# Stocking my 240.



## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

Now that my tank is cycling, I'm starting to think about what fish I want. I go back and forth between mbuna and peacocks, but leaning towards mbuna. My head is starting to hurt. lol.

My tank is 240gal. 60"x36"x25".
Pics can be seen here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 4&start=60

I'm thinking about an all male tank. I really don't feel like dealing with breeding and I think fish are going to be hard to catch in here.

Short list of fish I like:

Mbuna:
Yellow:
yellow labs
Blue:
Demasoni or Saulosi
Others:
Red Zebras
Cynotilapia afra (Cobue)
Metriaclima estherae (OB)
White/albino:
Albino zebra?( don't know the name.)
Need suggestions

Peacocks: (males)
Aulonocara baenschi 
Aulonocara Sp. Fire Fish Dragon Blood 
Aulonocara jacobfreibergi "Eureka Albino"
Strawberry peacock - just saw pics, don't know the name

Haps:
Cyrtocara moorii 
Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania"

Catfish:
Synodontis petricola or
Synodontis multipunctatus

Looking for suggestions.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

All male tanks will REALLY give you a headache if you have one already. :lol:

You don't have to save all the fry, you can have a mixed gender tank and let nature take it's course. IMO a mixed gender mbuna tank is the easiest.

Read the all-male tank article in the library. Definitely a good idea to have extra tanks since they are a bit of a revolving door (removing fish that don't work out well) until you achieve balance.

It's always a good idea to aquascape your tank so it is as easy as possible to catch fish. Trust me it will be necessary at some point, if only when you need to catch a sick one. I have 3D backgrounds too...they aren't too bad for catching fish...it's the rocks on the bottom that are the problem.


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

Re: the all male thing, I was just worried about having to catch baby fish. My tank is setup with just a few very large rocks, so maybe it won't be as much of a hassle as I think?
I guess I was thinking all male because I'm not really fond of the female peacocks.

What do you think would be a good mix of mbuna from the list I have?

Open to all suggestions/criticisms....


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You only have 6 mbuna species on your list and you would need five species to fill that tank. Red Zebra and Metriaclima estherae are the same fish. Unfortunately some of them are not the best mix.

The adult fish and the synodontis will eat all or almost all of the babies.

If I had to choose five that would mix it would be:
Demasoni
Yellow Labs
Albino Zebra (Metriaclima callainos Pearl?)
Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos (Maingano) for blue/black horizontal stripes
Pseudotropheus socolofi for solid pale blue


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I've seen multiple posts on this site stating syno's are great for removing fry. I think one thing you need to decide is if you want species with colorful females or if you are fine with drab females. This could remove a lot of species (basically all the Cyno's).

In a tank this size I think you could easily get away with 4-5 Mbuna species.

For your blue barred species I would go with Demasoni. They are really fun to watch and you could get away with a colony of 25 or so in a tank that size.

As long as you never plan on keeping fry, mixing labs and red zebras won't be a problem, and they would add a lot of color as well.

Instead of Dems and labs you could also do a blue male/ yellow female species like Saulosi or Msobo.

A solid blue monomorphic species like socolofi or callainos would make a great addition, and I've always liked the look of Ngara White Tail Acei. They spend more time in the upper region of the tank then other Mbuna.

Sorry, I'm no help with peacocks or haps.


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

Instead of RZs I'd go with something OB. Or greshakei or something. A hint of red/orange rather than big solids of it.


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

dielikemoviestars said:


> Instead of RZs I'd go with something OB. Or greshakei or something. A hint of red/orange rather than big solids of it.


Is there an ob red zebra? Something like this..
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=2316

Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far, it's been extremely helpful.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

Other species available in OB are Labeotropheus fuelleborni, Labeotropheus trewavasae, Tropheops tropheops and Metriaclima fainzelberi.

Another common albino is Pseudotropheus socolofi.

kevin


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

Are ob red zebras readily available? I think the only place I've seen them is in the profiles section on here.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

PM sent.

And I know I'm a broken record with this genus, but with a tank like that I'd really go for some Labeotropheus...

kevin


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

dielikemoviestars said:


> Instead of RZs I'd go with something OB. Or greshakei or something. A hint of red/orange rather than big solids of it.


I have Greshakei and RZ's... and they're totally different. My dominant male ice blue (greshakei) is pictured in my tanks picture (of the 125)... and definitely does not have the effect of my nice 5 RZ's.

Combined, they look great - especially wth a light less than 10k temp.


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

I just can't get these names down. I have to google search these things all the time. lol. 

Which labeotropheus? I did an image search and there was a huge variety?


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

I believe Ridley is referring to Labeotropheus Trewavasae or Fuelleborni. They are the most common. The most common colors of the Trewavasae is OB or Red Top.. I have both.

Their unique characteristic is their underslung mouth..

Here are some links..

Fuelleborni

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_fuelleborni2.php

Trewavasae

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/l_trewavasae.php


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

Trying to get the stock list down. Also I need to start thinking about how many total of each and the male/female ratio.
How about:

1)Demasoni. #'s, m/f?
2)Yellow labs #'s, m/f?
3)Albino socolofi #'s, m/f?
4)Pseudotropheus socolofi #'s, m/f?
5)Thinking about a mix of red zebras and ob red zebras. #'s
6)Labidochromis Gigas
7) Syno petricola or multipunctatus. Would they both eat fry?


