stocking levels for 75gal? (just acei's + Labs)

[aaxxeell]

hey guys recently upgraded from my 3ft tank and bought a 4ft "all-in-one" tank ,
i've added a few new fish and now have:
- 9x Ps.Acei Msuli
- 4x L.Caeruleus
- 1x cuckoo cat
but there isnt enough fish for it to be a clouded aggression environment.



my tank is 300L, roughly 48x17x23 (LxWxH) which is like a 75gal but taller
and i have sufficient filtration 450g/hr + 350g/hr cannister filters.

So i wanna go and buy some more, just wanted some input on how many would be ideal???


(i was thinking basically having a colony of 10xLabs and 10xAcei)
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25g Planted
75g+ Mbuna

[DJRansome]

That's what was running through my mind as I read your post, 10 and 10.
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125G Calvus, Caudopunctatus, J Gombe, Brevis, Leleupi, Tret, Cyp Kerenge
75G Demasoni, Labs, Cyno sp hara, Red Zebras, Syno Multipunctatus
38G Aulonocara sp stuartgranti Maleri, Syno Lucipinnis

[marik]

you won't have any aggression with acei and yellow labs except for when you add new ones into the tank, then that will be the only time.

[aaxxeell]

[DJRansome]

Assuming your cat is synodontis multipunctatus, I'd add four more of those as well.
_________________
125G Calvus, Caudopunctatus, J Gombe, Brevis, Leleupi, Tret, Cyp Kerenge
75G Demasoni, Labs, Cyno sp hara, Red Zebras, Syno Multipunctatus
38G Aulonocara sp stuartgranti Maleri, Syno Lucipinnis

[Fogelhund]

[748johnd]

Nine aceis is an awful lot in a 4-foot tank. They easily grow to over 6 inches. Personally, with their size and swimming habits I think they belong in a 6-foot tank.

[GaFishMan1181]

acei should be ok in a 75g tank i just wouldnt add as many as you are talking about. i have a 55g with 4 acei but the biggest is only at the 3.5"-4" mark. they seem fine in the 55g right now. i couldnt imagine having 9 of them though.

as far as aggression goes i have figured out that 99% of the time there is going to be one fish who wants to be the tank boss. no matter what type of fish you have. when i had only acei and labs then it was one of my main acei that tried to boss everyone around. when i put some zebras in there then they eventually tried to take over the tank. now that the red zebras are gone (i had 1 hyper aggressive male that had every other fish was so scared they would only come out to eat and hide the rest of the time) i have 1 yellow lab that is trying to be boss of the tank.

[Dewdrop]

A lot of people have acei in 4 ft. tanks but some people think 6 ft. tanks are better for them. A 5 ft. tank is the longest I can have, without adding on to my house, and when I get my 5ft. tank I'll probably have 3-4 acei in it. I really think 10 would be to many in a 4 ft. tank. I would go with 3-4 acei, a nice group of labs, and like Fogelhund suggested, pick another species for a 3 species tank.
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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

[aaxxeell]

Whoa!
Thanks for all the quick replies guys thats awesome!!!


Dj ransome-
i'd love more syno multi's but hey over here in AUS these fish dont come cheap! 4cm specimen costs $50!!!
my fish were all bought as juvi's and set me back $245
(wish i could get great fish for cheap like you guys in the states can )

Fogelhund-
cynotilapias and Ps.kingsizeis are my favourities but were allway's so hard to find and very expensive $25-45ea (+ only species available is poor examples of c.afra cobue)

748johnd + GaFishMan1181-
tank actually looks quite empty right now all aceis are 3-4" and tank is 18"wide x24" tall, acei's dont dwell in the rockwork

Dewdrop-
i feel your pain i am at my tank size limit too... i used to have many tanks in my old house, but after moving only allowed 2 tanks now

doing alot of reading Ad Konings books and a few years of keeping all sorts of species i am steering clear of alot of fish as they tend to defend approx 1m square of space when breeding.
Regardless of what other people in the hobby will say, my experience has been that most pseudotropheus, metriaclima, cynotilapia and melanochromis mbunas seem to be in this category and if you intend onkeeping them for a many years AND breeding them, they do ALOT better in a species tank OR a very large tank say 6x2x2 or larger
(I simply believe in my experience it ends up too hectic and rough on other inhabitants when mixing multiple breeding species.)

i really want a show tank that the fish will be happy in for the long haul




oh on a side note on the comments of the big jumbo 6" acei's...
in my experience i have found that malawi cichlids when fed less and kept at a lower temp (24-26c) resemble wild fish in appearance and behavior much more...
i think too much protein and higher temps boost your fish's growth too much for the specimens well being (good in fish farms, bad in aquaria)
I think its simple psychology, people do the same with all pets and feed generously because they care a great deal about their companions.

badmouth me if you want but, personally its tough love with my fish i feed once a day and they allways look a million bucks!!!
never ever skinny or obese, and they are much more active aswell
oh and they retain the iconic mbuna feeding frenzy
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25g Planted
75g+ Mbuna

[DJRansome]

I'd still buy more multipunctatus...they really are not cheaper here. I've paid $30 for one inch lucipinnis and larger cats go for $60. This was several years ago when I bought mine...probably even more now.
_________________
125G Calvus, Caudopunctatus, J Gombe, Brevis, Leleupi, Tret, Cyp Kerenge
75G Demasoni, Labs, Cyno sp hara, Red Zebras, Syno Multipunctatus
38G Aulonocara sp stuartgranti Maleri, Syno Lucipinnis

[aaxxeell]

i cant afford any more syno's and my lfs only ever has 1 or 2 maybe twice a year, trust me theyre rare as hens teeth here in my part of Aus

If i were to get a third colony of mbunas these are species available:
Pseudotropheus: socofoli (+albino), elongatus mpanga, elongatus chewere, kingsizei (rare), crabro
metriaclima: callainos (cobalt blue + albino zebra), lombardoi (kenyi)
melanochromis: johanni, cyanerhabdos, auratus
Labidochromis: caeruleus, hongi, perlmutt
idotropheus: sperengae
cynotilapa: afra cobue (rare)
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25g Planted
75g+ Mbuna

[GaFishMan1181]

i like i. sperengae "rusty". just added some to my tank recently and really like them. i have also had an albino socolofi male before. he was the coolest looking fish. pure white. i hear they can get pretty aggresssive with females around though. my vote is to go with the rusty since your other fish are relativly peaceful.

[DJRansome]

You would want to downsize your acei population, is that an option?
_________________
125G Calvus, Caudopunctatus, J Gombe, Brevis, Leleupi, Tret, Cyp Kerenge
75G Demasoni, Labs, Cyno sp hara, Red Zebras, Syno Multipunctatus
38G Aulonocara sp stuartgranti Maleri, Syno Lucipinnis

[Dewdrop]

This is just my opinion...I would downsize the acei to 5 at most. Add 2 more yellow labs & get a breeding group of rustys like GaFishMan suggested. I think rustys and acei look really good together & those 3 species should do good together...all 3 on the milder side for mbuna & not a lot of chance for inbreeding.
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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