# African Cichlid community tank



## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

So hey everyone, I have a 30 gallon aquarium stocked with:

1 pleco
1 rainbow shark
1 livingstoni (i believe that's the name)
1 auratus 
1 strawberry peacock
1 snow white/albino peacock

Is there anything else i would be able to add?

I went to my local petstore and saw these barbs thta were juveniles, they were green and they looked amazing. I don't remember there names. Would they work or in fact would any barb work?


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

I would remove what you have and look for other stocking options. You have fish that grow too large for you tank, are too aggressive for your tank, and fish mixed that may have compatibility issues in the future.


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## Mbuna freak (Mar 5, 2018)

I wouldn't be worried about adding more as the combo you have won't work in the long run. The liviningstonii will eat almost everythng you have in there. Personally I wouldnt keep one in anything less than 75g. You need to figure out what you can keep in a tank that size. If you want cichlids I would lean towards the shell dwellers and dwarf cichlids. Your combo may be working right now but I can promise you later there will be some major problems in that tank. But look on the bright side. It is another excuse to get a bigger tank


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Welcome to Cichlid-forum!

Agree the fish you have are not a good fit for a 30G...the Livingstonii needs a 72" tank and the others need a 48" tank.

What are the dimensions of the 30G?


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

The only reason i picked this fish were because the people at the petstore told me they were good mixes. And when you say in the future, how long is that? Months or years??


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

And also, my parents will most likely not allow me to get another tank, so if i bring the fish back to the petstore and the tank is empty (would probably keep pleco and rainbow) what else would i be able to stock it with?


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## morrismorris (Mar 21, 2017)

The livingstonii will eventually wreak havoc. Years ago I had one in a 55 gallon (it was only a few inches long at the time), went on vacation for a week, came back, and it was the only fish left.

Do some research on dwarf cichlids and ask others here about them. They may be an option for your setup.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Thank you! I will try to bring them back the quickest possible and i'll find other stocking options. Does anyone have any?

Really appreciated


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If your pleco is a bristlenose then he should work in your tank. If he is a common pleco, they get quite large for any tank and I would rehome him.

Do a search on a website like Seriously Fish on the Rainbow Shark before you decide if you want to keep him.

Tanganyikan shellies would be a good choice. We need the dimensions before we can make other suggestions.


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## Mbuna freak (Mar 5, 2018)

Some Bolivian rams maybe?


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Also my neighbour might give me some fish, they have black and blue stripes and start with "De...." does anyone know what they're called? Also i do have a common pleco and will rehome him or i might give him to imply neighbor who has a huge tank. The size is : 36Lx18Hx12W


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

WAIT the fish are the ones that are on DJRansome's profile picture, my neighbour might give me 4-5. Would they work?


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

drackid said:


> WAIT the fish are the ones that are on DJRansome's profile picture, my neighbour might give me 4-5. Would they work?


Demasoni? You normally want more than 4-5, they have the tendency to systematically kill off their on kind if not keep in a larger group.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

I'm back again everyone, after reading more i found that my auratus in my tank would end up eating all my fish. Will he attack fish smaller than him or his size? And for now the ones to watch out for are

Livingstoni
Auratus?

And my last question is in how much time am i going to need to bring them back or give them away if they're both 2 inches approximately?


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Yes that's what theyre called! How much would i need to keep so they don't kill each other?10?

And would they work in my aquarium with the fish above?


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

I might also change my common pleco for a bristlenose pleco.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

drackid said:


> Yes that's what theyre called! How much would i need to keep so they don't kill each other?10?
> 
> And would they work in my aquarium with the fish above?


The fish you already have aren't going to work in your tank for too long, I would try to get rid of them, then try to get new fish.

What are the dimensions of your tank?

The demasoni usually works best in groups of 10 or more, they aren't really an easy fish for a beginner. You'll need to start with way more than what you need to get a good group size. Over time extra males may be pushed out of the group, they'll have to be removed to prevent them from being killed or getting sick and infecting the other. You'll need extra tanks and a place to get rid of the outcasts.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

drackid said:


> I might also change my common pleco for a bristlenose pleco.


This would be a great idea.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

So if i keep

x2 peacocks
x1 bristlenose pleco 
x1 rainbow sharks

Would i be able to add some demasoni,yellow labs, barbs, acei,etc..

I obviously wouldn't add all of them but is there any that i could add(even if they're not in the list?


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## morrismorris (Mar 21, 2017)

Your tank is too small I think for anything other than dwarf cichlids, if you are going African.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

So i would have the buy a 75 gallon or more?


