# Mixing cichlids



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

Im just setting up my cichids tank and i havent decided what cichlids to choose, i have had malawi cichlids bout 2 years ago and think im goning to get them again but would also like to get frontosa...is this possible to mix? half of my tank is rocky and has caves and the over half is open water?


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

What are the dimensions on your aquarium? Which Malawian cichlids are you planning on getting?


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

is 4 ft tank! not to sure really...red zebra and livingstonii cichlids.....? wat can u put frontosa with?


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i personally think a 4 foot tank is too small for fronts, but my brother breeds his front pair in a 4 foot 120( 4x2x2) maybe the 4 x 2 foot footprint is good for them, but i think anything smaller than a 4x2 footprint is too small for any fish that get to be 8+"... again, just my opinion...


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

my friend has a frontosa in a 3 foot tank and has had him in there for 3 years...doesnt seem to have any problems....


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

ya, i am sure it might/can work, but i still feel it is not fair to the fish to be, lets say "cramped" in a tank... fronts get to be avoer 10" long... a rule of thumb i like to use is the depth of the tank should be at least twice the length of the biggest fish(max size of course) in the tank... so, for me having a front i would want at least a 20+" depth tank... just my opinion... i am sure people have had fish in small tanks live a long time, but i try not to do that to them... 
anyway, many people keep large fish in 4 foot tanks, but largest fish in my tank will be about 6.5", in a 4x18" footprint...
again, just my preference...


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

i understand wat you are saying but i think my tank will be fine, thanks for ur opinion tho...
NEWAY BK TO QUESTION....does ne1 no what malawi cichlids can go with frontosa? livingstonii? red zebra?


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i housed one of my brothers females in my 90 for a few months... i have yellow labs, acei, and intermedius with them... all about the same size at the time, maybe 2-3"... all was well, but again, it was only for 2-3 months, and they were juvies... not sure in the long run...

i love fronts, and if i ever get a bigger tank, i am going to get some juvies from my brother and start a front tank... fmueller has a sweet front setup... you should check out his tanks and website... it is a 240 gallon, but still very cool setup... maybe pm him and see what his thoughts are on a stocking list... 
others will sure chime in too, so just give it some time, and soon you will be loaded with info and opinions...
good luck and keep us posted...


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

benh1989 said:


> i understand wat you are saying but i think my tank will be fine, thanks for ur opinion tho...
> NEWAY BK TO QUESTION....does ne1 no what malawi cichlids can go with frontosa? livingstonii? red zebra?


In my opinion no. Certainly not in an aquarium of that size. The livingstoni perhaps in a 6ft tank with the frontosa, but I wouldn't mix red zebras with them. The zebras will tend to bully the frontosa, and will outcompete them for food. Just because someone kept a frontosa in a 3ft tank for a time, doesn't mean it is the right thing to do. You can keep fish alive for a time, and still affect their longevity and health. Most of the responsible members here will recommend what is best for the fish, not just the very minimum required to keep the fish alive for a time. If you've come for responsible advice, then please listen. If you are just going to go ahead anyway, best of luck.


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

SORRY! i only asked a question... thats what i fort these forums wer for? and venustus19 sed thats there opinion....i fort i would get mre then i opinion for best results


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I wouldn't put a frontosa in a 4 foot tank, either...Nor would I house one with mbuna...

I don't see any need in listing my reasons since they are already stated above. :thumb:


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

so will livingstoni and red zebra be fine togeather? i did mix in my old tank i mixed african with parrot and severum...these wer fine....wat cichlids are best for smaller tanks then?


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i would first figure out what the tank is exactly(dims and all), then go to the cookie cutter list, and start there... when i first started with cichlids, and did not know about this place, i bought like 1 of every cichlid the fish store had... i soon had aggression issues, and hybrids... then i found this site, and was able to start over...
i would do some research and reading first... i know many people say not to mixed mbuna/haps/tangs... but i have mbuna and a hap species in my tank, and they are fine together... just have to make sure you keep peacefull fish with peaceful fish, and the more aggresive ones with more aggresive ones... also, keep in mind about not stocking similar looking fish... for hybrid reasons and aggression... we are all here to just help you and make sure you don't waste your money buying fish that will get beat up and die... this place has mass knowledge, and the members are smart as he!!... listen to the everyone, and the mods especially, and soon you will have a great looking tank you can be proud of...


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

THANKS venustus19 :thumb: 
is there ne mre websites that are good to no bout?


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

you know, this is the first website i found when i did a search for cichlid forums... i "fell in love" with how nice everyone was and they helped me out a bunch when i first started... and now, instead of just asking questions, which i still do alot, i can actually give some input... being only on this forum for maybe a year or so, i have learned so much, so i had/have no reason to look elsewhere...

i am sure if you do a search, there will be plenty more forums you can join, but this is the only one i use...


