# Just got my cichlids



## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

Hello, I got my first cichlids today! In the hubub I forgot to write down the names of what I got! I have a 55 gal and I got a male and female (babies) of N. Venustus...Yellow Tail Acei...and a pair of beautiful yellow fish that I cannot figure out what they are (I found the names of the others by looking at the species profiles). Anyway, that's what I'm starting with, I hope to find a pair w/ some red colors later on that will be compatable to add reds to my tank. I do have one question. The lady at the LFS explained that I need to overstock, etc. but she couldn't say how many I should have in my 55 gal? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!


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## quiksilver (Mar 2, 2007)

It seems she hasnt given you good advice, the males will chase the females relentlessly possibly to death. Really you should have 2 or 3 female to 1 male and venustus get big really big. My advice to start would be take the female venustus and acei back because they will cause aggression and swap them for 2 or 3 more male acei. If the yellow fish are yellow labs id do the same with them take the female back and get a couple more males. hope it works out.


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

quiksilver said:


> It seems she hasnt given you good advice, the males will chase the females relentlessly possibly to death. Really you should have 2 or 3 female to 1 male and venustus get big really big. My advice to start would be take the female venustus and acei back because they will cause aggression and swap them for 2 or 3 more male acei. If the yellow fish are yellow labs id do the same with them take the female back and get a couple more males. hope it works out.


Okay, thanks. Arrrrgh, I am so confused. I have heard and read (on the net and in books) so much conflicting info it's unreal involving cichlids. This LFS is where everyone said to trust the advice, so I spent quite a bit of time talking to the lady over the fish and this is what we worked out. I guess next week I will take them back. I looked at the pictures, and the yellows don't really look like labs, but I will check at the lfs next time I go.

ETA: So if I take the females back, an all male tank won't cause aggression issues?


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

I'm not sure what quicksilver was trying to say. Unless it was to go with an all male tank. If you just want one fish of alot of different kinds then that's the way to go but some people say all male tanks are boring.

I would take the 2 Venustus back unless you plan on getting a 6ft. long tank eventually because that's what is recommended for them because they get so big.

If you could post a pic of the yellow fish hopefully someone here could help identify it but it's hard to give advice on it when we don't know what it is.

As for the acei, they should be ok but I think they like to be in a group of about 5. I think I've heard that the male to female ratio isn't so important with them either. Most malawi do best in groups of one male to 3-4 females though. I like my acei so if I were you, I'd keep those and get maybe 3 more, if you already have 2.

With the acei you could probably have 3 more groups of fish as long as they were compatible. :thumb:


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

:idea: Oh, something quicksilver said that I don't agree with is....
"If the yellow fish are yellow labs id do the same with them take the female back and get a couple more males."

I don't agree with this at all. I have 3 yellow labs that I got as unsexed juvies. Once mature I now believe them all to be male and 2 of them started picking on the third one so bad that I had to remove him. I had the same thing happen with auratus (which I never should have had in a 55g. tank anyway  ).

All male tanks can be ok but there really shouldn't be more than one male of each species. Maybe labs are an exception to this in an ALL male tank but I had problems with them in a mixed tank. Maybe that's what quicksilver was saying. It's late and I'm tired lol :roll: .


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The first thing to note is that Malawi don't pair. Males need a harem if you are going to keep both sexes (all male has better odds of success in a 75G or larger tank). Since you can't sex the juveniles, people usually get about 6 of each and wait for maturity, then return extra males to the LFS.

And a 55G tank usually does well with three species. Choose the species based on your favorites and types that won't hybridize (one species per genus is usually safe, except avoid yellow labs and red zebras).

And Venustus are too big for a 55G tank.

Maybe post your goals for the tank and then everyone will offer suggestions. You're going to love this hobby!


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## Exiled (Dec 26, 2003)

JenTN said:


> Hello, I got my first cichlids today! In the hubub I forgot to write down the names of what I got! I have a 55 gal and I got a male and female (babies) of N. Venustus...Yellow Tail Acei...and a pair of beautiful yellow fish that I cannot figure out what they are (I found the names of the others by looking at the species profiles). Anyway, that's what I'm starting with, I hope to find a pair w/ some red colors later on that will be compatable to add reds to my tank. I do have one question. The lady at the LFS explained that I need to overstock, etc. but she couldn't say how many I should have in my 55 gal? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!


As far as the LFS selling you venustus for a 55g .... (shaking my head) eventually you will have nothing but those two venustus left. I'd take them back.

Get more acei. Can you post a pic of the unidentified yellow fish?


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

Thanks guys 

I'm going to post some pics...maybe I'm wrong and they aren't Venustus, but I think they are.

I really love the Acei so I have no problem getting more of those!!

The LFS said they sexed them :-?

3 species sounds good, I'd like to have the Acei, whatever the yellow fish are (Gawd I sound so dumb, I'm really not) and maybe something with reddish coloring in it. Any suggestions?

I am assuming if I overstock the tank as suggestion, I will need weekly water changes ( no problem, love my Python). I also will be adding more rockwork and making "caves".

Oh, and I know my live plants will be destoryed eventually- I started out with a "peacful" tropical aquarium because my other LFS talked me out of Cichlids...which is a whole other story. I think the colors of the Cichlids beats out any other fresthwater fish.

Here are pics (sorry for poor quality, I stink at taking aquarium shots!)


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

Well, those are not yellow labs...not pure ones anyway. Yellow labs would have the black stripe on the top fin and probably some black on the lower fins as well. They could be yellow lab hybrids or possibly female p. saulosi. If you like them then that's not a problem.

