# Will Yellow Labs, Red Zebras, and Aceis work well together?



## MonsterCichlids (Jan 25, 2012)

setting up another mbuna tank in a 75 gallon tank of mine. Thinking about having a breeding group of yellow labs, a breeding group of red zebras, and a breeding group of yellow tail acei. Each group would consist of 5 or 6 fish, and more females to males. Is this a good combo of mbunas that will work well together?


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

When mixing the yellow labs and red zebras, you are more likely to have one large breeding group, as those 2 species are notorious for hybribizing with each other. They are just too similar in appearance to avoid cross-breeding, I guess. The acei should be fine, but you should decide which you like better out of the labs and red zebras, and drop the other one. Consider a species like rusties (Iodotropheus sprengerae), Cynotilapia "Hara", or Pseudotropheus demasoni as your third choice instead.


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## Corrupted (Jan 31, 2012)

You don't have to drop them out as long as you realize you shouldn't be selling or giving away any of the fry.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd do 1m:4f to be more specific than "more females than males". And add a group of Synodontis multipunctata for fry patrol to take care of any survivors.


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## dswoosh305 (Apr 8, 2012)

I have all three species in my 55 gallon and they have been there since they were juveniles. Never had any problems with them. I say go for it!


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## D*N*R (Jul 27, 2011)

I'll never have another red zebra again. Mine took over half my 75 no matter what i did. good luck if you go that route.


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## Corrupted (Jan 31, 2012)

D*N*R said:


> I'll never have another red zebra again. Mine took over half my 75 no matter what i did. good luck if you go that route.


No doubt they have a reputation of being more aggressive than the other 2. Sometimes removing the offending fish can take care of the situation...sometimes another will take his/her place.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Corrupted said:


> D*N*R said:
> 
> 
> > I'll never have another red zebra again. Mine took over half my 75 no matter what i did. good luck if you go that route.
> ...


I do not think so its kind of the luck of the draw. Seen and kept male yellow labs and red zebra and acei that are not 75g matterial. Thing is yellow labs and red zebras cross quite a lot. Main reason for not trying em together.

They are in general relatively big but not too agressive Mbuna.

Think you may have more luck long term with the smaller but more aggressive guys. Not that you want em more aggressive just it is unavoidable with dwarf Mbuna.

All the best James


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## MonsterCichlids (Jan 25, 2012)

thanks for all the info everyone, i really like demasoni but have never kept them before. I know they need to be kept in big groups, like 10+ to avoid them all killing eachother. The problem with them is that they are so **** hard to sex and my LFS only carries demasoni that are about an inch long. I could go in and buy a big group of like 12 of them, but what if it turns out that there are more males than females or something like that? I like acei and yellow labs because they look great, and you can be more relaxed with the male to female ratio. Still of course id try for 1 male of each group, but with the labs and aceis it isnt as much of a big deal if theyre are a couple more fish that turn out to be males.


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## ILCichlid (Feb 27, 2012)

If you are looking for a fish with some orange to it, I recommend Albino Metriaclima Greshakei. Very underrated fish and if you get a nice male to color up in dominant coloring, it will knock most species out of the water when it comes to a fish's beauty. I'm not as big of a fan as the non albinos though but the Albinos can become amazing looking.


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## MonsterCichlids (Jan 25, 2012)

very true indeed they are fantastic looking fish, i can find them from time to time, and most of the time i see them they are males. I've kept a few in mbuna tanks in the past and i really loved them. I'd for sure like to have a breeding group of those but finding enough females would be a challenge


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## r-fishies (Jan 2, 2012)

I love my Greshakei, just beautiful. Looking for females for him, but he & my Rusty have bred 3 times, seemed an odd combination. the fry are cool though, I call them 'opals', they sort of change colors as they turn in the light. Wasn't my goal of course, but i am enjoying them. I like his personality, call him the sherrif in the tank. He doesn't start fights but doesn't take **** & breaks up fights. Pretty cool.Him, 'blue'-my Socolofi and the red zebra keep the obnoxious kenyi under control. They all balance out.


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