# Are these fish compatible?



## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

in a 70 gallon tank

1 Electric Blue Hap
3 Psuedotropheus Zebra
2 Electric Yellow Labidochromis
2 Albino Peacock Cichlids
1 Geophagus Jurupari
1 Brown Bullhead

decor is black sand and a bunch over stacked slate and caves with mondo grass growing in front and some fake floating plants and a blue grow-light.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Well, no they won't.

Geophagus Jurupari is a South American species that needs acidic, soft water while the those you listed above it are all African rift lake fish requiring hard, alkaline water.

Do you mean a bullhead catfish? they can grow to over 2 ft long, require moving water and do best on mud bottoms due to their sensative barbells. Not to mention that cichlids love to chew the barbells off of cats.

If you remove those two there are some problem unforunately. Due to their aggression levels and strong social interaction and territorial requirements you will have some serious issues.

Lake Malawi species are harem breeders and either need to be kept in appropriate sized breeding groups (1 male with 3-5 females of each species) or as singles in an all male set up (only one fish per species). Males get very aggressive with each other and with female when trying to spawn so their social rules have to be accomodated or you will have lots of stress, illness and death in very short order. You tank could fit 3-4 species in breeding groups or 8-10 singles for an all male set up.

Check out the Cookie-Cutter stocking suggestions for your size tank (floor space is the deciding factor, not volume) for some ideas as a start.

What are you tanks dimentions?


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## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

can i remove the geophagus into a spare 30 gallon tank by himself?


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## steelers fan (Jun 26, 2009)

i would decide what you want first...mbuna,peacocks and haps, lake malawi or sa and then start reading on set up water parameters etc


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## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

Ok i already have New world cihlids and they are outgrowing my tank so im trading them in for african cichlids. I have 2 Oscars, 1 Geophagus, 1 Bullhead Catfish, 1 Jewel Cichlid, 1 Firemouth cichlid, 1 Texas Cichlid, and 2 Plecostomus and im getting rid of everything except the geophagus and bullhead catfish


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

So where are you going to keep the remaining non-africans?


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## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

I was gunna put the bullhead in my backyard pond and I just asked if I could keep the geophagus in a 30 gallon tank by himself


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I don't know the Geophagus answer but maybe you could post on the South American forum?

What are the dimensions of the 70G? With Malawi, footprint is more important than gallons.


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## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

its the same length and width as a display 55 gallon, but its tall, its about 4 feet long and 1 1/2 feet wide


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

dj_clasik said:


> its the same length and width as a display 55 gallon, but its tall, its about 4 feet long and 1 1/2 feet wide


You should then follow the stocking requirement for a 55g. The extra height will not buy you anything where africans are concerned. Its all about the floor space for their territories.


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## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

ok then so if I get all males will these species do good together in the tank? and how do i tell the difference between male and female when they are young?
and can i keep multiple zebra cichlids since they come in different colors?

the species I want are
zebra cichlids (Metriaclima estherae), (Metriaclima callainos), (Pseudotropheus zebra)
electric yellow cichlids (Labidochromis caeruleus)
Albino Peacocks (Aulonocara sp.)
Electric Blue Hap (Sciaenochromis fryeri)

other ones I like are

Acei (Pseudotropheus sp. )
Bumblebee cichlids (Pseudotropheus crabro)
deepwater hap (Placidochromis electra)
venustus (Nimbochromis venustus)
Blue Peacock (Aulonocara nyassae)
Fuelleborni cichlid (Labeotropheus fuelleborni)
yellow Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp.)
Red Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp.)
Malawi Eye Biter (Dimidiochromis compressiceps)

can someone please help me choose what to get?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

All males are challenging in a 55G, a 75G would be better. You can't ID the males when young in many cases, so you either wait for them to grow out and remove females, or buy expensive sexed adults.

Haps and peacocks are the usual all-male choice, if those are your #1 favorite then omit any mbuna except the most peaceful (yellow lab). No zebras. :thumb:

If the zebra is your favorite, then go all mbuna.

These fish are too large for a 55G tank:
Bumblebee cichlids (Pseudotropheus crabro) 
venustus (Nimbochromis venustus) 
Malawi Eye Biter (Dimidiochromis compressiceps)

You would want to have several spare tanks for when you need to remove a newly discovered female, or when you need to remove a male that's too aggressive or preventing the others from coloring up. All-male tanks are trial and error. You need space for the "errors". Read the all-male article in the Library for hints and guidelines.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

your dimensions don't make sense to me it can't be 48" x 18" and then taller than a 55 which is 21 inches, a 48" x 18" x 21 " is 75 gallons 18 inches is 1.5 feet so something is off with your measurements, now i know they make a 70 gallon that is 18 inches wide and taller than a 55 (25 inches) but it's not 4 feet, it's only 36 inches which makes a huge difference


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## dj_clasik (Oct 1, 2009)

i know the dimensions are all guesses i couldnt find a ruler. its not quite 4 feet its closer t0 3

electric yellow cichlids (Labidochromis caeruleus) 
Albino Peacocks (Aulonocara sp.) 
Electric Blue Hap (Sciaenochromis fryeri) 
Acei (Pseudotropheus sp. ) 
Blue Peacock (Aulonocara nyassae) 
yellow Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp.) 
Red Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp.) 
deepwater hap (Placidochromis electra)

if I get 1 of each of these they will do fine right?
and do they all have to be males?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

In a 36" tank, from that list, I would only do the labs. If you want to consider species that are not on your list that would do well in a 36" tank, then look at the profiles for fish that mature at about 4". You might be able to add a trio of labs and have two species.

If you have other tank options, like a 75G that is 48" x 18", and you want a tank with one of each species, you need all male or all female. If you mix genders then you run into the problem that you need 4 females for every male to spread aggression and you lose your variety, plus females of many species are drab.

The list you are interested would work in a 75G tank like I described above.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i know it sounds trivial, but dj is right, there is a large difference between 36 and 48 inches and it completely changes what you should stock, it's not even just the ammount of space each fish has in a tank, but it's also about needing a minimum length for certain fish, some people say your tank should be 8 times longer than your longest fish


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I agree too. A 55g. (that's for the width by length/ height isn't as important) is really the minimum size for most african cichlids unless it's a one species only tank. If you can, I would get at least a 75g. tank. Even those 6 extra inches of width the 75g. has over the 55g. is a big help.


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