# Have I chosen my tank mates wisely?



## tracyface1999 (Sep 30, 2013)

Hi I am new to cichlids and have fallen in love with them but I am afraid that I didnt choose wisely...
I have a 55 gallon tank with lots of caves for hiding spots with Argonite as substrate. I have two 350 Penquin filters for filtration. I was given a cichlid. I was told he was male and a little over one years old. I have had him for a month and so far, he isnt agressive and hasnt harmed anyone in my tank. All the other cichlids are between 2 to 3 inches. I dont know the sex as they are still juvies. 
I would like to get 3 more yellow labs as I think my little hyper yellow one would enjoy having some other fish to swim with. The Yellow lab is igored in my tank by everyone but he swims the length of tank and seems to be looking at his reflection in the class. The Demasoni and Acei are my most assertive fish and I say assertive because as of yet, I havent seen any true aggression.
PLEASE let me know if I have a good mix or a total mess in the making!

My stock are as follows:

1- OB Zebra age 1.5 years ( I think this is a male but he has never been vented. This fish was given to me and hence my first. He is full grown)
1- Yellow Lab ( yellow with black trim on top fins)
1- Demasoni 
1- Kenyi ( presently blue with bars)
1- Auratus/Golden Mbuna (presently showing female colors - but I have learned all juvies look female until they mature)
1- blueberry Peacock 
1- ACEI (yellow tail)
2 - Peacock ? ( these were my first two fish purchased at PETCO in an assorted tank. I purchased these two along with the Yellow Lab. One looks to be coloring up nicely so he may end up being male. I am not positive on species other than they are African Cichlids.)
1- bristlnose pleco (2.5 to 3 inches respectively)

Thank you ALL for helping to educate me on my cichlid journey!


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## 7mm-08 (Jan 12, 2012)

That's a lot of nasty fish for a tank that small. Peacocks are pretty timid and they can get pretty large. Zebras can be pretty mean. Kenyi are absolute terrors. I've never kept auratus but they have a rep for being very very nasty. Demasoni don't get very big but are very pugnacious for their size. Acei are very chill for an mbuna and labs aren't too bad although I've found them be more feisty than their reputation would suggest.

For a start, I'd either dump the peacocks, auratus and kenyi, and stick with not so crazy mbuna, or keep the peacocks, acei and lab and dump the rest. You'll still have the issue of not having proper M to F ratios, but it may prevent the inevitable implosion with your current stocking. Plecos can be somewhat of a crapshoot with cichlids but you won't know until you try it. I've had them be fine with very aggressive tankmates, or not make it when they were in with relatively chill fish.


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Agree 99.99% with 7mm !!

Kenyis and Auratus -> possessed fish !! Save the peacocks !!


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Yeah i'm probably going to lean with the other posters. I did a pretty mixed tank like that in a 75, and my demasoni litterally went from being totally cool to cornering every other fish (even large haps 5x his size) to the other half of the tank and wasn't even happy with just his half, probably would have killed a few fish if i hadn't caught it.

Do you keep the tank in a main room where you can monitor it? Just be ready to rehome some of them. If you catch aggression right at the beginning, i've had luck quickly separating and rehoming them without any losses or really any harm done. If you don't get good time to watch the tank (like where the fish aren't thinking they'll be fed and stop trying to kill each), i think you might be able to try it out, and see how it goes. And are there any females in there? If so... my experience has been that that won't work out well, if so.


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## tracyface1999 (Sep 30, 2013)

Thanks for the relies. What bugs me is that after purchasing my first few fish at PETCO I decided to go to a locay owned fish store that has been in business for a very long time. I thought they would surely give me correct advice and expert guidance. I specifically asked the guy what fish and how many fish should I use to stock my 55g tank. He asked me what fish did I already have and I told him a full grown OB Zebra, 1 yellow lab and 2 peacocks - at least I think they are peacocks, they were in an assorted African Cichlid tank.
He told me that it didnt matter which ones I chose so long as I get one of each. He aslo told me that I should get 12-15 fish to spread things out evenly and provide plenty of hiding places. He told me that if my OB Zebra acts too aggressive to take him out and let the others grow out some before placing in back in the tank. All the fish seem to cohabite well together SO FAR. However, I have notived the Demansoni is my most assertive one at the moment. What I didnt mention is that before cichlids I had a comunity tank and made the HUGE mistake of getting some female and make guppies. Needless to say the soon took over the world! lol I have still have my community tank but decided to let the gups go. I have about 10 guppies in the cichlid tank hoping that one by one they will be no more. ( I know dont scream at me and tell me how inhumane this is!) However, the guppies have been in with the cichlids since the beginning and so far no guppies have bit the dust. ALL but the Demansoni ingnores them and then all he does is chase him for a hot second. I KNOW this is going to last but I find it very interesting as I didnt think they would have been spared for this long ( one month and counting).
Has anyone ever experienced this?