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

great wat cichlids do you have? im really not sure what fish to get? i like blue dolphin, red zebra and livinstoni.....are these good togeather?


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

i have a 90 gallon setup... i have 5 yellow labs, 1 acei for now(4 more growing out in 20T), 10 tramitichromis sp. intermedius... and 1 common pleco...

never kept a blue dolphin, and not sure what the real name of it is so i can look at profile, but i had a red zebra in the past, and she mated with my crabo... IMO, red zebras breed with just about anything, and you have to be careful with them... they i think need plenty of same species and good ratio to not breed with others... also, i heard they need a decent size tank, again, not 100% sure, as i only had 1, and didn't know any better at the time...

the livinstoni, the only thing i really know about them, is they are closely related to the venustus, thus, probably get fairly big also, so i probably wouldn't house him in a 4' tank either... again, just my opinion...

have a look at this link... it is the species article for red zebra... some good info.. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/met_estherae.php

i would probably just pick either the red zebra, or livinstoni, and base my stock list off that species... if your tank is big enough to house them properly...

hopefully others will chime in that house either one of these, and give you more/better advise...


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

thanks alot....i think im just guna research then go with the flow! try things for myself...but all help has been taken on bored..thanks alot :thumb:


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

What is the height and width of this aquarium? Obviously a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft tank could hold more than a 4ft x 18" x 12" tank could.... and the appropriate fish would similarly be different.


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

its about 4ft x 18" x 15" im not at home at the moment! bout that is roughly the size not far off....


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I would steer away from Malawi cichlids that get larger, like the livingstonii and C. moorii (dolphin).

What do you want from the tank?

Would you like to breed?

Would you like alot of different species?


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

nah i dont wana breed really! well if it happens it happens but im not looking to...i ust want it for show so i dnt want my tank to to to cramped and i but i want a couople of different colours and types of cichlid...also i dnt like the lil tiny cichlids long looking things! i like the shape of blue dolphin and red zebra..but these seem like there either goning to grow to big or they sem to be troble on what i have read bout them so far...really onfused on wat to get...need couple of random ideas that i can type in google and see nice pics of a beautiful fish............


----------



## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

well, if you want beautiful fish, labs, acei, and rusties make a good combo...


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Well, if you have both males and females in the tank, you will have breeding, whether they are the same species or not. If they crossbreed, then you have hybrids on your hands and have to worry about what to do with them, because they certainly don't need to be released out into the hobby.

For this size tank, you can go two different routes. It seems you're mainly interested in Malawi cichlids, so I'll stick with them.

You can go all male, but if you only have access to juveniles, you'll have to weed out the females as you can tell who is who. (Females will cause extra chaos in a mostly male tank, and it can take a long time to get things the way you want them.) This option allows you to have alot of different species, colours, etc. I find an all male mbuna tank somewhat boring, but you could go with all male peacock and small hap tank, and it would be nice. You could buy sub adults that are old enough to sex, but you would want to steer clear of having any two males that look similar to each other, which will limit you somewhat.

Or, you can choose 3 species that won't be likely to crossbreed and buy breeding groups of those three species. Red zebras will be fine for one of those species - preferably 1 male to 3 or 4 females. (You won't want to keep Yellow labs or any other non barred zebra type with them due to crossbreeding issues.) You could then choose one or two more species to go with them. I think a group of Ps. demasoni (10-12) would look great with red zebras for a second species, and as long as you have males and females of both species, there would be very little risk of hybridization. For a third species, browse through the mbuna profile section and see what catches your eye, then post back. Personally, I think a group of OB fuelleborni would look great with demasoni and red zebras, with little to no risk of hybridization as long as you have males and females of all species.

It's good that you're asking questions before setting up the tank. Far too many of us have done the opposite with disastrous results.

HTH


----------



## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

If you don't care about breeding, how about one each of...

You can find most of these fish here. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/c ... .php?cat=2

1. Pseudotropheus demasoni
2. Pseudotropheus acei
3. Metriaclima estherae (try and get a female, they are prettier anyway)
4. Labidochromis caeruleus
5. OB Peacock of OB Labeotropheus fuelleborni
6. Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos
7. Iodotropheus sperengarae (Rusty Cichlid)
8. Pseudotropheus socolofi (albino)
9. Cynotilapia afra (whatever one you can find)
10. A female Nimbochromis livingstoni (females should be ok with your mbuna, and not get too big for the tank)

I would also recommend getting four Synodontis multipunctatus.


----------



## benh1989 (Dec 23, 2008)

thanks guys! av dne sum more reaserch and got a gd idea of wat i want!!!!!!
merry xmas every1 :thumb:


----------

