Mixing Mbuna and Victorian

[BradnCourt]

First I want to say hi, and say thank you to everyone here. We are new to the world of cichlids, and all of the great info here has helped tremendously.

We just started our 55 gallon tank 6 weeks ago, and have 6 mbunas in there. 1 yellow lab, 1 bumble bee, 1 albino scolfoi, 2 demonosi, and 1 colbalt blue scolofi. The tank is fully cycled, and want new fish!

We have been looking on livefishdirect com and saw some Lake Victorian fish that are gorgeous. The 2 that we really like is a Tangerine Nyererei, and the Kyoga Flame Back. On LFD com it says they can be mixed with Mbunas, but just wanted to get another opinon.

Has anyone ever mixed these?

Thanks for your help and advice!

Brad

[MCKP]

Not sure about the mixing but since they both look so much alike, I would guess you might have trouble with adding both of them..... I know with Mbuna you are advised to not have two that look similar... not sure with Victorians...
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55g:
6 Y. Labs
1 Kenyi - For Sale $5
2 S. Fryeri
2 Raphael Striped Catfish
1 Redtail Shark
10g: 16 BABY Labs / 1 Pleco
20g: 1 Greshakei
125g: Empty

[cjacob316]

victorians do not look like mbuna
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55 Gal Malwai/Victoria 29 Gal Haplochromis sp.44 "Red Tail" fry tank 29 Gal soon to be Tanganyika 1.5 Gal Crowntail Beta

[MCKP]

um, I know that.... I meant the two fish that were listed look similar.... not sure they will get along together themselves much less with Mbuna
_________________
55g:
6 Y. Labs
1 Kenyi - For Sale $5
2 S. Fryeri
2 Raphael Striped Catfish
1 Redtail Shark
10g: 16 BABY Labs / 1 Pleco
20g: 1 Greshakei
125g: Empty

[Fogelhund]

[cjacob316]

my bad man i guess i just didn't get that when i first read it but i see it now

that's true though, you don't want two fish that look very similar
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55 Gal Malwai/Victoria 29 Gal Haplochromis sp.44 "Red Tail" fry tank 29 Gal soon to be Tanganyika 1.5 Gal Crowntail Beta

[steelers fan]

are you going for an all male setup...if not iwould rectify your existing stock before buying any new species.labs should be 1male/4-5female,as well as all the other species you have in there with the exception of the dems which should be 12-15 regardless of male/female ratio. even then you may have too many different species for a 55 and that bumble bee most will agree is going to turn psycho and wipe out the entire tank. that being said this is your tank and your time and money...hopefully some experts will give some more solid advice

[steelers fan]

oh yeah sorry...welcome to the hobby

[BradnCourt]

Yes, we are shooting for an all male tank. The new fish will all be sexed and for color, we want to get all males. Will that be a problem?

As far as the bumble bee...really? He is our favorite fish we have now...so much personality! He will follow you around the tank, and even nibble on your finger when you put it in the tank. I hope he doesn't turn out then way you say he does!

[steelers fan]

no an all male tank is do-able it just takes some time and patience to weed out female and extra males. alot of fish do have individual personalities...i am generalizing with the bumble bee. alot of people will suggest a larger tank for a bumble bee but see how it goes...

[Dewdrop]

I don't think you had to be a mind reader to understand that MCKP was talking about the 2 vics. From the OP's previous post and by reading MCKP's sentence all the way through, I found it to be quite clear which fish he was talking about .

The profile says bumblebees get to be 8" but I've read where others say 10". Most agree that a 55g. tank is to small for them once fully mature though & they do have a bad reputation for being mean. There's always fish that are exceptions to the norm & maybe you have one but by keeping it you need to know that you are taking a chance .

I have what is suppose to be 2 male vics, (a ruby green & a p. nyererei) in a grow out tank with some young mbuna (white top hara). They get along ok but neither of the vics are colored up anything like they should be. I might try putting my 2 vics each in a tank by themselves & see if they color up. I also want to get a pic of them to post here to see if they really are what they are suppose to be.

An all male tank is do-able like steelers fan said, just takes time and work to get it there. If I was doing it, I think I would just stick with mbuna. There are enough species of them to fill a 55g. tank (I think ). It would still be very colorful and it would be neat that they were all mbuna, in my opinion.
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Dewdrop
55g. mainly malawi mbuna tank, 29g. N. brichardi & pleco, 20g. grow out, 10g. fry, 10g. quarantine/hospital, 1.5g. 1st. stage fry/misc., 1.5g. snails & ghost shrimp