I know I am overstocked

keiferd

keiferd

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Nov 4, 2003
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hello I have a new 37 gal aquarium and my stock list is as follows

Labidochromis Caeruleus (yellow lab) x3
Albino Peacock x1
Pseudotropheus elongatus x3
Pseudotropheus Socolofi Albino x2
Synodontis nigriventris catfish x1

They're all juveniles now but I know they will get bigger eventually. I was thinking of going to my local fish store and trading in the 2 Pseudotropheus Socolofi Albino for 1 Pseudotropheus elongatus to balance out the elongatus population for a better chance for a male/female ratio and to disperse the aggression better along with reducing the stock of my tank. I know 1m/4f is the best ratio, but how would 1m/3f work out, or even 2m/2f. Am I completely screwed if I get 1f/3m for breeding purposes? would the 3 males kill the female? I'd really like to raise some fry. I have another 20g long tank for fry raising. I've heard labs are relatively peaceful no matter what m/f ration you have. Also approximately how long do I have before these fish outgrow the tank. I feed small amounts about 5 times a day and keep the water quality pristine with weekly 25% water changes.

Thank you in advance.
 
I don't think you are really all that overstocked for africans. Though you didn't mention filtration or the aquascaping you did. You lose some horizontal real estate for vertical in a 37g tank. A longer tank would be better than higher for these guys. If you were going for possibly breeding I would have stuck with 8 juveniles of two different species, hoping that by the time they matured you'd have at least a 1m/3f ratio. You could also get just 1 or 2 juveniles of 8 or 10 different species and try for a very "mixed" tank. You won't raise them all and some will have to be removed as they grow because of the aggression factor. I doubt you'd end up with more males than females on many africans. The most dominant male would try to get rid of the other male competition. A single female could have a lot of male aggression put on her also. Because of the aggression these can be difficult fish, but IMHO they are worth it. Good luck and enjoy.
 
Regarding gender ration, while 1m/4f is better, 1m/3f will still work and is better than 2m/2f or 3m/1f.

However, even with a 3m/1f ratio, they're still able to breed. Typically one of the males will become the dominant and will divide its efforts between warding off the other males and attempting to spawn with the female. Typically a dominant male won't permit its rivals near the female. But once that's 'understood', the female will be the sole (exhausted) target of the dominant's breeding efforts.

Multiple male yellow labs will fight, especially if females are in the tank (they're relatively peaceful by mbuna standards but are, after all, still mbuna's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGJpHdCmSDM

Your fish won't "outgrow" the tank physically, however their territorial needs and aggressive tendencies will mean more space will be required for them to adequately coexist. At about 3" or more (or when they being to sexually mature) is when these demands will need to be met.

You may want to trade in all the pseudotropheus you have for some more yellow labs, rusties and/or pseudotropheus acei. Elongatus can become too aggressive in a 37gal and the socolofi aren't far behind them.

Five times a day, even small amounts, may be too much. They can actually subside on small amounts every other day. However if you're able to maintain good water quality, shouldn't be a problem.
 
Well the Elongatus is my favorite fish. I love how they change colors and the horizontal golden eyes that move around to scan the environment are stunning. The yellow labs just look like your standard dumb fish but yellow. The Elongatus also feed from my hand when I hold a pinch of flake in the water. So would trading in the socolofi for 1 more elongatus. 4 would be better than 3 right? or should I just trade the 2 socolofi for 2 elongatus to try and get that 1m/4f ratio? The filtration is a emperor 350 (suposedly good for 75 gallons) and I have a decent amount of territories set up but I plan to add more. here's a pic.

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nice clean set-up - a background might look well.
as pointed out above, its the horizontal dimension that is most important and those cute little fish might take quite the dislike to each other as they mature. you could go with some more rocks in there, right up to almost the waterline.
 
That's not a bad looking set up. Adding more rock as they mature should help. Not sure I'd change any of the fishes myself. You never really know how things will turn out until they happen. You might also try keeping them well fed (several smaller meals a day as compared to one or two larger ones), keeping them clean and keeping them on the cooler side of their temperature range. Just a few suggestions that might help out. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out. It's a lot of fun watching them mature. Enjoy.
 
I believe its 30" long 24" high and 12" deep. I have recently added a cascade 700 canister filter and added a little yellow calvus. I was worried at first but he doesn't take any crap from the other fishes and is quite aggressive even though he's the smallest in the tank and he's from a different lake. Here are some updated pics
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