# Tankmates for Labidochromis caeruleus



## gwandana (Nov 4, 2009)

Hi Everyone, LOVE this forum so much great info. Long past time I stopped lurking, lol.

Anyhow.... I have 12 Yellow labs in a 250 litre (about 55g)

They are now teenagers as my other half calls them  So still sorting out the M/F ratio and final numbers.

I am looking for some compatible tankmates. Something with lots of colour, blues and/or reds that is more free swimming than the labs. In other words fish that will hang more towards the middle to top of the tank.

Doing lots of reasearch and getting totally confused. Any help, suggestions would be really appreciated.


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## gwandana (Nov 4, 2009)

Ok, May have answered my own question lol, I am now looking at Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) They seem OK

I would love peacocks, some say they are OK some say no.

What is the opinion here please?


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## TKC747 (Dec 5, 2008)

I see advice on the forum that says when mixing mbuna with peacocks, there are only three species *in general* that people point to, and yellow labs are one that are mixed with aulonocara. Fogelhund, one of the moderators has in his son's tank, 29 gallon, peacocks and yellow labs, unsure of the number, but probably close to 5 fish at the most and the peacocks I understand breed. Look at the tanks section and youll probably find it


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

A great color mix with labs (and a good fish for a 55g) would be Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos. Both males and females are blue and black striped, they stay smaller, and do not bother the labs at all.

Another Favorite is Ps demasoni in with labs. If you can find good dems at a decent price I think they are the best mix visually, but since you need a minmum of 12 to spread out therir aggression, they can be a bit more trouble to get going. The Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos (trade name is Maingano or electric blue johanni) seem easier to come by and are usually less expensive, plus you don't need as many of them.


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## Benaiah (Aug 18, 2009)

I've got labs, msuli (acei), and 3 peacocks together. They're getting along great and the tank is active and colorful.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Acei get quite large (6+) and are open water swimmers so in a 4 ft tank you should keep the numbers down, 4 is usually a good number. If the tank is less than 4ft (OP didn't give dimentions) then acei are not really a good choice.


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## Rhinox (Sep 10, 2009)

> A great color mix with labs (and a good fish for a 55g) would be Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos. Both males and females are blue and black striped, they stay smaller, and do not bother the labs at all.


I agree :thumb:

This is the exact setup I plan on going with as soon as my tank finishes cycling.


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## GaFishMan1181 (Dec 17, 2008)

some rusty might be cool in there. they are for the most part peaceful and from my short experience of having them so far they seem to travel the tank more than my other fish. they also have been swimming in groups. not to mention that they dont get too big.

a few peacocks could work and look really nice. i only have one peacock in with my labs and it is a red shoulder hansbaenschi (i think they are also called Aulonocara stuartgranti). he has a nice blue face with a yellow/orange/red shoulder and a blue body with some nice highlights on his fins. he gets along fine in that tank.

maybe if you added 3-4 male peacocks in with your labs that would give you some nice color. as i said though i only have 1 peacock and he colored up fine so i dont know if all of your peacocks would color up nicely but it could be worth a try. just get some that look different and i would probably stay away from the larger ones or any that are yellow.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

They say the male to female ratio isn't so important with labs but they like to be in groups of at least 5 of them. You're getting some good advice on other species to go with them but it really does depend on the measurements of your tank. Can you post those?


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## gwandana (Nov 4, 2009)

MalawiLover said:


> Acei get quite large (6+) and are open water swimmers so in a 4 ft tank you should keep the numbers down, 4 is usually a good number. If the tank is less than 4ft (OP didn't give dimentions) then acei are not really a good choice.


The tank is 40" long x 24" high x 18" deep. Metric, so it may seem a wierd size.

The height is the reason I was looking for a mid to top water swimmer, so that the whole water column gets utilised.

Thanks heaps to everyone for the advice. It is so refreshing to get so much great advice, surely beats putting the wrong fish in and paying the consequences. As is fairly obvious I am new to cichlids. I have been keeping tropicals and my other halfs beloved goldfish for cenutries, well seems like that long 
Cichlids do require a lot more care in the choosing, very interesting what I am learning.

Looking through the tank pics, there are some amazing tanks, fogelhund's tanks are wow, as are so many others. Wanna adopt me fogelhund? A 75g in my bedroom would help me sleep...

Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos may be a better choice? I still like the acei? Arghh lol :-?


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## RDTigger (Jul 4, 2009)

Most 55g's are 4 feet long. Those measurements in English come to 74G's..?

If you already have 12 L. caruleas you will need a smaller colony added.

As for the Johanni, I woul stick with the acei, as they are proven to be compatible. The Johanni males are not territorial, but simply aggressive.

I might have missed ut but what kind of filtration are you using? A smaller fish ~4"max in a group of 5 would be safe as long as they were compatible.


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## gwandana (Nov 4, 2009)

*Those measurements in English* come to 74G's..?

That cracked me up..... 
Yeah you are right, I calculated to UK Gallons not US, doh. Its a bow front aquarium so its slightly less about 68 US gallons.

Filtration is inbuilt, 1000l per hour. Filter media is on the top, really easy to change and clean.

I agree lol, acei it is. Methinks I will settle a few in then play with some peacocks.

Choosing peacocks is another can of worms, as some appear to be total carnivores and some omnivores.

Getting there. Some of the other threads on this subject have some great info as well. Thanks again for the replies.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't know, some people won't put acei in a 48" long tank and this tank is 40" long. I think I'd be looking at the smaller mbuna, maybe maingano with your labs. :thumb:

Did you say it's a bowfront? Is the 18" measurement in the middle or on the sides?


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I wouldn't do acei in a 40" long tank. I've read someone say Iodotropheus sperengerae (rustys) are pretty good for using the top part of the tank too. If you cut back your labs to 5 of them, you could probably do a few rustys and a small breeding group of maingano too. That would make a nice looking tank & should work ok.


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