bottom feeder for electric yellows

psychadelicdrea

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Oct 6, 2004
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i have like a 29 gallon thats gonna have like 3 electric yellows in it can i fit some sort of a bottem feeder in it...somthing that will stay a lil smaller?
 
A trio of Synodontis petricola would be nice. You need at least three, or they are very reclusive. They'll cruise around and eat any extra food, and they and the labs will leave each other alone.

Jim
 
I've a male & 2 female yellow labs and 3 subadult kenyi in a 30 gal oceanic cube. I keep a small pleco & 3 khuli loaches in the tank as well, as algae/bottom/scrap feeders. The yellow labs don't mess with the loaches, the pleco, nor the kenyi and none mess with the yellow labs.

The labs have spawned and I currently have 3 young fry from this first spawning that have not been touched by the scavengers nor the sub-adult kenyi & seem to be doing well on a diet of finely ground flake, finely ground sprulinia, finely ground cichlid pellet and the occasional frozen bloodworm.

Filtration is done with 2 seperate 3-stage over-the-side powerhead filters that, together, effectively move 350 gallons per hour.
 
wow they havent eaten your khuli loaches! Expect those to be gone when the fish mature ;) I dont know of any cichlid that could resist the worm-like squiggle of a khuli loach :D

I suggest some synodontis cats, as mentioned above, such as petricola (multis get a little larger). Those two are from Lake Tangynika and are already adapted to the higher pH. They like to be in groups so 3 is best, but in a small tank like that your pushing it. You should be ok though, just dont add anymore fish after that ;)

-Diana
 
~*LuvMyKribs*~ said:
wow they havent eaten your khuli loaches! Expect those to be gone when the fish mature ;) I dont know of any cichlid that could resist the worm-like squiggle of a khuli loach :D

-Diana

lol ... well ..... nothing like a gourmet meal every once in a while, eh ? :D

Both the Labs & Kenyis seemed to do the freshwater taste test with the loaches, while they were aclimatine in the bag, and directly after introduction into the tank, but have not jacked with them since. The availibility of the gravel bed to burrow in, and the cover of some plastic breeding coverage seems to help keep them apart. The cichlids retreat to the caves at night, and the loaches have their nightly roam of the tank.

But,....yeah....once mature, I could envision buffet a la loach. :rolleyes:
 
these Synodontis petricola, do you know of a site that i can order them from....ill ask my lfs if i can gt them ordered.....what else do i need to know about them...im looking them up on the net but if anyone had any pior experiance with them or any info that would be usefull to me if you could pass it on.....like food/tank setup caves?...shells?
thanks in advance
 
erratum said:
Both the Labs & Kenyis seemed to do the freshwater taste test with the loaches, while they were aclimatine in the bag, and directly after introduction into the tank, but have not jacked with them since. The availibility of the gravel bed to burrow in, and the cover of some plastic breeding coverage seems to help keep them apart. The cichlids retreat to the caves at night, and the loaches have their nightly roam of the tank.

But,....yeah....once mature, I could envision buffet a la loach. :rolleyes:

I'd be more worried about the kennyis -- if any are male -- killing the labs as the kennyi mature. Male kennyis are yellow, and IME experience they'll shred anything that even looks close to yellow. In a 30, yellow labs likely wouldn't stand a chance. If you're lucky, your kennyis are female.

A 30 is way to small for any kennyi, and lots of mbuna owners would probably suggest against keeping labs in a 30, too.

Good luck,
Jim
 
Good info ... will keep an eye close, as to the agression / color changes as they grow. Worse case scenario is, ... well .. I get to buy a new tank .. heh.
 
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