Are these compatible?

[yhbae]

The only cichlid I have experience with so far, is Blue Ram. I am gaining some interest in the rift lake cichlids, and was wondering what is the minimum I need to invest with the following species:

- Labidochromis caeruleus
- Pseudotropheus saulosi
- Julidochromis dickfeldi

First of all, are they compatible? (Most articles say they are all "peaceful" for cichlids at least). If so, what is the minimum size tank do you recomend? Am I realistic to expect to breed each of the above at some point in the future within the same tank?

Apprecaite any help.

[valerie]

The Labs and the saulosi are ok to keep together.Not sure about adding the julies as they are from lake Tang. and most people say you should mix the lakes. I personally have only kept malawis with malawis so i wouldn't know if thy are compatible.

But the yellow labs and saulosi should be fine and for mbuna tanks over 55g are recommended. If you plan to breed them later you should be ok as they are different enough not to crossbreed. Make sure you get only 1-2 males per 3-4 females. You can't really sex labs so just start with a group and you might have to get rid of extra males.

So not sure about the julies but the labs and saulosi work.

[PumaWard]

I wouldn't mix Tangs and Malawis, my J. transcriptus beat up my already established auratus within 15 minutes of me letting him out of the bag. He eventually killed the auratus, even though he was smaller and hadn't been in the tank as long.

I might add though that the auratus started the fight and then wouldn't back down.

[scholar]

Eelctrci yellow and saulosi's are perfect for each other. theya re the back bone of my Malawi colonies. THey also produce four colors which is nice.

Tankwise a six footer is really nice for Africaaners. Try to get many big female yellows and only one small male. The male will harass the female which just had sex with him. Saulosi's can be 1-2 male for 3-4 females. The yellow is one male and as many females as you get. :)

I would add a snow white socolofi, rubber-lip pleco (from Petsmart) and a couple of male peacocks to round out the tank.

Good luck,

[valerie]

Originally posted by scholar

I would add a snow white socolofi, rubber-lip pleco (from Petsmart) and a couple of male peacocks to round out the tank.


I wouldn't suggest a rubbelip pleco as they come from highly oxygenated fast flowing cooler waters.Plus they aren't the best algae eaters. I would suggest a bristlenose pleco or 2.

Since you chose fairly non aggresive mbuna you could add a few peacocks or haps if you get a large enough tank. I have a red empress, hap.electra, and a male and female ruby red peacock in with my mbuna but my tank is a 90g. Haps and peacocks need more room then mbuna.Haps are open water fish and need enough room to cuise back and forth.

[yhbae]

Originally posted by valerie
But the yellow labs and saulosi should be fine and for mbuna tanks over 55g are recommended. If you plan to breed them later you should be ok as they are different enough not to crossbreed. Make sure you get only 1-2 males per 3-4 females. You can't really sex labs so just start with a group and you might have to get rid of extra males.

So not sure about the julies but the labs and saulosi work.

Thanks for the feedback...

So in order to accomodate say 1 male/3 female labs AND 1 male/3 female saulosi, would 55g be ok, or do I need to go larger?

[yhbae]

Originally posted by PumaWard
I wouldn't mix Tangs and Malawis, my J. transcriptus beat up my already established auratus within 15 minutes of me letting him out of the bag. He eventually killed the auratus, even though he was smaller and hadn't been in the tank as long.

I might add though that the auratus started the fight and then wouldn't back down.

Wow... :eek:

One of the reason I am considering rift lake species is that all the ones I raised so far are so tame that they don't have much character... Blue ram was my latest addition, and even though they are considered to be one of the most tame cichlid, I like the fact that they add personality to the tank.

But, I didn't want to start off with super aggressive ones since my knowledge in these species is zero.

I got the message that I shouldn't mix up the two lake species together. It's a shame since those Julie seem so cute and looks non-agressive... :D

[yhbae]

Originally posted by scholar
Eelctrci yellow and saulosi's are perfect for each other. theya re the back bone of my Malawi colonies. THey also produce four colors which is nice.

Do Lab.c also differentiate in color between color as well? I thought they were both yellow? :D


Tankwise a six footer is really nice for Africaaners. Try to get many big female yellows and only one small male. The male will harass the female which just had sex with him. Saulosi's can be 1-2 male for 3-4 females. The yellow is one male and as many females as you get. :)

How do you sex the labs? Aren't they supposed to be super hard to distinguish them? I guess for Saulosi, it should be easier...

Thanks for the feedback!

[yhbae]

Originally posted by valerie


I wouldn't suggest a rubbelip pleco as they come from highly oxygenated fast flowing cooler waters.Plus they aren't the best algae eaters. I would suggest a bristlenose pleco or 2.

Great! You answered my next question - I do have 4 young albino bristlenoses already. Currently, they are acclaimed in my community tank which has soft water with pH of 7.2. I take that if I introduce some of them in the cichlid tank slowly, this will be ok?


Since you chose fairly non aggresive mbuna you could add a few peacocks or haps if you get a large enough tank. I have a red empress, hap.electra, and a male and female ruby red peacock in with my mbuna but my tank is a 90g. Haps and peacocks need more room then mbuna.Haps are open water fish and need enough room to cuise back and forth.

Is Hap.electra same as "Placidochromis electra"?

[scholar]

Thes embuan's are mild, meaning that they will not kill or damage other fish. However, they do have plenty of charachter and will chase each other. :)

[scholar]

55 g woulod be big enough for the two trio's. Youmay need to add a forth yellow female for safety.

If you can afford the money or the spae geta six footer. It will make abig difference.

[valerie]

Originally posted by yhbae


Is Hap.electra same as "Placidochromis electra"?

Yes it is a Placidochromis electra

Probably not a good choice of a 55g though as they get bigger(8"),same goes for red empress IMO.

Some peacocks would do alright in a 55g