# Blue-Colored Tankmate Suggestions for Labs & Acei?



## FlyingFish (Sep 17, 2008)

I have been keeping tropical fish for many years, but Iâ€™m new to African Cichlids. This website has really been a big help in learning how to get started with mbuna. Iâ€™ve been viewing articles & species profiles on here for so long as a guest that I finally decided to register.

Thanks to everyone for an informative website.

Although Iâ€™ve done a lot of research, Iâ€™m still unsure of the best blue colored or blue with black markings species to add to my 55 gallon Malawi mbuna tank. I currently have 12 yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus) & 5 yellow tail acei (Pseudotropheus Acei Msuli). I realize that I already have a lot of fish for a 55 gallon, but theyâ€™re all juveniles (1-1.5 inches). As they mature and I can tell the males from the females, I plan to move some of them to other tanks if needed to help with aggression.

Although I understand that mbuna are aggressive fish, Iâ€™m trying to have as peaceful of a tank as possible. Iâ€™m also hoping to avoid cross-breeding.

Listed below are 3 of the blue or blue with black species that Iâ€™m considering:
(Iâ€™d prefer a monomorphic species where both the male & female are blue or blue with black markings.)

Metriaclima callainos (Cobalt Zebra) and
Pseudotropheus socolofi (Powder Blue / Pindani).
Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos (Maingano)

I would choose only one of the above species to be tankmates for my labs & acei. 
Would any of the above species be likely to hybridize with my current fish? Also, are any of them too aggressive to add to my tank?

Iâ€™ve considered haps & peacocks, but I think Iâ€™ll stay with an all mbuna tank.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.


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## bac3492 (Jul 25, 2008)

scratch the maingano if you dont want any agression. If you decrease the amount of labs you have, then you could do a group of demasoni. They need to be in groups of 10-12, but they are dwarf.

Amy mbuna can hybridize but your suggestions all have low chance. The greshakei might be cool too. They dont have black but are a pretty blue and have an orange top fin


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Given your three choices, I woudl go witht he socolofi. I agree that the maingano would likely be a bit agressive. I think the callainos might work too, but I personally like the socolofi coloration (especialy with labs, as the black marking are so similar)


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

Have you considered _Cyno_. sp. hara?


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## FlyingFish (Sep 17, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone.

I thought the Maingano was probably too aggressive, but I just wanted to see what those of you with experience thought.

I may still go with either the socolofi or the callainos, but I am also very interested in the Cyno. sp. Hara. I saw some pics on the internet that called it a "Hara White Top". I guess that was the one why_spyder was talking about. It's a BEAUTIFUL fish, but I'm not familiar with that species though. Are they very aggressive? How many of them do I need to have to help with aggression? Would they do okay with my labs & acei? Also, are they very difficult to find in fish stores?

Since I'm new to African cichlids, I'm not familiar with all the MANY species, so If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks again.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I love the white tops as you can tell from my sig. FYI I find the white top females similar in color to the Acei. Since I am looking for contrast...I'm dumping the Acei.

I don't think Maingano are that much (if any) more aggressive than white tops. If you want contrast, I'd go for Demasoni or Maingano...they have the most brilliant blue IMO. And I like the vertical bars of the Demasoni better than the horizontal stripes of the Maingano.


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

FlyingFish said:


> Are they very aggressive? How many of them do I need to have to help with aggression? Would they do okay with my labs & acei? Also, are they very difficult to find in fish stores?


They are mildly aggressive species, it will vary a bit with tank population and tankmates. They should do fine with _Lab. caeruleus_ and _Ps. acei_. I keep mine with _Lab. chisumulae_ without issue. I'm not sure what kind of stores you have in your area - but they aren't available around any stores here. Your best bet would be to look through the Trading Post or through one of the many online cichlid sites.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Maingano is one of the species I have in my 55g. and I've never seen any aggression out of them. They're really prolific breeders though :lol: . I've only had them a little over a year but have had several broods of fry out of one male and 2-3 females. Maybe I just have mellow ones but going by the behavior of mine, I wouldn't be afraid to recommend them to anyone.


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## danhoy (Feb 10, 2008)

I have this exact tank set up in 2 55 gallons, I'll try to update my tanks I have photos there but fish were hiding since my kids were around yelling. Key to Demasoni is keeping a good number. My numbers are 7 Yellows, 5 Acei, and 13 Demasoni. I've never had any trouble at all.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Maingano aren't anymore aggressive than the callainos. Neither of those species would be a problem if your male/female ratios are good.


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## TRDNiteLife (Sep 8, 2008)

FlyingFish said:


> Metriaclima callainos (Cobalt Zebra) and
> Pseudotropheus socolofi (Powder Blue / Pindani).
> Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos (Maingano)


I have a Cobalt Zebra with a Yellow Lab, Acei and Red Zebra right now. I bought the blue, red and acei all from the same tank at the LFS. They are getting along fine so far. The blue of the Zebra is very striking.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

TRDNiteLife said:


> I have a Cobalt Zebra with a Yellow Lab, Acei and Red Zebra right now. I bought the blue, red and acei all from the same tank at the LFS. They are getting along fine so far. The blue of the Zebra is very striking.


Just a FYI...The Cobalts and the red zebras are likely to hybridize, as are the Yellow labs and red zebras, so if breeding and distributing fry is of interest to you, these aren't the best choices for stocking a tank. :thumb:


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## TRDNiteLife (Sep 8, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> TRDNiteLife said:
> 
> 
> > I have a Cobalt Zebra with a Yellow Lab, Acei and Red Zebra right now. I bought the blue, red and acei all from the same tank at the LFS. They are getting along fine so far. The blue of the Zebra is very striking.
> ...


Thanks for the heads up but they are male.


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## FlyingFish (Sep 17, 2008)

I appreciate all the good ideas everyone has given me for blue tankmates for my yellow labs & acei. All of the suggested fish are beautiful!

Iâ€™m kind of leaning toward some of the mildly aggressive ones. However, my yellows & acei seem so happy now--I hope I donâ€™t ruin a good thing. (I do have plenty of rocks & other dÃ©cor to create hiding places for the fish though.)

Do most of the species that are a little more aggressive than the labs & acei need to be in a group of 12 or more to disperse aggression, or is that just demasoni? About how many fish would be good for a group of the Cyno sp. Hara (white top), socolofi, or maingano? Also, is the proper male to female ratio about 1: 4 or 5 for most mbuna?

Thanks & have a good day!


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Both my Cyno afra and Ps. socolofi breeding groups are 2m/4f. I was trying 1m/5f, but I had a second male in hiding in both groups. Both groups have been very stable for almost 2 years now.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The least aggressive IME of the ones being discussed are Cyno sp. hara a.k.a. white tops. They are not really a dwarf and a group of 5-6 with one male would complete your tank. Demasoni are the only ones that need 12 or more. I like to have at least 4 females and limit to one male per species in a tank. But of course all my species have attractive females, so that's easy for me to say, LOL.


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