First post! Need help with our Cichlid tank...

Melanochromis Auratus AKA psycho fish, I have never had any good with these guys, maybe others have but my experience says bad news, the older they get the more aggressive they get, especially once the Dom Male changes color, as a stated though has been awhile since I have had and maybe the constant breeding has changed them :evil_lol:.

I think you are more with few months then years before you will want to move them out tank.But some might say different.
 
OK, I'll have to get him outta there and work on a separate tank for the others.

I love the fish in your avatar!

Thanks for helping a newbie, I sure wish the fish store warned us. However, I breed reptiles and I should have known better to check forums for advice before stores. They specialized in fish though so I thought I was safe.
 
The other yellow fellow looks to me to have a lot of labidochromis in him...but not a pure strain lab. caereulus (presuming you mean the yellow fish in the third pic, second post with pics). He doesn't look like an elongatus (pseudotropheus genus) in my opinion.

The best set up for him with other africans would be a tank in excess of three feet, and lots of other africans for company. A tank with just him, the kenyi and zebra would be very unpredictable - because there would be too few fish to prevent the weakest fish (probably the yellow fellow you are most attached to) would be picked on so much...resulting in very likely a dead yellow fish unfortunately.

My advice would be to try and accomodate a 55 Gallon tank, stocked up with your Africans, and keep the cons as a pair in the 29G. If this isn't possible, keep the cons in the 29, and your fave yellow guy in his current tank (what size is that tank?). Return the other fish (zeb & auratus).

I agree it is more a matter of a few months than any period of years before the auratus matures into a problem fish.

I think the fish in bossmans avatar is a neolamprologus sexfasciatus...but I could be wrong (I am counting six stripes - if it is five striped its a tetracephalus I think)

A breeding pair of convicts won't be safe for any other tankmates in a 29G.

No need to apologise for posting in this forum ! Its exactly right for your mix in any event. Keep your threads and posts coming and I'll shove anything specific in where you will get the most answers - members on AC are incredibly helpful especially here in the cichlid forum and all we demand is a) pics of your fish & tanks (yours look great btw :D) and b) you keep on posting and helping us out in our threads as well :)

edit : I looked at the yellow fish again...I take it back on the labidochromis...I think it is in fact mostly male kenyi based on 'lips' and eyes...I am a stoopid head :D
 
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Well our latest plan was to trade in the Melanochromis Auratus for an algae eater for the Con tank, but I see that you recommend keeping the Cons totally alone. Our last Con tank was way too small and they still tolerated a pleco and a Blue Pearl Lobster even when they had fry. Was this unusual? They were actually afraid of the Lobster even when they had fry.

Thanks for the advice on the Africans, I don't think our yellow guy will get picked on as he is three times the size as the others, but I'll really have to look into getting them all some friends of thier own species. Like I said Pac Man (the yellow) really needs an upgrade, he is in a 5 gallon! Don't hate me... It worked when he was only an inch but he slowly got bigger and bigger. So we really need to work on another tank anyway, we might as well try and make it work for the red zebra and kenyi as well.
 
When you decide to get into and keep African Mbunas ( what your Africans are ), I would avoid keeping Auratus and Kenyi in community setups. They are notorious for being amongst the most aggressive.
On a side note, the water parameters for South/Central American cichlids are different than that of Africans and their behaviour is different as well. One fish's appeasement routine is another's invitation for a fight. These combos rarely work out, and you have some of the most aggressive in either group.
Eventually your tank will be too small ( matter of months ), and you will not be happy with the results. As others have suggested, you could try the Cons in the tank by themselves, and look into setting up a more appropriately sized ( 55 gallons and up ), and stocked African if you're still interested.
You should continue daily water changes until ammonia and nitrite read zero. Good luck!
 
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