# Tropheus & Mbuna



## PitBully

What are the pros and cons of having a mixed Mbuna and Tropheus tank? Is it even realistic of having the two together? Thank you


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## 24Tropheus

One con as far as I can tell is an aesthetic one.
Just does not seem right to many to mix lakes.
The second con is rather funny.
Troph exert there aggression on each other largely ignoring the Mbuna.
Odd watching a single Troph dash through a crowd of Mbuna to attack a Tropheus as if the Mbuna were not there but it happens.
Mbuna on the other hand do not totally ignore the Tropheus.
The prob is getting enough Tropheus in there for them to form a stable group as well as a stable group of Mbuna. Three balancing acts Troph to Troph Mbuna to Troph and Mbuna to Mbuna for the keeper instead of one.
Can be done but generally requires more room than just keeping Tropheus or just keeping Mbuna.
Another is just like any community. They can get diseases from each other. Mbuna prob carry a set of diseases/pathogens to which they are largely immune your Tropheus another set, so you can get disease even with properly quarentined stock.
You need to catch any spread early esp as the Troph are not good with bloat like diseases.

Once settled it can work OK. I Kept a group of 20 dubs with 20 Red rainbow and 20 Pseudotropheus saulosi and a few show Malawi males (I think some sort of Aulonocara xfryeri cross, never did find out exactly what they were but added metalic blue and some red to the tank and dominated the open water) for 5 years without many losses and some breeding but the tank was 84"x24"x24".

The advantage is it easy to get all the colours and black and white into the tank with many more colours of fish to choose from.


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## Longstocking

I've done it as well... and I agree that it is a balancing act.

Larger tanks typically are easier to do this in. I don't think I would try it in anything smaller than a 6 foot tank.


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## k9crusaders

I've not had much of a problem with mixing. I have 10 cichlids in a 55 gal who were all chosen merely for colors. Previous tanks were all the same way. 
The tank has 1 duboisi, 1 red zebra, 1 hap, 1 electric yellow, 1 aurora, 1 electric blue, 1 red top, 1 oblique, 1 red jewel, 1 emerald tigress, and the lowly pleco. The red top, tigress, jewel, and oblique were added to the tank within the last 4 mos while the rest have been together for a little over a year. The dub keeps to himself grazing most of the time with limited pestering. I've had more trouble with the aurora and red zebra fighting as they are the largest in the tank and don't want to share. 
I have not tried mixed breeding groups though, just males in the tank. That may make a difference.


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## bossfish

I keep a group of Lab trewavasae with my tropheus in a 6 foot tank. The Labeotropheus behave very similarly to tropheus and have identical diets so I gave it a try. The Mbuna don't breed as much as they used to but otherwise are in perfect health.


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## BrownBullhead

I have one 80-gallon with 5 Ã- Petrochromis Trewvasae (full adult size) and 35+ Tropheus Moorii "Kasakalawe" that are still growing out (will thin the herd later) and both are currently breeding! So, in my opinion, it can be done. But, I can't offer any specifics as to what made it work for me, as I don't know why it did. I know Petro are not Mbuna, but I was just pointing out that sometimes you can do things that "shouldn't work" and sometimes the experience contradicts the theory.


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## 24Tropheus

That is one bold mix from BrownBullhead! I do not doubt it works for him as I have seen his amazing tanks photoed a number of times. Huge filtration (no skimping on kit) and very careful and skillful aquascapes designed to reduce territoriality and aggression as well as carefully timed introductions. But as a mix to be recommended? Well I sure would not try it without backup tanks but I know it works for him as I said I have seen evidence of what he says.   
It can be pretty hard to come up with recommendations that will always work and ones that will definitely not work.
I think a lot of mixing Mbuna and Tropheus kind of comes under this type of heading. Can work well if you are careful and have some feeling for what might work but no guarantees. :wink:


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## Vucko

I have a small group of 8 Kaiser IIs with 6 young yellow labs as dither fish in a 44 gallon pentagon and it is working out quite well.

I know that everything I read suggests long tanks but I built a substantial reef up the center of the aquarium almost to the water surface using my old rock from my marine reef aquarium days and the trophs and the labs really utilize it. And the labs are serving their purpose and really distract the dominant male troph.

Tomorrow I am getting a colony of 15 red kachese trophs that will go into another old reef tank that is about 75 gallons that I set up in similar fashion to the 44 pentagon. The tank is three feet long x two feet wide x 20 inches high. There is one solid massive reef across the center of the tank also from the tank bottom to the water surface. I think that it is so massive that in no way could one fish claim the whole thing. It's an experiment so we'll see what happens. May have to go to plan B.

Will keep you all posted.


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## kbuntu

I've done it. It worked out for a while but I've found the Mbuna's are a bit more on the aggressive side. In addition I believe we shouldn't mix the different lakes but this is rather a personal preference.


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