# What else can I keep With African



## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

I was wondering what else can i put with my African Cichilids. 
Currently i have a 60G tank where i have around 25 cichilids. mixed of mbunas and malawis. mixture of yellow labs, demasoni, jewel, peacock, etc etc. 
Actually i want to keep something else apart from cichilids which would be compatible.

what options do i have got? need suggestions


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

That may be too many fish already. More information is needed; what are the tank dimensions, how many of each species do you already have, what size are the fish presently? From looking at your list there may already be problems.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

LXBXH 42X18X18 inches. i made caves and provided hiding space with rocks and stones.
i have like 2 yellow labs and 3 Jewels and 2 Firefish Cichiilid around 5inches.
Rest are---
3 albino 3inchs
3 yellow labs 3 inchs
3 ice blue cichilid-3inches
2 Demasoni-2inches
3 blue peacock 4inches
1 Venustus 4inches.

one more question. how can you bring out the best colors in them? few of them seem to have lost a bit of colors.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

Thats My tank.


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## Old Newbie (Feb 18, 2017)

I'm no expert,but I'm sure eventually some will respond. I see some problems; I would not keep Jewels and Mbuna together or Peacocks and Mbuna; they are not likely to get along. The Demasoni don't play well with others or each other for that matter; they need to be kept as one individual in a community Mbuna tank or in a species tank with 15 to 20 individuals. And, that Venustus is going to be too big for that tank by itself.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

i collected all these fishes from a friend who kept all these together also with 3 parrots (which i did not take) and they lived happily without any problems. thats why i thought may be it wont be that of a big problem..


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would change the aquascape and the stocking, but not add fish. I would remove fish. Lose the venustus...needs a 72" tank.

First I would decide if you want mbuna or haps and peacocks primarily.

If you want mbuna, choose 4 species and stock 1m:4f of each for mixed genders.

If you want haps/peacocks choose 4 species and stock 1m:4f of each for mixed genders. Limit 1 peacock species.

If you want more variety, consider an all-male tank. Remove all females and duplicates and look-alikes. Plan on ending up with 12 adult males. For this stocking, you could keep one jewel but not sure about the firemouth. I would expect the demasoni and the ice-blue (Metriaclima greshakei) to cause aggression problems, but you could try.

They lost color because of the mix you have. They don't all feel safe. It may have worked before because they were not yet totally mature. Now they are adults who want to establish dominance with other males and spawn with unwilling females...original pecking order was upset by moving to a new tank.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

There is a difference between "survived" and "thrived". If you want to do Western World cichlids or tetras or guppies, get another tank.

Poor colour could be: not settled in yet, need better quality food, or stress from being with the wrong kinds of fish, or in too small of a tank.

Too many people try to be "collectors of fish". One of this, two of that, one of this and so on. When things go wrong it often is not so much that there are too many fish but the wrong kinds of fish mixed in together.

I kept 25 adult Tanganyikan tropheus in a 90 gallon tank with no losses and lots of breeding. But if I kept eleven different types of cichlids with two of each, it would have been a disaster, even though that would have been only 22 fish.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I think this is a bow front tank? Dimensions not adding up to 60 gallons.

I'm sure it sucks to read the responses you've received so far, but it's all sound advice.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

length 42inch
depth 18inch
Height 18 inch

all of these fishes are bought from someone who is shifting to a monster tank. infact he kept a lot more fishes including 2 parrots. In his tank all of them thrive. they breed and produced amazing colors. so i am guessing these fishes were living quite in harmony as they grew up in that tank from a very small size. so now when i put them in my tank i am guessing that they are losing its colors due to change in food habit and new tank. i am just giving them time to get their true colors. when i brought them 2 weeks back they were great but gradually they faded.

i feed them Hikari Sinking Bio Gold 2 times a day. once in morning and once at night. 50% water change weekly. What else can i do?


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

DJRansome said:


> I would change the aquascape and the stocking, but not add fish. I would remove fish. Lose the venustus...needs a 72" tank.
> 
> First I would decide if you want mbuna or haps and peacocks primarily.
> 
> ...


what fish do i need to remove? i want peacocks and haps coz they are more colorful. this is my first cichlid tank. i have other planted tanks. still learing. should i remove the yellow labs?

latest update- one of the jewel seems colored up. reddish orange. m guessing its the dominant male.


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## Ichthys (Apr 21, 2016)

I would also remove the Jewels, as they're a soft water fish and shouldn't really be in hard water.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Ichthys said:


> as they're a soft water fish and shouldn't really be in hard water.


They are not soft water fish.
Put things in perspective, most places on the internet are still calling the common jewel fish, _Hemichromis bimaculatus_. We have known for around 40 years now, that the common Jewel fish is _Hemichromis guttatus_, and most cites can't even get the name right. The fact that these same cites re-iterate that the jewel cichlid is somehow a soft water fish really means nothing. Just somebodies made-up recommendation. Based on a general idea that all of western Africa has soft water.....not from any actual measurements taken from the habitat of _Hemichromis guttatus_.
The common recommendation is that lake Malawi cichlids should be kept in liquid rock because they are supposed to come from very hard water. It has been measured by science ( as well as many aquarist have gone to lake malawi and measured it themselves) so it is not very disputable. https://malawicichlids.com/mw01011.htm dGH 3-5, KH 6, electrical conductivity 200-240 microseimens. Borderline soft or barely hard. Nothing at all like what is typically recommended. Like most cichlids , Malawi will do well in captivity being kept in water that is really not that similar to their natural habitat
_Hemichromis guttatus_ has a wide range along coastal areas. It is often found in brackish water http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Hemichromis-guttatus.html. Brackish water is not soft. And even when found in fresh water, considering it's extensive range, it is very likely to be found in harder water then lake Malawi because lake Malawi really is not very hard water at all. Of coarse we don't know the exact original collection point of the common jewel fish, nor is their a lot of data from actual measurements taken. What we do know is that feral populations have done well in the hard water of Florida and have also done well in brackish water there, as well.
Now, whether they should be mixed or not with Malawi is debatable. But they certainly don't require soft water nor are they likely to do any worse then Malawi by being kept in hard water.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

Thank You so much for the knowledge. still i havent got the answer. remove the dominant male jewel? remove labs? still questionable as i saw myself all these fish full colored up in another tank.
my filtration is 1500lph top filter.
feeding twice a day Hikari Sinking Gold


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Things that should not work sometimes do. But that is the exception, not the rule.

Is it a bowfront? Please provide the measurement of the sides of the tank from front to back?

For a peacock tank, I would choose one species of peacock (not a hybrid like the firefish) and stock, and the yellow labs. Stock 1m:4f of each in your tank.


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

measurement is 42inches in length. 18 inches high and 18 inches wide


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Is it a bowfront or a rectangle with 4 flat sides?


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## muid02 (Jan 17, 2018)

DJRansome said:


> Is it a bowfront or a rectangle with 4 flat sides?


Rectangle with 4 flat sides. NOT a bow front.

Update- i have given away all my jewels as they were getting pretty big and also given away 2 BIG YELLOW LABS.
In exchange i took 5 sulphur heads. they are juvenile.

Its been 1 day. although they have lost the colors in their new home but i am praying they get them back.


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