# Cichlid species/ mixingg



## mappelbaum37 (Nov 9, 2009)

I've been researching cichlids, and I'm waiting to start a 75 gallon tank. I've narrowed what I want down to african cichlids, but at the store today, one of the workers was trying to explain what kinds I can get and what kinds I shouldnt. Can someone help explain it to me?

Can peacocks be mixed with yellow labs? Can haps be mixed with peacocks? What are haps and what are Mbuna? Are the Tangs, Mbuna, and haps the types of species of african cichlids? The guy also said demasoni's are very aggressive.

Thanks


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

tang are fish from lake tanganyika.
peacocks and mbuna are fromlake malawi

there are haps from lake malawi, and haps from lake victoria

yellow labs mix very well with haps and peacocks

malawi haps and peacocks mix very well together

demasoni and yellow labs are mbuna. mbuna are ,as a whole, agressive, but labs tend to be more docile.

I would not keep tangs with cichlids from lake malawi or victoria, but some victorian cichlids can be kept with malawis

the cookie cutter for a 75 is a good place to start
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_75g.php

also here is a general list of peacocks
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=3

malawi haps
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=1

mbuna
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2

this will give you an idea of which fish fit into the categories. it's good you came here to get some info and didn't completely rely on the lfs. my advice is to determine what tye of set up you want. do you want breeding? do you want all male? is there a certain fish you really like? if so we can build around it.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

All good questions. many have long answers though.

First some vocab:
Haps-(Haplochomis)A group of cichlid species from Lake Malawi (and Lake Victorisa) that inhabit the open areas (at various depths). At this point its pretty much any species that is NOT an Mbuna. Males are generally colorfull while the females will be draber (grey, brown, silver, etc)

Peacocks- a sub goup of Haps (the genus Aulonocara) where the males display very vivid colorations- like the peacock bird

Mbuna-a group of species from lake Malawi that live in and among the rocks. (in the Malawian language mbuna simply means "rockfish"). The are general smaller than the Haps and peaccok species and the females are usually quite colorful as well (sometimes the same as males or a different color). The demasoni (ps. demasoni) are members of this group and are quite agressive. The fish in the mbuna group require careful selection as their temperments have to be very carefully taken into consideration when choosing tank mates.

Most Haps and peacock are carnivorous. Mbuna have cornivores, omnivores and strict herbivores.

Behavior wise, mbuna are very concerned with getting and keeping territories around the rocks. The males will dig out cave and protect them from other males while trying to convince females to "join" them. These guys will still be territorial even without the presence of females.
Haps and peacocks travel to open areas in groups. The male will largely ignore one another except when vying for mates and during breeding. The is a mjor factor in why all male peacock/hap tanks are very calm and quite popular with hobbyists.

Because of this main behavioral difference it is often difficult to mix mbuna with the hap/peacock species. A few of the more docile species of mbua can be mixed with haps/peacocks. Species like Labidochromis cearuleus (yellow labs) and Pseudotropheus acei (yellow tail acei) can often work with peacocks and haps.

Tangs is the broad term for any species from Lake Tanganyika. The species from Lake Malawi tend to be more colorful than those of Lake Tanganyika, but some of the tangs have very interesting behaviors.

Most of the african cichlids available in pet store are from Lake Malawi and are predominantly mbuna or peacks. Since the mbuna are very colorful even as juveniles they sell better than e rest that do not attain their coloration until they are adults (and then only if they are male).

A 75g tank is a very versitle size so you have quite a few options for stocking. The forum has a lovely heper in the Library section called cookie cutter suggestion. It is a list of suggested stocking otion for various tank sizes and offer some direction. These ists are by no means all inclusive so just because its not there doesn't me it can't be done. I would suggest you look through that suggestions and take a look at the profile pictures for the varios stock lists to see if any grouping really catches your eye. If yuou come across a particular species you really like, we can help you find some compatible species that may not be listed.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c ... er_75g.php

You are also going to want to browse through the article about keeping cichlids as it is quite different that regular tropical fish. 
Some good starting places are 
The Nitrogen Cycle
Fishless Cycling
Test Kits
Species Compatability


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Good for you for not buying a bunch on impulse :thumb: 
With African cichlids, it's so much easier if you do your research beforehand so that you don't end up with incompatible species. What the LFS will tell you may not always be the best advice either, so it's best to know what you want. If the fish store doesn't have what you want, you can buy fish online. That's what many people here do, but New York may have some good fish stores.

Figuring out which species are compatible is somewhat like putting together a puzzle, and no one person can know how each of the hundreds of species will react to all the others. Don't worry if you don't know who can be housed with who. There are a lot of experienced hobbyists here who enjoy helping people put together a community of fish that won't make you pull your hair out in frustration. As the others say, do some reading in the African section of the Library, and have some fun making a list of species you particularly like.

The profiles section can be used to show you the species divided by: Lake Tanganyika vs Lake Malawi cichlids, Mbuna vs Haps vs Peacocks, and the wide variety of types found in Lake Tanganyika: shell-dwellers, sand-sifters, rock-dwellers, open water fish, gobies, etc.

People who want lots of eye-popping color generally choose Malawi cichlids, but if you want fish with more interesting and varied shapes and behaviors, you might look into Tanganyika cichlids. They fall into groups as well (I show only one species from each group, but there are many):

Cyprichromis ("Cyps"):
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1468
Julidochromis ("Julies"):
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2594
Altolamprologus ("Comps"):
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2153
Shell-dwellers ("Shellies")
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=2279
Gobies:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1524
and there are more!


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

dont listen to the experts at the store, knowledgeable as they may sound,...
listen to the 2 moderators that have responded to you.

odds are the lfs employees have not had the experiance that these mods have had nor have focused their time on these species.
best to listen to someone who lives and breaths cichlids :thumb:


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## merkey (Nov 26, 2008)

Yes you can mix. My yellow lab and orange blotch successfully had a batch of fry. 2 batches to be exact and I have pics. I have a 180 with Yellow labs, Morrii, Frontosa, orange blotch, Chalinochromis Brichardi,Bumblebee,red jewel,Venustus, A Tilapia and many more. so the possibilities are endless,yes a few casualties here and there but thats with any cichlid tank.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

merkey said:


> Yes you can mix. My yellow lab and orange blotch successfully had a batch of fry. 2 batches to be exact and I have pics. I have a 180 with Yellow labs, Morrii, Frontosa, orange blotch, Chalinochromis Brichardi,Bumblebee,red jewel,Venustus, A Tilapia and many more. so the possibilities are endless,yes a few casualties here and there but thats with any cichlid tank.


However all of those fry are hybrids which are greatly frowned upon in the hobby. There is nothing wrong with the fish itself, however ethically they should never leave your home. All possible steps should be taken to prevent hybridization of the species. This means proper stocking to keep the possible accidental crossing to a minimum and to never sell or distribute any fry that are suspect hybrids. It is getting near impossible to find pure specimes of many of the more common species. With such a need for specific compatability, having hybrids thows monkey wrenches in an already delicate balace of personalities and the mixed fry may exibit the traits of either parent or neither at all.

Any mouth-broodibg cichlids from Lake Malawi can and will cross (and have fertile offspring) with any other mouth-brooding cichlid from Lake Malawi (and many from Lake Lake Tanganyika as well).


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## merkey (Nov 26, 2008)

I agree and would never sell one or give any away.I personally love the diversity in my tank. Plus I like the challange :wink:


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