so in your guys opnion, what is the max amount of Mbuna's you would keep inside of a 55g? as you can see i have 4 and they are fairly agressive to each other, but not so much i would say it is compromising thier health at all.
55 gallon and alot of cichlids?
- Thread starter dynasty187
- Start date
Would it be ok to have two Jacks, if I were to get them as youngins?
or 1 jack and 1 green terror?
or 1 jack and 1 green terror?
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
i didn't mean to offend you guys nor did i say they were "disposable furniture" but i did say that they are "living furniture"....... dynasty i didn't mean to confuse you and for that i apologize........ liv2padl i agree with what you say when you say that it is our responsibility to give the best care possible which is why i strive to make the aquarium as close to their natural environment as possible........ is it not fair to say that if my fish are breeding than i must be doing something right or am i wrong?........ obviously i wouldnt flush a full grown green terror or severum down the toilet because they would be too big........ no my 55 is not overcrowded seeing that the largest fish in there would be the gt who is only about 3 inches and the rest measuring around two inches........plans are in the works for a 220 gallon which should be set up and running by may-june.......liv2padl i do respect your input and actually find myself reading a lot of your posts i simply disagree at times with certain things......is it correct that the gt reaches 8 inches and the severum reaches 12 as opposed to 12 and 8 respectively? now that ive hopefully cleared the controversy up a little lets give dynasty the advice that they were asking for.......
disagreement is not necessarily a bad thing ... it leads to discussion which is a good thing. and hey, i'm not right all the time ... in fact, i remember i was wrong once on august 24th 1987.
No offense to anyone, just want to post some thoughts based off of research and experience.
It is a fact that crowding mbuna can and usually will ease aggression.
The crowding of mbuna makes it hard for the dominant and aggressive fish to find and pick off the weaker fish. In most tanks that house aggressive mbuna and are not "overstocked", you will find that the weaker fish are confined to hiding and/or staying in one area of the tank.(usually a lot smaller than the dominant males') This is more stressful than if the same, weaker fish, were in an overcrowded tank.
Even if there are enough hiding places, a fish can be stressed. I have a 72g bowfront tank that houses P.Demasoni and Labdichromis C. The demasoni will kill each other one by one if there are less than 10 of them. Therefore I have 13 Demasoni and 6 Labs all at aroun 1.5in-2in. They all swim out in the open and only hide when startled or sleeping.
One thing people do not talk about when talking about overcrowding is that you need overfiltration. At least 2x the amount rated for your aquarium because of the access waste. Poor water quality is the biggest cause of poor coloration, stress, and death. I have a fluval 405 and an XP3 that takes care of the tank.
Lastly, to those who say overcrowding is just "mean", consider this. Think about the lightly stocked mbuna tank that has plenty of rocks/caves, and the dominant mbuna roams the tank while the weaker fish is limited to staying in the caves or being chased around all the time. That is mean IMHO. (however, there are some of the more peaceful species that can be housed with a light stock with no problems).
It is a fact that crowding mbuna can and usually will ease aggression.
The crowding of mbuna makes it hard for the dominant and aggressive fish to find and pick off the weaker fish. In most tanks that house aggressive mbuna and are not "overstocked", you will find that the weaker fish are confined to hiding and/or staying in one area of the tank.(usually a lot smaller than the dominant males') This is more stressful than if the same, weaker fish, were in an overcrowded tank.
Even if there are enough hiding places, a fish can be stressed. I have a 72g bowfront tank that houses P.Demasoni and Labdichromis C. The demasoni will kill each other one by one if there are less than 10 of them. Therefore I have 13 Demasoni and 6 Labs all at aroun 1.5in-2in. They all swim out in the open and only hide when startled or sleeping.
One thing people do not talk about when talking about overcrowding is that you need overfiltration. At least 2x the amount rated for your aquarium because of the access waste. Poor water quality is the biggest cause of poor coloration, stress, and death. I have a fluval 405 and an XP3 that takes care of the tank.
Lastly, to those who say overcrowding is just "mean", consider this. Think about the lightly stocked mbuna tank that has plenty of rocks/caves, and the dominant mbuna roams the tank while the weaker fish is limited to staying in the caves or being chased around all the time. That is mean IMHO. (however, there are some of the more peaceful species that can be housed with a light stock with no problems).
and hey, i'm not right all the time ... in fact, i remember i was wrong once on august 24th 1987.
You are mistaken...it was August 23.....that makes 2 mistakes...crap.....you are on the slippery slope now!
