# White top Hara's



## RiftCichlids (Jun 9, 2008)

I'm wanting to set up a tank with white top hara's and would like to hear what you have found to be good tank mates with them.


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## RiftCichlids (Jun 9, 2008)

I forgot to add, planning this in a 125g.


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

*RiftCichlids*

i house mine with demasoni, yellow labs, acei


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

I've got them with other _Cynotilapia_, _Labeotropheus fuelleborni_, _Labidochromis_, and various _Pseudotropheus/Metriaclima_. I have yet found a species that they haven't been able to be kept with.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Mine are with Ps. Msobo Deeps, and a couple of nasty male peacocks.


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## Cathje (Nov 15, 2007)

I keep mine in a 100G tank:

1:4 Cynotilapia Afra "Cobue"
1:1 *Cynotilapia sp. "Hara Galireya Reef"*
2:4 Labidochromis Caeruleus "Yellow"
1:2 Melanochromis Auratus "Thumbi West"
2:5 Melanochromis Cyaenorhabdos "Maingano"
1:1 Metriaclima Aurora "Likoma"
3:11 Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli)
1:3 Pseudotropheus sp. "Perspicax Orange Cap"
6 Synodontis Polly White Zambia
1 Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus
2 Panaque sp (L204)


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> Mine are with Ps. Msobo Deeps, and a couple of nasty male peacocks.


That sounds like a nice cobination of colors.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

why_spyder said:


> I've got them with other _Cynotilapia_, _Labeotropheus fuelleborni_, _Labidochromis_, and various _Pseudotropheus/Metriaclima_. I have yet found a species that they haven't been able to be kept with.


Are you supposed to keep two cyno variants together if you want to distribute fry? I would have thought the answer to be no.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

bac3492 said:


> Are you supposed to keep two cyno variants together if you want to distribute fry? I would have thought the answer to be no.


I wouldn't recommend mixing them. However, I like to break the rules and take my chances. I watch my cichlids interactions as best as I can. As of yet, I haven't seen any cross-species interactions.

I also raise up any fry to easily recognizable size (usually between 1"-1.5") to make sure everything looks good. If I have even the slightest doubt in the fish - I cull all of them.

So, I don't recommend doing it - but if you do decide to mix them, be sure you mix species that are not alike. This way they aren't confused as to who to spawn with, and if your fish should cross the fry should be easy to tell if they aren't exactly like they should be.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

so if i had cobue, what other cyno could i try and keep it with. I find them more interesting than any other genus. They have the prettiest males by far


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

bac3492 said:


> so if i had cobue, what other cyno could i try and keep it with. I find them more interesting than any other genus. They have the prettiest males by far


Unfortunately, _C. afra_ Cobwe tend to be one of the "softest" of the _C. afra_-group. They need to not be dominated by any other species to really show their full color. My _C. afra_ Cobwe would not color up in the presence of my other _Cyno_'s. Others may have a different experience, though.

If you are dead set on mixing them with another _Cynotilapia_ species, find one where the females are much different - such as the _C_. sp. lion-group or _C_. sp. mbamba-group. Most of the other _C. afra_-group have similar looking females. There is also _C. axelrodi_, but I'm unaware of their female coloration.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

How could I forget...

After looking at my own signature - there is _C_. sp. hara. They have all blue females that won't look at all like _C. afra_ Cobwe.


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## teqvet (Mar 24, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> Mine are with Ps. Msobo Deeps, and a couple of nasty male peacocks.


I'm housing the same setup. 8 white tops and 15 msobo. Really turning in to a stunning tank.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

why_spyder said:


> How could I forget...
> 
> After looking at my own signature - there is _C_. sp. hara. They have all blue females that won't look at all like _C. afra_ Cobwe.


So i could keep cobue/cobwe and white top hara together? If i can i will be super excited because i was having trouble choosing between the two. For a while i was planning on doing demasoni and white tops but i found a good deal on cobue/cobwe


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

possibly labeotropheous trawavasse as a third species. I think the OB females and marmalade cat males are pretty awsome

55 gallon


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

bac3492 said:


> So i could keep cobue/cobwe and white top hara together?


What size tank are you working with - I should have asked this earlier.....

If you aren't afraid of experimenting, I would go for it. Just be prepared to remove a fish/group if things don't work out like you want.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

55 gallon tank. Plenty of filtration, 750 gallons between an emperor 400 and a HOT magnum 350


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

That tank would be big enough for those two species. I wouldn't recommend anything smaller for the two species together - the _C_. sp. hara would most likely dominate the _C. afra_ Cobwe too much.


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## Cathje (Nov 15, 2007)

why_spyder said:


> Unfortunately, _C. afra_ Cobwe tend to be one of the "softest" of the _C. afra_-group. They need to not be dominated by any other species to really show their full color. My _C. afra_ Cobwe would not color up in the presence of my other _Cyno_'s. Others may have a different experience, though.
> 
> If you are dead set on mixing them with another _Cynotilapia_ species, find one where the females are much different - such as the _C_. sp. lion-group or _C_. sp. mbamba-group. Most of the other _C. afra_-group have similar looking females. There is also _C. axelrodi_, but I'm unaware of their female coloration.


I have the C. afra Cobue, which is the most aggressive, territorial and dominant fish in my tank (maybe except for one of my Mel. auratus female, but she is only aggressive towards other auratus females)

This is my Cobue male:









And this is my Hara male:









The Hara male recently started showing some more white, but the Cobue male is the dominant one. They are about the same size, the Cobue has 4 females and the Hara only 1 small female.
I plan to get more females for the Hara and see if he gets more dominant that way.

I mixed these two because the females are different. Cobue females are (as shown in the Cobue picture) grey/brown, and the Hara females are blue.


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## jdgambler111 (Apr 1, 2008)

Hello.I'm looking for a male afra edwardi.Does anybody have one of these?Thanks jason


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## Rockydog (Oct 21, 2007)

According to the profile the common name of afra edwardi is actually the Cynotilapia afra (Cobue) as shown by Cathje in her previous post.


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