# will this combo work out well? what else to add?



## njpiranha (Dec 28, 2008)

4	Pseudotropheus acei
4	Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos "maingano"
4	Labidochromis caeruleus "Yellow Lab"
4	Metriaclima estherae "Red Zebra"
4	Metriaclima callainos â€œCobalt Zebraâ€


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I would drop the M. estherae from your list, as they will readily hybridize with both the Yellow Labs and the Cobalt Zebras.

The goal would be to have one male, three females of each of the species you keep. You will need to get more than 4 juveniles to achieve this, I'd recommend six of each.

Perhaps you could add in a Cynotilapia afra type, and a Labeotropheus fuelleborni OB for some variation.


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

For my first African tank, I bought young fish from Wet Thumb Aquatics and had them shipped overnight. They have a nice selection, healthy fish and reasonable prices. I wouldn't have been able to find very many of the fish I wanted locally.
http://www.wetthumbaquatics.com/

Also, check the retailers review section on this forum. Stay away from the mixed cichlid tanks you find in many stores that sell fish.


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## njpiranha (Dec 28, 2008)

what if i didnt care much about breeding and only wanted it to be a colorful "show" tank? like if they all turned out to be males


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## lotsofish (Feb 28, 2008)

If you don't want to breed, you should start with an all male tank. You can have much more variety but you'll have to pay more for adult fish since juveniles can't be sexed. It might be worth it not having to wait for your fish to color up.

I keep a 55 gallon grow-out tank that I keep juveniles. When I am able to sex them, I sell the females and/or extra males and move the dominant male to my 180 gallon. It can be a real bummer to buy 6 juveniles spend the time to grow them and find they are all females.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

njpiranha said:


> what if i didnt care much about breeding and only wanted it to be a colorful "show" tank? like if they all turned out to be males


If that is what you wanted, you pretty much could mix in whatever fish you wanted. Problem is that you will end up with females and breeding. You'll want to drop in a predator or two to eat any fry that get released in the tank.


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## njpiranha (Dec 28, 2008)

i thought the main reason you couldent mix some africans was mostly due to aggresion, not breeding?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

njpiranha said:


> i thought the main reason you couldent mix some africans was mostly due to aggresion, not breeding?


There are many reasons for not mixing different species together, aggression being one, hybridization (breeding) risk, dietary differences, water requirement differences (soft vs. hard, temperature...) etc...


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## njpiranha (Dec 28, 2008)

would demasani work in this tank as well? i think i got 2 by mistake instead of mbamas.

also would rustys be ok?


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

I don't see why _I. sprengerae_ (Rusty's) wouldn't work in there.


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## CutMan (Jan 12, 2009)

I dont think a couple demasoni would hurt. They will add a lot of color and tend to stay a little smaller than other Mbuna. If it is a 180 gallon tank you should be fine in my opinion. I also agree with Fogelhund's first post about the hybridization.


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## njpiranha (Dec 28, 2008)

no peacocks would work in this tank though right?


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