New tank, new fish, recommendations?

[Jeff22]

I just upgraded to a 46 gallon bow front tank from a 29 gallon.

I only had two fish in the 29 and wanted to add more and have a wider variety to choose from so I upgraded to the bigger tank. I would have bought the 55 gal. but it won't fit in the limited space I have.

I still have a king tiger pleco and one tetra left. over the last 5 years the tiger barbs i had got too aggressive so i gave them away, and then I got some tetras and they all died over time except for the one which has actually been doing really well.

I now have new plans for the new 46. I would like to get some cichlids. I know the basics of hard water and higher ph. I just bought 3 yellow labs, all about 1.5" long, the other day. I got a really good deal on them. I got all 3 for $7. I don't know which are male or female though.

I was wondering if there are any other cichlids that will get along with the yellow labs. I would like just one or two more fish. If there aren't any other ones that are really compatible how many yellows can i put in a 46gal?

I know the pleco doesn't really like hard water, but i've had him for about 5 years in the same water, high hardness and ph and he seems fine and healthy. Will the other fish start pestering him or will he be ok? i'd hate to part with him. I know the tetra will have to find a new home.

Also right now i am using the marineland penguin 330 that I had on the 29gal for flitration. will this be adequate or should I look for something else? If I need to buy a new one any suggestions? The filtration turnover on the new tank is about 7 times per hour. I would like 10 but is it worth spending $75 on a new filter?

 

[rbell219]

IMO you could add two more. You might end up having to remove one or two in the long - long run, but Mbunas would do nice with the Lab's. I'm a big fan of the Rusty. They get a cool purplish tint in the body when mature. These aren't the best pictures, but you get the idea;
http://www.african-cichlid.com/Sprengerae.htm

No need to rush out and buy another filter. As your fish grow and the bio load increases you might consider it, but 7 times an hour is good for now IMO. Just keep an eye on your water quality--if it starts to get a little out of control for your preferences--get another filter. Even then, a smaller one in the 130 gph range is all you need.

Good luck and welcome to the addictive world of African Cichlids.

edit; Depending on how much rock you have in there, you're probably closer to 8-9 times per hour on your turnover rate. Rocks displace a lot of water quick and I always factor that in--guesstimating on the low end of course.

 

[Jeff22]

Thanks. I do plan on getting a new filter eventually but with the new tank purchase I can't run out and spend $75 to $100 on a new filter right now.

I was thinking about maybe getting two pseudotropeus socolofi to add in and that would be all.

so i would end up with
3 yellow labs
2 pseudotropheus socolofi
1 king tiger pleco (full grown about 5")

does this look feasible or a recipe for disaster?

I do have a decent amount of rock work and plan on adding more when i can get to my landscape supply store for some slate.

 

[rbell219]

Socofoli would do pretty well I think. Just make sure you feed a diet high in vegetation. Unless I'm slippin', the socofoli are herbivores.
I don't make a habit of recommending Petco, but they have AquaClear 70 powerfilters on sale for 32 bucks. Print the ad and they'll honor it in the store. The AquaClear 50 is 18. They're 300 gph and 200 gph repectively.

 

[con-man-dan]

Personally, I stock my mbuna tanks rather heavily to ease the aggression, but you're dealing with the lower end of the aggression table as far as Mbuna go. Labs are great, I keep mine with Rusty's and Afra's, both smaller mbuna like the Yellow's. If I was in your shoe's, I add about 5-7 more labs, and remove the outcasts once a dominant male has chosen his harem. If you can get ahold of them rusty's are GREAT fish! But you might not be able to find them easily. They're not rare, but not something you find in most LFS's. The socolofi would be good too, but i'd put more then 2 in there. Again, I stock heavier, and opinions differ on stocking levels. So my personal suggestion, either add 5-7 more labs, or maybe 2 more labs and 4-5 socolofi.

and like rbell said, welcome to the crack addiction that is african cichlids

 

[Jeff22]

well i went to thatpetplace which is only about an hour from my house and they have a huge selection of fish.

I reallly don't want to put too many fish in so I ended up buying two rusty's which i'm rather pleased with. I put them in the tank last night and they seem to be doing fine with the labs so far.

hopefully all goes smooth.

I did notice that two of the labs are flashing on some of the rock work. Is this normal behavior or should i add some salt for the possibility of ich? I haven't noticed any white spots on them yet.

 

[Jeff22]

well i thought the fish i got were rusty's. After doing some looking around apparently that's not the case.

I believe they are actually metriaclima greshakei or ice blue cichlid

It looks like they are compatible with the yellows as well which is really lucky.

 

[rbell219]

Yeah--Rusty's are a solid rust color when young. Over time they develop a purple in the body, but retain the "rusty" color over the fins and head. You got some cool looking fish though---sort of a UCLA yellow and blue theme going there--nice!