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## morrismorris (Mar 21, 2017)

That would be my suggestion if you want to keep the cichlids you are listing.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Alright and in general, do demasoni and yellow labs work with the fish that i have. Or even shell dwellers?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would not mix demasoni with the fish you have in any size tank. Yellow labs could work with peacocks if you had a 48" long tank.

I would not mix shellies with peacocks or a rainbow shark. Or yellow labs or demasoni.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Ok then what would i be able to put if i had a 75 gallon tank with the same fish that i currently have but minus auratus and livingstoni


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What about a 55G with 1m:4f Labidochromis caeruleus and 5 male peacocks? You have one white and one red. Add a yellow and a blue. Maybe instead of the 5th peacock you go for a hap like Placidochromis electra?


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

would this work in a 75 gallon?

x2 peacock
x8 demasoni
x4 yellow labs
x1 tire track eel (juvenile) maybe i'm not sure yet
x1 rainbow shark


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Actually never mind for the eel, it'll most likely look like this:

x2 peacock
x8 demasoni
x3 yellow labs
x1 rainbow shark 
x1-2 common pleco
x3 p acei

And my 30 gallon, well the glass is dirty, what can i put to clean eat? My pleco seems to always stay at his up and not regally clean up, i think he's scared of the cichlids! So what can i add?


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

And anyone know anything about Leopard bush fish or Spotted climbing perch


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## Cyphro (Mar 23, 2018)

They are not good fish for aquariums because they always hide and often don't eat. They can't tolerate light either.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No, I would not suggest you mix demasoni and peacocks and not add an eel to the mix.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

But would this work? (in a 75g)

x1 Albino Pindani
x1 Strawberry peacock
x1 Rainbow shark 
x1 Britslenose
x3 Yellow labs
x3 P acei
x8 demasoni

And do yall recommendations for any fish that can coexist with the ones above? Even any oddballs that don't grow too large?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would not expect that mix to work, no.


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## Cyphro (Mar 23, 2018)

You should keep things simple and not mix up too many lakes/types. And probably ditch the demasoni they are bad tank mates unless you really know what you are doing.

So do all peacocks, or all mbunas and labs. Things like rainbow shark you should probably just forget it for an african tank.

you could get yellow labs, acei, and some mainganos to replace the demasoni for example. Start with that and if things go smoothly you can add more from that point.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

Why are the Demasoni not good? (just want to know)

And would getting only female demasoni or only makes work better?


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## Cyphro (Mar 23, 2018)

They are one of the most aggressive cichlids around and don't mix well with anything on your list.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

They also get sick easily, are expensive to treat and may infect others in the tank.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

So i just don't get them?

And what can i replace them with?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

To review you want to keep the shark, the plecos and the 2 peacocks no matter what. And you are getting a 75G, is this correct?

After you have the 75G you could stock something like this:
1m:4f yellow labs
1m:4f acei
5 male peacocks that look nothing alike. You have a pink peacock and an albino peacock so you could add one yellow and one blue. Plus maybe 1 male hap like Placodichromis electra or Scianeochromis fryeri.


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## drackid (Mar 24, 2018)

I wouldn't mind givining the shark and the rest but i also realized that's my white fish is called an Albino Pindani.

Thanks for the stocking ideas! I will see when i get my tank (might be getting a 120 finally!!!) what i will put inside.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Pindani is not a peacock, so I would not put him with the peacocks...they are an aggressive mbuna. The up-to-date name is Socolofi.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

drackid said:


> And anyone know anything about Leopard bush fish or Spotted climbing perch


Had two of them that I kept for a while ...

I wouldn't say that they "hide" necessarily ... but it is true that they prefer more of a calm environment than the rest of your current tank inhabitants would likely offer ...

They also have different environmental needs (soft water, lower pH) than Rift Lake cichlids.



Cyphro said:


> They are not good fish for aquariums because they always hide and often don't eat. They can't tolerate light either.


Wow ... lots of misinformation there to unpack ... where to start ? ...

1. Being an ambush predator they prefer shadier areas of the tank, but saying they can't tolerate light is ... a bit of a stretch. I found the two that I had to be quite willing to venture into the light for food. Mine absolutely loved freeze-dried Tubifex.

They will come out to the front/top of the tank as you approach it to be feed. I'd guess they could be trained to eat from your hand fairly easily.