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

Other than #6, it's a lot like my 125. Check my tanks for specifics.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

With your mix I would watch out for these possible trouble spots:
Labs/zebras crossbreeding
Albino/non-Albino socolofi fighting and crossbreeding
Mix of zebras fighting or crossbreeding
Gigas/demasoni fighting, not sure about crossbreeding

1m:4f should work for all of those except the demasoni, I'd keep about 20.

IME the multipunctatus eat more fry than the petricola (most cats on the market labeled petricola are actually lucipinnis which is a new name in the last few years).


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

DJ,

What do you think about me changing the blue socolofi to Cyno "White Top Afra" and keeping the albino socolofi?


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

I love the look of regular Soc's - but I have too many fish and have to make a choice.

Albino socs look better bigger, so if you can get them at 3" or more, great (or are very patient).

I've been tempted on the Cyno White Top Afra's a few times, but my Ice Blue Zebra are kinda close.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

gliebig said:


> DJ,
> 
> What do you think about me changing the blue socolofi to Cyno "White Top Afra" and keeping the albino socolofi?


I like them better than two socolofi species. :thumb: My Cyno's are only "meh" on coloring up with Demasoni. Note that they are not afra. The scientific name is Cynotilapia sp. hara. Common name is "White Tops" though.


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

DJRansome said:


> gliebig said:
> 
> 
> > DJ,
> ...


Do you have any pics of your 75?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No I have yet to post a tank pic of any of my tanks. My tank pics really stink. Got a new camera last year, but have yet to learn the controls well enough to do the tanks justice. 

What you would see is Demasoni, Labs, Zebra all with brilliant colors. And a bunch of dull mid-blue fish with maybe one Cyno displaying. And I would have to wait for him to do his thing.

I still think there are a LOT of males in there and few females. Two are displaying but I think a bunch are hiding as well. I keep taking the males out (just sold 3 of them today) and more of the fish keep showing up as males. :roll:

They do display in other tanks (like QT tanks). Just not with the Demasoni...much.


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## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

gliebig,

if i had a tank this size i would do a hap/peacock tank rather than mbuna.. just my two cents.

you get many different shapes patterns and colors.


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## larry.beck (Jul 31, 2009)

DJRansome said:


> What you would see is Demasoni, Labs, Zebra all with brilliant colors. And a bunch of dull mid-blue fish with maybe one Cyno displaying. And I would have to wait for him to do his thing.


DJ - you know, I found out that it was the RUSTIES keep my cobue from coloring up, not the demasoni. In your tank, perhaps the zebras?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Maybe. At this time I have only one female zebra in there. She does not interact with anyone. I could try taking her out for a month and see what happens.

I do see the cynos and demasoni doing the lip lock dance. Just the rare occasion, mind you, but Mrs. Zebra never with anyone.


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## larry.beck (Jul 31, 2009)

Wow, well that just goes to show that every tank is different! My demasoni don't mess with anyone but their own kind, and I've never seen my cyno's lip lock either. The rusties did, and occasionally the yellow labs do their crazy circle fight, but that's about it.


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## fish_addiction (Sep 29, 2009)

I'm partial to Mbuna, so others on the forum could give you better recommendations for a Hap/Peacock setup. With this in mind, how about:

10 - Metriaclima sp. "dolphin" - Giant Demasoni 
_or_ 
20 or 25 - Pseudotropheus sp. "Demasoni"
_and_
14 - L. Caeruleus - "Electric Yellow"

14 - Pseudotropheus sp. Socolofi - Albino "Snow White"

10 - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei"

10 - Cynotilapia sp. "hara" - White Top Hara

3 - Nimbochromis venustus "Giraffe Cichlid"

5 - Male Peacocks of your choice

If you're feeling lucky, you could substitute Metriaclima emmiltos "Red Top Zebra" for the White Top Hara, but I've heard nothing but horror stories about them. I think in your large tank with all that rock work, you could bend some of the rules and be ok as far as aggression as long as you overstock the tank. Just avoid the species that are known to commonly crossbreed. Of course, start with the least aggressive and add them a group or two at a time. I would definately go for the Electric Yellow and Albino Socolofi, as they will really stand out against the rockwork in your tank. I'm getting jealous now.

*DJRansome -* 
Thanks for the advice on the Demasoni; they're working out great. I catch myself staring at the tank with a glazed over look from time to time


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

^ How do you like the Acei? Compared the the labs and dems, how pretty are they?


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

I like mine - and they don't pick on anyone.

They seem to like to school - and stick to the upper half most of the time.


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## poseidons minions (Dec 1, 2009)

large predator tank


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## fish_addiction (Sep 29, 2009)

gliebig said:


> ^ How do you like the Acei? Compared the the labs and dems, how pretty are they?


I like them alot, since they get pretty large in comparison to the labs and dems. They almost glow purple and cruise the tank all day on algae patrol. A little actinic lighting helps show their best colors, but nothing compares to demansoni IMO. Their coloration is not similar at all, so I think they're a nice compliment if not a must for an Mbuna tank. My stocking list this time around was all about color, and my tank isn't long enough for peacocks and haps, so I went with purple, yellow, blue and white.


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## gliebig (Oct 1, 2010)

Added 12 yellow labs and 10 albino socolofi.


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