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## tracyface1999 (Sep 30, 2013)

I made an error in my post.... I know the guppies are NOT going to last in my tank but I find it interesting they have made it this far. I have a pregnant guppy in the tank that is due to drop any day now.... I will let you know if the cichlids eat the fry. 
I forgot to mention that the tank is the main room of our house so the fish get lots of attention except when we at work ( 8 hours). I hope I dont have to rehome the peacocks but am ready in the event they begin to be picked on.

Thanks everyone and I appreciate everyone's input. I wish I had found this forum earlier!


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## NJmomie (Jan 17, 2013)

In addition to what the others have said about the auratus, kenyi and demasoni, you need to make a couple of key decision: 1) mbuna or peacock....they usually don't do well together since the peacocks are more laid back. 2) do you want an all male tank or a breeding group(s) ... all male tanks can be done but more work is required to ensure harmony. In a 55-gallon, you can have up to 3 breeding groups of mbunas depending on the species. As for the guppies, amazing they survive that long but they are definitely on borrowed time.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

You've been given solid advice. I would suggest not taking any more advice from the local fish guy. That guy is an idiot. He sold you some of the nastiest fish. Take them back- kenyi, auratus and the dem. Never buy anything from an assorted tank. You never know what you're buying.

Maybe buy another 8 yellow labs and acei. See how they work out with the peacocks. Or roll the dice and wait to see what happens with the current mix. Be prepared for a blood bath, if going with the latter.

The guppy fry and adults will eventually be eaten.


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## tracyface1999 (Sep 30, 2013)

I don't want to specifically want to breed them as I wouldn't know what I would with fry and I wouldn't want the babies to eventually render my 55g too small. 
So I guess an all male tank is fine for me. I am really disappointed that the idiot at my LDS fed me such bad advice. I really like the look of the Demasoni, Kenyi and auratus. However, I don't want a blood bath on my hands.
If I have the following fish in my tank peacocks (2) , yellow lab (3) , blueberry (1) and Acei (4)
What other fish do you think will be a good choice?


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## Bowfront (Jun 3, 2013)

I'm failing to see how the advice by the local store was so bad? I agree to lose the aratus and kenyi but many people have setups like the OP without issue. He said the right amount of fish for a 55 gal setup to keep aggression down and stressed getting 1 of each kind which usually is the way to go in an all male setup. He also said to provide plenty of hiding places. What is the bad advice he gave? This is better advice than most LFS I hear about seem to give newbies to the hobby.

On a side note 1 of my tanks is a mix of Mbuna/Peacocks and my Peacocks hold their own, one even being tank boss. This hobby is trial and error. What works good for you may or may not work good for someone else.

Good Luck.
.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Well advice of 12-15 fish and hiding places is good advice. But 1 of each, unsexed, is not. And the OP never mentioned an all male. And the dude sold him a kenyi and auratus for a 55.

I walked into an LFS today that has a 6' 125 assorted mbuna tank. 25-30 fish, around 3-4" in size. Metriaclima, melanochromis, hybrids, etc. A 4" male kenyi had every fish pushed into a third of the tank. That doesn't sound like a fun tank to have. And that's basically what the OP is setting up- an assorted Malawi tank, but only 4' in length.

I'll add that I've never owned kenyi, or auratus. Nor have I tried advice on setting up a tank with 'one of each,' which I did receive before doing any research. The idea of this site is to provide info and advice for the greatest chance of success. I don't see how this LFS guy is helping the OP, at all.


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