stocking help for a 210g

S

secuono

Members
I'd like to stay away from the extreme aggressors. Read the Melanochromis & Demasoni I already have will be crazy trouble eventually. I'm not 100% sure how many of each I have, but I will add to them to make a total of 3 or 4 each and that's all. Are Kenyi also excessively angry?
New species I add I rather stay clear of such meanies. I may even return or sell the ones I have. Still debating that.
I'd also like to have Haps & Peacocks with the Mbuna.
The tank will be a 210g 84x24x24 tank. Won't have any bottom dwellers or what have you. Do you think that will work or no?
I'm wondering, why do most have Mbuna? Are they the more cheap and easy to keep, thus most have them? Would the other lakes be more work? They seem more colorful.
I'm thinking of getting them from livefishdirect.com. Can anyone tell me which are far too aggressive or grow over 8in? I'd like to keep them under 8in as well.
 
fischfan13

fischfan13

Banned
secuono said:
I'd like to stay away from the extreme aggressors. Read the Melanochromis & Demasoni I already have will be crazy trouble eventually. I'm not 100% sure how many of each I have, but I will add to them to make a total of 3 or 4 each and that's all. Are Kenyi also excessively angry?
New species I add I rather stay clear of such meanies. I may even return or sell the ones I have. Still debating that.
I'd also like to have Haps & Peacocks with the Mbuna.
The tank will be a 210g 84x24x24 tank. Won't have any bottom dwellers or what have you. Do you think that will work or no?
I'm wondering, why do most have Mbuna? Are they the more cheap and easy to keep, thus most have them? Would the other lakes be more work? They seem more colorful.
I'm thinking of getting them from livefishdirect.com. Can anyone tell me which are far too aggressive or grow over 8in? I'd like to keep them under 8in as well.
Click to expand...

I will start off with this:
Do MORE homework on Cichlids.
Check out MORE online Retailers.
 
S

secuono

Members
I have dial up, so asking experts on here is really the only option that won't take a year or more of constant waiting for pages to load that lead me astray.
 
S

secuono

Members
I've dropped the Peacocks and Haps from the list. Also read that Tropheus may work and they should have one tablespoon of salt per forty gallons. Can I get someone to confirm those two?
 
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S

secuono

Members
Hopefully, yes. I'm still working on supporting the floor. Anyone here can make a supporting mini wall for us?
The joists span 13.8ft. Real 2in by 8in, inner spacing is 14in. Real wood flooring covered in fancy plywood. Idk what the last home owners were doing here...lol. I was hoping it wouldn't need support, may just keep the level low until I can get it secure for sure.
 
mscichlid

mscichlid

Founder
Your tank should be set perpendicular to floor joists. The 16" on center is good. If you have a basement, a lally column or two might not be a bad idea.

SteelShoreslallycolumn3-28-11.jpg
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
I think most folks believe that tropheus should be kept with tropheus (or petros or gobies).

You can mix some mbuna with certain haps and peacocks, but you can run into issues with aggression/predation.

It boils down to what kind of fish you want to keep? Large mbuna, small mbuna, mixed smaller haps with peacocks? etc.

Also, do you want to do an all-male setup or try breeding groups?

Give us some input on the questions above, along with some fish that you like and we can help you from there.
 
S

secuono

Members
All under 8in.
Mix of genders.
Keeping the fish I have, so they gotta get along with them.
I have the following, some are tiny at 1in, others are around 2-2.5in, might have more;
Kenyi-2
Bunblebee-1
Acei-2, my fav already
red zebra-3
Yellow Lab-1
Auratus-3F, 1M
unknown light gray-1
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
secuono said:
All under 8in.
Mix of genders.
Keeping the fish I have, so they gotta get along with them.
I have the following, some are tiny at 1in, others are around 2-2.5in, might have more;
Kenyi-2
Bunblebee-1
Acei-2, my fav already
red zebra-3
Yellow Lab-1
Auratus-3F, 1M
unknown light gray-1
Click to expand...

If you want a tank featuring the Acei, I don't think it will work well with Kenyii, Auratus and the Bumblebee. If you have to keep all the existing fish, maybe another tank could house the yellow labs and Acei.
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
I don't know about the bumblebee, but their reputation is pretty bad.

The kenyii might be ok if they are both females. A pair will likely either put the female or the rest of the tank in danger. A male will almost definitely result in the the subdominant one getting picked on(although maybe the tank size gives him enough space).

While on one hand a large tank is a trade-off with compatibility issues. Some are not as bad due to the extra space. However if they occur it can be a lot harder to remove the fish that is being picked on or the aggressor. Also if you start a tank with multiple potential troublemakers, you might remove one bully and find a new bully in a few days or weeks.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Bumblebees (Ps. crabro) are the largest and meanest mbuna I have ever kept. The one I had was every bit of 7"-8" long and had a bad attitude and a mouth full of teeth.
 
marge618

marge618

CCA member
Try going to cichlid-forum.com for sample Malawi set-ups. Once there go to 'Cookie Cutter Setups' (Helping you to put the right fish
together in your size tank, Species Lists, Glossary, Buffer Recipes, & Aquarium Calculators).

Think they go up to 75 gallons. Your main question 'what to stock' might be easily addressed there.
 
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fischfan13

fischfan13

Banned
No reason to go to CF and their outdated and conservative cookie-cutter setups.
Plain and simple...do your homework and see what YOU want.
Go grab Ad Konings 4th Edition Malawi book.
Go grab as many books on Cichlids as you can.
Read and, yes, look at pictures.
Do not put two Pseudotropheus together.
Do not put two of any of the same genus together.
Do not put one of these and one of those in the tank if you are doing Mbuna.
Do take your time.
 
UNCLERUCKUS

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
Tony said:
Bumblebees (Ps. crabro) are the largest and meanest mbuna I have ever kept. The one I had was every bit of 7"-8" long and had a bad attitude and a mouth full of teeth.
Click to expand...
ASK DANGER CHICKEN ABOUT THE MALE BUMBLEBEE I GAVE HIM @ 6"....HE WASNT AFRAID OF ANYTHING.;)
 
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