2. They aren't a good fish for SOME aquariums ... but that isn't to say they aren't a good fish for ANY aquarium.

Given their rather slow, plodding, and methodical nature, they are not good candidates for a high-activity aquarium with lots of aggressive fish as large or larger than themselves. Outside of all the activity probably being disturbing to the Leopard bush fish itself, they will be out-competed for food by the other fish.

They do tend to have aggression issues with their own kind ... of the two I had, one was smaller than the other.

Initially this wasn't a problem but once the larger one started getting big, it would pester the smaller one to the point of driving it to the top corners at the back of the tank.

Eventually, I removed the one being bullied to it's own tank.


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## Cyphro (Mar 23, 2018)

wryan said:


> drackid said:
> 
> 
> > And anyone know anything about Leopard bush fish or Spotted climbing perch
> ...


You mean misinformation shortly to follow in your post I guess.

They dwell in extremely dark and muddy waters in africa and a brightly lit aquarium is torture for them.

Of course it's POSSIBLE to put them in an aquarium, and torture them. And keep them alive if you try hard enough, and they don't technically die the instant they go in the light lol.

However if you have a fish that hates everything about aquarium life and can only be coaxed to eat and keep living with live food and otherwise does all it can to hide itself then no, no one reasonable would say this is a creature that belongs in an aquarium.

I am hardly a peta nut but seriously, this is just a situation where you are torturing some poor animal just for the **** of it. Now you say go ahead and throw them into an mbuna tank. LOL that is just ludicrous, sorry.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Cyphro, it was the OP that asked about the Leopard Bush fish and wryan was just providing his experience with keeping this species of fish. No where did anyone suggest keeping that species with Mbuna.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

Cyphro said:


> You mean misinformation shortly to follow in your post I guess.
> 
> *They dwell in extremely dark and muddy waters in africa and a brightly lit aquarium is torture for them*.


Do you have any sources to support and back up what is obviously the OPINION expressed and highlighted above ?

Like say:



> "...
> 
> * Habitat and Niche*
> 
> ...


Original source:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-ctenopoma-acutirostre-by-fruitbat-27057.html

Ahhh ... here's another question:

Do you personally have any actual experience with keeping the fish ?



Cyphro said:


> Of course it's POSSIBLE to put them in an aquarium, and *torture* them. And keep them alive if you try hard enough, and they don't technically die the instant they go in the light lol.
> 
> However if you have a fish that hates everything about aquarium life and can only be coaxed to eat and keep living with live food and otherwise does all it can to hide itself then no, no one reasonable would say this is a creature that belongs in an aquarium.
> 
> I am hardly a peta nut but seriously, this is just a situation where you are torturing some poor animal just for the #%$& of it.


A lot there I could address ... but given the manner in which I'd be inclined to do it - utterly *cruel* and *merciless* comes to mind and would probably be a reasonable and fair characterization  - I'll avoid doing so (even though I'm actually pretty good at it ...) ... primarily because I'm well aware of the havoc *responses to trolls* can wreck in an online community.

I am not a Moderator or in any way officially associated with this site, so it really isn't my place to moderate your participation here ... beyond just making a couple of observations as a lay member:

1. You have been here as a member for roughly 2 weeks ... and made a total of 84 posts.

2. During that time, you've managed to take a complete **** on - and denigrate through a personal attack (by implying he must on "crack" - a long-time member (Marc Elieson aka "Vatoelvis") who has over 1600 posts in the forum and has written numerous articles (literally dozens) ... which are featured here in the Library.

Now, that doesn't seem to me to be a particularly good way for a new arrival to endear themselves to a community ... although I could certainly be wrong.

But then again, maybe endearing yourself to the community is not really what you are going for, via your participation here ...

Jus' sayin' ...



Cyphro said:


> Now you say go ahead and throw them into an mbuna tank. LOL that is just ludicrous, sorry.


That's *not* what I said (actually the complete opposite)

I'd suggest you read what I wrote again.


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## camelo_cichlids (Feb 22, 2018)

drackid said:


> Yes that's what theyre called! How much would i need to keep so they don't kill each other?10?
> 
> And would they work in my aquarium with the fish above?


I made a lot of common mistakes like this when I first entered cichlid keeping. Your tank may be too small for these cichlids (Demasoni). To keep them from destroying each other or other species you would need 8+ and a bigger tank. Shell Dwellers are great fish, can survive softer water and are more likely to be part of a community then most other Cichlid Species. Blue Rams, Bolivian Rams, etc. Your normal pet stores sometimes carry them and I am sure you LFS would as well.


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