# New 55 gallon setup and a few questions



## cityboy415 (Jun 9, 2013)

Just stocked the tank today w/ 3 red zebras, 3 kenyi, and 1 rubbernose pleco..
I have one 1 red zebra i know for sure is a male, because of 4-5 egg spots. Another one is female with no egg spots..not sure about the yellow one..it does have 1 egg spot..not sure if it is a female or male.

For the kenyi a 1 inch female, a 1.5 inch female and another 1.5 male..at least i think it is..heres a pic









*Questions*

What kind of live plants can i sub for the fake one?

Can the red zebras AND kenyi spawn with my stock right now?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The red zebras and kenyi can spawn, both among themselves and with each other since they are both Metriaclima. You may not wish to save any fry.

Kenyi (Metriaclima lombardoi) is considered too aggressive for a 55G...go for a 75G or larger and keep 1m:7f of these. Red zebra (Metriaclima estherae) may be OK in a 55G. Stock 1m:4f of these.

Egg spots don't help you determine gender.

Mbuna like to eat plants and dig them up. You might want to try java fern and anubias because they can be attached to rocks.


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## cityboy415 (Jun 9, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> The red zebras and kenyi can spawn, both among themselves and with each other since they are both Metriaclima. You may not wish to save any fry.
> 
> Kenyi (Metriaclima lombardoi) is considered too aggressive for a 55G...go for a 75G or larger and keep 1m:7f of these. Red zebra (Metriaclima estherae) may be OK in a 55G. Stock 1m:4f of these.
> 
> ...


So for red zebras how would i be able to tell at about an inch or so? I read about how females haVe 0-3 eggspots and males 4-7..is this not true? Why would websites give out false imformation?

And for the kenyi.. Should i buy them already mature so i know the difference between male and female? Or can you sex them when thier about an inch?


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## Yael (Nov 25, 2012)

generally when starting with fry to form breeding groups the way to go is to buy double the final number you need - let them grow and the males will announce themselves by coloring up and by behavior. You then remove extra males (either by taking out the excessively aggressive or by keeping the best looking) and rehome them. Hopefully at the end you're left with one male and an adequate number of females to keep him happy.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would not buy the kenyi at all for a 55G...even with 1m:7f they will be too aggressive for the tank size.

IDK why websites would give out false information...you did not see that on CF, right? Maybe the person publishing the information believed it to be true and has not yet owned a female with eggspots that produced fry as confirmation of gender.

Or maybe the person deduced that if the female nipping at the male egg spots was part of spawning, it follows that only males would have egg spots. Incorrect deduction. My female estherae has tons of egg spots.

Yael is right, at 1" you are probably not going to be able to determine gender.


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## cityboy415 (Jun 9, 2013)

Yael said:


> generally when starting with fry to form breeding groups the way to go is to buy double the final number you need - let them grow and the males will announce themselves by coloring up and by behavior. You then remove extra males (either by taking out the excessively aggressive or by keeping the best looking) and rehome them. Hopefully at the end you're left with one male and an adequate number of females to keep him happy.


Thanks for the tip..
sooo if i were to go to a lfs should i buy a handful from the same tank or from different pet stores?


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## cityboy415 (Jun 9, 2013)

DJRansome said:


> I would not buy the kenyi at all for a 55G...even with 1m:7f they will be too aggressive for the tank size.
> 
> IDK why websites would give out false information...you did not see that on CF, right? Maybe the person publishing the information believed it to be true and has not yet owned a female with eggspots that produced fry as confirmation of gender.
> 
> ...


i mean is it wrong if it isnt 1m to 7f ?? What if i did 1m to 3f??


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## Yael (Nov 25, 2012)

no need to buy from different pet stores but what DJ is saying is that that species of fish needs lots of room not to act like a jerk and kill it's tank mates - you need to pick more peaceful fish in a smaller tank like you have


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

That is correct. Without enough females, the male is more likely to kill them off. If you have a 75G and stock 1m:7f and some of the females and you lose some...you would buy more to keep your ratio at 1m:7f (or more).


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## Murkin (Jan 5, 2012)

there is not enough room in that tank for a male red zebra (especially if red by red) plus a male kenyi. even if you had them in separate tanks they would somehow hear about each other and manage to fight to the death telepathically.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Murkin said:


> there is not enough room in that tank for a male red zebra (especially if red by red) plus a male kenyi. even if you had them in separate tanks they would somehow hear about each other and manage to fight to the death telepathically.


This made me laugh!


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## Yael (Nov 25, 2012)

me too


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## cityboy415 (Jun 9, 2013)

Hmmmmm well ANY suggestions on what i should stock? Preferably cichlids


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## cityboy415 (Jun 9, 2013)

I would like to do a breeder tank


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## Yael (Nov 25, 2012)

In my 55 I have 3 breeding groups - yellow labs, rustys and afra - all stay on the smaller side <5", all different colors, all relatively mild. If you browse the profiles for fish that fit these criteria you'll be able to come up with a combo that works.


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## mr_dorito (Jun 16, 2013)

for the plant question... i would't sub any thing for fake ones cause if you get a real one yr chiclids will just eat it


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## Yael (Nov 25, 2012)

cichlids will allow some plants to live - java fern, anubis and Crinum have all worked ok for me


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

I'd trade off the kenyi for more red zebras, start with 8 or so. The males get a pale peach color, while the females stay orange. What colors do you want your other species to be?
You've got a four foot tank, and a nice rock pile, so there's plenty of mbuna that would work in there! I would avoid a second metriaclima, and avoid melanochromis as well. Ps. crabro "bumblebee" is another common fish to stay away from.


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## Shaky (Jan 2, 2003)

There are many options. If you're going to try more than one species, try for different "looks" (color) and different genus. This will decrease the likelihood of hybridizing, though it can still happen. Several options have completely different m/f phenotypes, which makes it seem like you have two different species in a one-species tank.


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