# Royal pleco and Mbuna mixing



## rashondasdriver (Sep 25, 2007)

What's the likelihood that the super cool looking Royal Pleco would be able to withstand/cohabitate with my Labidochromis caeruleus, and Pseudotropheus acei in a 55 gallon tank with full DIY Concrete and Styro background, adequate driftwood/bogwood accents, no current changes to salinity or pH other than the rocky background, and the gravel which is roughly 80 lbs of Docter's Foster and Smith Eco-complete african substrate (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+8976&pcatid=8976)?
That's a super long question, but in the interest of not having to answer any further questions...
Oh the Acei's are in the neighborhood of 2 1/2 to 3", and the Labs are slight smaller. Numbering 3 and 7 respectively. Also in the tank are one full grown Synodontis eupterus, and one 4-5" Syno. eupterus...
That's all that I can think of... oh, no live plants as of yet, but I'm hoping to plant it up with various Anubiases.


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## jordanroda (May 4, 2006)

I never had any luck with any plecos in my african tanks...but some have...I just dont see how they will get any food competing with the africans... :fish:


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I have a Rhino pleco in my tank with Labidochromis caeruleus & melanochromis joanjohnsonae with no problems. Also there is a bushynose pleco in there somewhere. I haven't seen him in a few months but I do have a considerable amount of rockwork.


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## rashondasdriver (Sep 25, 2007)

I've never heard of M. joanjohnsonae... I looked them up on google images, though. Where did you find them? Same temperament as Melanochromis auratus?


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

jordanroda said:


> I never had any luck with any plecos in my african tanks...but some have...I just dont see how they will get any food competing with the africans... :fish:


Feed the plecos at night. :thumb:


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## jordanroda (May 4, 2006)

Darkside said:


> jordanroda said:
> 
> 
> > I never had any luck with any plecos in my african tanks...but some have...I just dont see how they will get any food competing with the africans... :fish:
> ...


when i turn the lights off, i got to bed...not like i am gonna wake up, in the middle of the nite...just to feed them...


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

jordanroda said:


> Feed the plecos at night. :thumb:


when i turn the lights off, i got to bed...not like i am gonna wake up, in the middle of the nite...just to feed them... [/quote]

You could always drop in some pleco food just as you turn the lights off.....

Back to the OP's question. It isn't uncommon to hear that mbuna have eaten the eyes out of plecos, and that is an awfully nice species to try it with your fish.


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## dogofwar (Apr 5, 2004)

The main thing to keep royal plecos happy is driftwood. Panaques grind away at it. I kept a big one for years with peacocks and haps...in hard, alkaline (Ohio tap) water. Getting too big actually killed the pleco: it wedged its head into a piece of driftwood and got stuck (had to be sawed out...which stressed and ultimately killed it).

Acei and labs are pretty mellow for mbuna. I wouldn't worry about them with the royal.


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## kingpoiuy (Jun 9, 2008)

Oh yeah, I've kept several different types of pleco in my african tank. Never even had a fin nip and one of my pleco's was only 2 inches long!


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## rashondasdriver (Sep 25, 2007)

Well on a less happy note, I found through trial and huge error, that my pH is a perfect 8.4 and the panaque didn't handle more than two days before dying. So I traded his carcass for two Synodontus petricola. As much as I like the royal, I think I'm going to be safe and smart (being as it's a south american) and put it in my wife's planted 55 when we get it up and running.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Check out the Profiles section on this site. They are a Malawi Mbuna. There is no photo of the females though. They are very attractive, silvery base with an orange markings. I originally bought them for the female coloring. I thought it would be a nice contrast to the males.

They are not at all like the Auratus. They are a little bit more agressive than the labs but not much.

This site shows the male & female. http://www.malawimayhem.com/profile_show.php?id=279


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