hey i am new too rift lake cichlids

[Krib]

Just got done with a list of fish i deam acceptable to house.


7/? Electric Yellow Labido (Labidochromis caeruleus)
7/? Blue Cobalt Cichlid (Maylandia callainos) (Shiny)
7/? Or Demason's Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni) (Dark Blue Vertical Stripes)
3/? Red Empress (Protomelas taeniolatus)
7/? Red Zebra Cichlid (Pseudotropheus estherae)
3/? Chipokee (Melanochromis chipokae)


Just a list not done am still working on this, i know i want red, yellow, and blue, just not shure which ones i like.

So i do know that the, Electric Yellow Labido, and Red Zebra Cichlids are in. I need help with the blue ones, i like the Blue Cobalt Cichlid becuse they are shiny but then the Demason's Cichlid are a dark blue with black vertical stripes (so its hard to choose). And i think the Red Empress and the Chipokee would be put in for fun but not shure yet. Like always i need help on the numbers and that kind of work. And also no new work on the catfish that i want in the aquarium becuse my main start is in the cichlids and i need help with them more than i do with any catfish.
But am looking at them for fun. Catfish rock

 

[Pittbull]

Wood still releases properties that lower PH even when in the tank for a while be careful, If you go gravel sand mix the sand will settle on the bottom and the gravel will be on top hiding the sand i would only do one or the other..

 

[efors]

Remember that for a 55gal, 3 or 4 species are more than enough. I would take out the red empress from the list; they are not mbuna and may get harmed by these companions. Also, I would forget about the M. chipokae; they can be nasty very aggressive guys. The problem with Ps. demasoni is that you need to keep a group of at least 12 of them to spread their aggression toward members of their own kind; with 7 of them, you may end with only 1 dem. That's why Blue2Fyre suggested to have only 12 dems and 6-7 labs in that tank, if you decide to go with the dems.
Then, your other option from that list may be the remaining 3 species: red zebras, cobalt blues and yellow labs. Or, you can mix the red empress with the yellow labs only; because the labs are a lesser aggressive mbuna, commonly mixed with haps as the red empress are and with peacocks.

 

[blue2fyre]

Electric Yellow Labido (Labidochromis caeruleus)-GREAT choice, colorful and pretty peaceful, for mbuna

Blue Cobalt Cichlid (Maylandia callainos) (Shiny)-Also a nice choice, can be aggressive like most zebra types

Demason's Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni) (Dark Blue Vertical Stripes)-VERY aggressive with one another. Needs to be inlarger groups (12+) to keep them from killing each other.

Red Empress (Protomelas taeniolatus)-A hap and doesn't really belong in this set up. Also only the males are colorful, females are silver.

Red Zebra Cichlid (Pseudotropheus estherae)-I've had no luck with these guys, too aggresive. Others have had more success. Keep in mind they may cross breed with the labs

Chipokee (Melanochromis chipokae)-AVOID at all costs. I believe chipokae is the most aggressive mbuna you can find. They are killers. If you want a less aggressive tank avoid the Melanochromis all together.


Another blue mbuna to consider is one of the cynotilapia afra types. Males are stunning though females are usually brown. Another option is cynotilapia white top hara, the male is very pale blue with black stripes while the females are a dark purple/blue.

If you want yellow and blue you can't go wrong with Ps sualosi. Males are blue with black stripes and females are bright yellow.

For catfish your best bet is a group of syno petricola. Fun little catfish that can handle the mbuna aggression easily. My mbuna learned a long time ago not to mess with them(I think the catfish have spikes).

 

[Krib]

Okay stock might go this way
7-9 Yellow labs
7-9 cynotilapia white top hara
and some sort of cat.

Then what about the zebra Red Top for my red fish in 7-9 numbers

 

[blue2fyre]

The thing to remember about red top zebras is only the males are colorful. The males are pale blue with a red top, the females are usually brown though you can get better ones that have some orange in their fins.

Mbuna don't have a ton of red fish available. You could look into Labeotropheus fuelleborni (Katale), I've seen these in person and they are very pretty fish. really any of the Labeotropheus fuelleborni could work for you, many of the females are orange blotched. Labeotropheus trewavasae is similar and comes in a red top form. I don't remember which of the two is more aggressive. Labidochromis sp. "Hongi" are often underrated. They are a very pretty fish and usually easy to find.

Theres nothing wrong with red zebras, I've just has no luck with them. They are kind of hit or miss as far as aggression goes.

As far as numbers, for a 55 gallon you could start with 7-9 juveniles then remove extra males. You'll want to keep about 4-5 of each species in the end, hopefully with 1 male per 3-4 females.

 

[Krib]

so i guess i this is right i am going for
7-9 Yellow labs
7-9 Cynotilapia White Top Hara
and 7-9 Red Top Zebras (dont mind brown females )
Thanks for the helps, now need to move on too the supplies i need to get