# Calling all cichlids addicts



## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Setting up my first all male cichlid 55 gal.

Species I have on mind Altolamprologus, Aulonocara, Neolamprologus, Protomelas, Pseudotropheus, Pundamilia. Maybe selecting 1 or 2 per species. That's what I think.

But what do YOU think?????


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i think bad idea, just my honest opinion


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i guess i should elaborate

altolamps, and neos are from lake tanganyika
pundamilia are from lake victoria 
and the rest are from malawi

i don't like mixing lakes with the exception of one victorian with some less agressive peacocks

most of the pseudotropheus are too agressive to put with peacocks or the pundamilia

protomelas are just too big for a 55

i say pick one lake or a male peacock pundamilia mix and we can go from there


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

cjacob316 -> have you ever kept Pundamilia? Which ones? What did you keep them with?


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

no, kept other victorians, if i am wrong about something by all means correct me

they more aggressive than i think?


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

the lfs had some P. nyererei, and from watching them, they barely kept their color when people come near the tank, so to me it seemed like they wouldn't hold color or themselves with agressive fish


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Indeed, you cannot generalize on the behaviour of Lake Victorian cichlids, any more than you can paint all Malawians with the same brush. I've kept Pundamilia nyererei a number of times, including in a 100 gallon aquarium with 6" WC M. sp "Chilumba Zebra", WC Ps. flavus, and WC M. cyaneorhabdos. The nyererei absolutely ran the tank.

As far as the OP is concerned, I would decide what you want from this tank, which fish you want the most, and we can help pick some compatible fishes for you.

To be honest, this tank is too small for keeping most male Haplochromines from Lake Malawi. A number of different Aulonocara species or location variants, and a couple of smaller Haps would make a fine mix.

Alternatively, I would suggest an all Male Mbuna mix, avoiding the larger more robust and aggressive species.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

learn something new every day

i agree with the op choosing a favorite that we can help build upon


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## sevmeera (Aug 8, 2009)

I would go with peacocks personally, they are colorful ( not as colorful as vics, but more consistant), they are easy to care for, get along well with each other (usually), they are also much more readily available to the average aquarist, you can also add a fish here and there that can blend with the peacocks mellow personality, like a comp, or as was mentioned before, a victorian to add color and personality, there are also many species of Lethrinops which are very pretty and good natured that would work with peacocks and are an overlooked fish as far as I am concerned. In a 55 I would keep the rock work to a minimum to maximize swimming area, doing this would allow you to possibly add a smaller Hap or two ( given that they aren't too rambunctious)


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

so far the two haps i see used most are a pl electra, and the orth. lithobates

i keep an electra with my peacocks in my 55, works out really well


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## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Let say the max fish count would be 10-15(depending on the size and aggression) and I choose 3 types species(1 species less aggressive maybe aulonocara and two bit more aggressive Pseudotropheus and Neolamprologus) would this work since there is two that can hold there grown then just all gaining up on the less aggressive species.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i would not suggest neos with malawi cichlids, but i am kind of a purist when it comes to the two main lakes


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## sevmeera (Aug 8, 2009)

I wouldn't add any type of mbuna, besides maybe a couple yellow labs, with peacocks, the mbuna's constant movement and frenetic energy tends to stress the peacocks, even labs are sometimes too energetic for peacocks to be comfortable with. I recently had to remove a couple labs because the peacocks were just too stressed, they either all hung around on the other side of the tank from the labs, or chased the labs on sight.


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## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

I guess when it comes to mixing different lakes it could be a challenge.

Also my plan is to introduce the less aggressive species in the tank first(all as juvenil) and last the most aggressive to reduce any territory fights. So they can grow together as an early age.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

that doesn't always work


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## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

I think it just a bit complex to have the perfect all male (different species)combo but at the end its going to be very rewarding. my opinion


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

it's easy to have an all male setup that works if you just take advice


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## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Agree cjacob, as i been reading alot articles just trying to make the right dicision.

My lfs they have several cichlids species mixed and let me tell you it looks great.

Hybrid, mbuna, peacocks and even fronts all on the same tank.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

just because the lfs has it doesn't mean it's ideal

i know you have ideas about what you want, and i'm sorry that i shoot them down, but thats gonna happen on here when you ask advice

whichever route you go, it's best to not have more than one male from each species, and no two males that look similar, this causes added agression issues

i guess this is about the best advice i can give you short of telling you exactly what to stock, but i don't think it would be what you want


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## sevmeera (Aug 8, 2009)

gr8Fan said:


> Agree cjacob, as i been reading alot articles just trying to make the right dicision.
> 
> My lfs they have several cichlids species mixed and let me tell you it looks great.
> 
> Hybrid, mbuna, peacocks and even fronts all on the same tank.


a lot of the time what happens in these fish stores is two-fold, either they are constantly cycling fish in and out of the tank due to shipments or sales, or they overcrowd the tank to such a degree as to reduce the aggression or spread it out among all of the tank inhabitants. I have seen many crazy combinations at fish stores that one should NEVER try at home. Overcrowding to a reasonable level can be beneficial in reducing aggression, however the amount of overstocking you would have to do to get a Tropheus to get along with a peacock for example would be a very unhealthy situation. I think it would be better to just choose a proven stocking strategy and try that, instead of forcing a combination that probably won't work in the long run, trust me it will save you headaches down the road.


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## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Yeah I think the best way is just to keep it simple.

But when it comes to tank set up, ( Aulonocara) likes the open space.

So my question is would limestone(texas holey) be ideal?

Would that type stone provide the best of both worlds(space to swim & territory).


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i had a fish get stuck in some once, i think it just depends on the size of the fish and the size of the holes

the space to swim can only be provided by lack of rock in areas, so it doesn't matter what you use, just make sure you leave open areas


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## sevmeera (Aug 8, 2009)

In my opinion, texas holey rock has holes that would be too small for adult peacocks and definitely haps to be able to swim through, it does have its advantages though, because it is made of limestone it will help buffer the ph and keep it high, which is always good in an AC tank. I personally use a bunch of lace rock and stack it to form caves and crevaces, but there are disadvantages to lace rock as well, it is inert, which means no ph buffering, it also has a more rough surface, and if you have clumsy fish like mine they will be scraping themselves on it, causing minor injuries, although they heal fast and are very minor most of the time. There are other options that may fit the bill, take a look tank examples to see what people are using, at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference.


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## gr8Fan (Oct 29, 2009)

Ok, I'm going to see other options.


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