and how many caves approximately for the africans?

[elementkid65]

here is my 46g to show you some caves

[mbhw]

The only issue with your stock list is make sure the socolofi are 1m 3f ratios, regardless of regular/albino. In a 55, there is a good chance the red zebra when full grown will kick everyones butt pretty severely, but if you add them all young, you stand a slim chance of that not happening assuming you get your male/female ratios correct.

[tarheels910]

Yea, you shouldnt even be keeping a JD in a 29 gallon IMO.

Caves:

[krytan]

heres some more caves.

[AquariumNoob13]

heres some more caves.

how are you able to keep the driftwood underwater? mine always float and i can never keep it below surface.

[AquariumNoob13]

Yea, you shouldnt even be keeping a JD in a 29 gallon IMO.

Caves:

nice caves! i like the way u stacked them.

[elementkid65]

The only issue with your stock list is make sure the socolofi are 1m 3f ratios, regardless of regular/albino. In a 55, there is a good chance the red zebra when full grown will kick everyones butt pretty severely, but if you add them all young, you stand a slim chance of that not happening assuming you get your male/female ratios correct.

i agree

when red zebras get big they are physcho i had 2 males in a 125 with 2 obvious females and were crazy.

also i had a tank full of zebras 3 males and 5 females only one fully grown in a 65 with 2 male 7 female lombardi and one day the zebras killed everything but themselves. the day after they started killing each other leaving 3 males 1 female zebra the third day i'd given up couldnt care less. then the female at 10cm killed my favourite male at 18cm over night. zebras are the most agrressive unpredictable fish in african cichlds except maybe demonsai. I lost about $150-200 of fish in 3 days.

[AquariumNoob13]

awe! that sucks! so would i be able to keep them with an oscar? or is that just pushing it? hahaha. or maybe the turtle?

[Lupin]

awe! that sucks! so would i be able to keep them with an oscar?
Your African cichlids with an oscar? Never recommended.

or is that just pushing it? hahaha.
Yes. 75g minimum for oscar.;)

or maybe the turtle?
No.

[kay-bee]

...when red zebras get big they are physcho i had 2 males in a 125 with 2 obvious females and were crazy.

also i had a tank full of zebras 3 males and 5 females only one fully grown in a 65 with 2 male 7 female lombardi and one day the zebras killed everything but themselves. the day after they started killing each other leaving 3 males 1 female zebra the third day i'd given up couldnt care less. then the female at 10cm killed my favourite male at 18cm over night. zebras are the most agrressive unpredictable fish in african cichlds except maybe demonsai. I lost about $150-200 of fish in 3 days.

With red zebras it all depends. Getting them young and keeping them in ideal gender ratio's (minimum 2-3 females per male, or 4 females for a single male)and perhaps having groups of other non-metriclima genus mbuna's in thte tank should help keep them in line (or at least occupied). When assured that they are the alpha fish, dominant males can be pretty laid back. With that said, specific challenges to their authority or breeding rights will probably be dealt with brutally. It should be expected that males will aspire to be tank dominants. Whether they succeed or not depends on specific tank dynamics.

[AquariumNoob13]

that's really interesting!

[AquariumNoob13]

red zebras are still vegans though right?

[johnp2152]

Make sure u have a bunch of caves and everytime you do a water change switch up the caves so they dont get so territorial that they start killing eachother off.

[AquariumNoob13]

ok, but like other mbunas red zebras survive off of vegies?

[charlie_stubbs]

here is my 55 gallon. I use Lava rock because it is inert and the red contrasts well with the plants and fish.

[kay-bee]

ok, but like other mbunas red zebras survive off of vegies?

Yes, red zebras are primarily herbivorous.


Make sure u have a bunch of caves and everytime you do a water change switch up the caves so they dont get so territorial that they start killing eachother off.

I would actually advise against this. Sometimes localized territoriality isn't a bad thing. Regularly rearranging everything gives your red zebra (or any other mbuna) opportunities to overstep it's bounds and disrupt any balance in your tank (you're basically re-setting established limits). For example it might be satisfied with just the cave. After a rearrangement it might aspire to claim the a different cave and a larger portion of the tank and react aggressively to trespassers, or a rival which was previousy set up at the opposite side of the tank now decides to establish a territory bordering that of the dominant, creating problems which didn't exist before.

Tank rearrangement is typically a method used in conjuction with the addition of new fish to the tank, but regular rearrangement adds/increases unpredictability in the tank and can result in dire consequences. The 6" red zebra male which rules my 125gal pretty much stays in or immediately around his cave (which no other male of similar size is allowed near). He may shoo away pesky juvies, but that's it, he's content with his territory and doesn't appear motivated to gain more real estate). If I removed his cave, he'd have to establish elsewhere (which would mean evicting another fish from its territory..which would require aggression).

I previously had a socolofi set up a small territory in the rear right corner of the tank. One rearrangement later and he claimed one-fourth of the right-portion of the 125gal tank as its exclusive territory and became a real meanie (primarily because the mbuna which had earlier "kept him in check" by having its territory adjacent to this fish settled in a different area of the tank after the rearrangement).

But with these fish anything can happen and what doesn't work in one tank set up may work all the time in another.

[elementkid65]

With red zebras it all depends. Getting them young and keeping them in ideal gender ratio's (minimum 2-3 females per male, or 4 females for a single male)and perhaps having groups of other non-metriclima genus mbuna's in thte tank should help keep them in line (or at least occupied). When assured that they are the alpha fish, dominant males can be pretty laid back. With that said, specific challenges to their authority or breeding rights will probably be dealt with brutally. It should be expected that males will aspire to be tank dominants. Whether they suceed or not depends on specific tank dynamics.

yea true ,
but im thinking why my female killed and how she killed my big male,
he wasnt weak, he was tough he didnt take crap from anyone.

i should put the female and 2 males i have in 3ft
into my friends fully grown oscar tank with 2 big oscars
hell funny if i went there and the oscars are dead and me like :confused:

[AquariumNoob13]

yea true ,
but im thinking why my female killed and how she killed my big male,
he wasnt weak, he was tough he didnt take crap from anyone.

i should put the female and 2 males i have in 3ft
into my friends fully grown oscar tank with 2 big oscars
hell funny if i went there and the oscars are dead and me like :confused:

well if you ever do happen to try that, make sure to post what happened! hehehe.

[GirlieGirl8521]

darn. angels are so beautiful too! and for sure i can't keep an angel with a JD in a 29g right?

Swap your JD for an Angel. :) An angel can live indefinitely in a 29g........a JD cannot.

[AquariumNoob13]

indefinitely??? i thought Angels got much too big for a 29g?

[AquariumNoob13]

and aren't angels supposed to be kept in groups of 2 or 3?

[Lupin]

indefinitely??? i thought Angels got much too big for a 29g?
Only one angel can fit in there. For temporary purposes, a breeding pair can use it where their eggs will not easily be consumed by other fish.

and aren't angels supposed to be kept in groups of 2 or 3?
An angel is fine by itself.

[AquariumNoob13]

alright. i probably will get one of those black and white angels and take back the JD

[AquariumNoob13]

what do angels eat? like do they relay mainly on meat-based food? and will they eat feeder fish when old enough? (my lil bro wants to know)