Those definitely look like N. Venustus and you should return them. They won't work in this tank.

If you want red/orange and you're not worried about selling babies, you could get red zebras (m. estherea)). They will probably breed with your yellow labs, but they are a nice orange color (not really red).

So you could stock with 5 or 6 Acei, 5 or 6 Yellow labs and 4 Red Zebras. What filtration do you have? You have to make sure you have enough to handle the fish load. Good luck! :thumb:


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

Super Turtleman said:


> Well, those are not yellow labs...not pure ones anyway. Yellow labs would have the black stripe on the top fin and probably some black on the lower fins as well. They could be yellow lab hybrids or possibly female p. saulosi. If you like them then that's not a problem.
> 
> Those definitely look like N. Venustus and you should return them. They won't work in this tank.
> 
> ...


Thanks! I was thinking the yellow ones might be p. saulosi. I like the setup you mentioned, adn I don't plan on selling babies- if they have babies, I'll let nature take its course.

I *believe* my fileter is a Tetra Whisper 60, I can add another if I need to.


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

I'd say you're going to need to up the filtration. You could get a nice Aquaclear 110 to go along with the Whisper and that would be plenty. Or you could go with a canister filter. You should get the best you can afford.


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

If I plan on adding another tank (90-120 gal) in the next 6-12 months or so, can I keep the Venustus and add them to the new tank when they get big? I really like them and they are my daughter's favorite fish- she picked them out. I plan on getting another, larger tank later on anyway (and keeping the 55 gal).


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

How large are the yellow fish? Were they in a tank with anything else?

If not, I'd call the LFS and confirm what you bought, or stop back by.

There are several species these could be.

I wouldn't keep any fish planning on adding a larger tank. Things don't always work out the way you plan, and it will be less worry to wait and get the fish once you have the larger tank.


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> How large are the yellow fish? Were they in a tank with anything else?
> 
> If not, I'd call the LFS and confirm what you bought, or stop back by.
> 
> ...


I am going to stop in next week regardless of what I do and check out the names. They are all about 2 inches long atm- and eating like crazy!

They were in a Malawian Cichlid tanks, kept with the other fish I got and a few other species.


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## gtsum (Feb 25, 2008)

your yellow fish look like male Kenyi...(do they have faint vertical bars, or hues of blue or purple in the fins???). If so, take em back.....I recently got rid of all of my Kenyi and Red Zebras as they were just way too aggressive (75 gallon). The Kenyi are the most aggressive fish I have kept yet


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

I don't see any bars or any colors other than yellow. I am going to the store next week so I will look then.


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## dielikemoviestars (Oct 23, 2007)

They look like saluosis.


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

That's what I thought they looked like.


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

Boy, those Venustus were hard to catch! I swapped them for another female acei and salousi (they yellow fish). I am going to add red zebras and a couple more of the aceis and salousis later on.

Thanks for the help!


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

They might be saulosi, but something about them is bugging me shape wise to make me think they're not. They actually look more like my msobo females than my saulosi females.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

chapman76 said:


> They might be saulosi, but something about them is bugging me shape wise to make me think they're not. They actually look more like my msobo females than my saulosi females.


I agree - it's something about the face and head area. That was my first thought...They look identical to my Msobo females. But they could also be yellow lab/zebra crosses. :roll:

This is the problem with buying fish from mixed tanks. There is no way to properly identify them for breeding purposes, and when you get this many different opinions on one fish, it may be anything, or a cross of anything...

Here's one of my Msobo girls...The flash makes her look lighter than she really is, but I think you'll see why it's next to impossible to confirm an id for your fish...










This one shows their colour a bit better, but still not completely accurate:


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

Yes, I can see that it is hard determining the species! They did have yellow Labs in the tank, they had the distinct bars on the body. If these are indeed the Msobo,. are they okay in my 55 with acei and red zebras (I plan on getting the zebras soon)?

I hated trading the Venustus- I really liked those guys' personality and giraffe-like coloring. I talked to my husband, and I think he is going to build me the 140 gal plywood tank in the DIY section, so I can have some Venustus later on :thumb:


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

Well, if they are Msobos, you can have a nice contrast in color by getting a male to go with 3 or 4 females. That would look good with the Red Zebras and Acei. I'm not sure on how well they would all get along...maybe someone else has experience with these...


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Super Turtleman said:


> Well, if they are Msobos, you can have a nice contrast in color by getting a male to go with 3 or 4 females.


Not really a good idea since you can't possibly _confirm_ these are Msobos!

It's also a risk keeping these unidentifiables with those red zebras and yellow labs as far as hybridization goes.

JenTN, I'm a bit confused...Nice quality Yellow labs shouldn't show "distinct bars"...

FYI to all: rather than hit submit over and over when your screen freezes up, after hitting submit once, just hit your refresh button. The post will be there! :thumb:


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## JenTN (Jan 11, 2008)

cichlidaholic said:


> Super Turtleman said:
> 
> 
> > Well, if they are Msobos, you can have a nice contrast in color by getting a male to go with 3 or 4 females.
> ...


Lol thanks for the freezing up suggestion!

Actually , there was a fish with distinct paler bars, I'm not sure it was a Lab though...I was assuming. It is totally different from the ones I got.

The ones I have were labled as salousi.

Would it be a better idea to go with something other than red zebras? I don't have those yet....any suggestions??


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

If that you have were labeled saulosi, they might be, just of a poor quality. Sadly, that is quite common in saulosi (like kenyi, labs, and estherae). You can find saulosi w/out a lot of problems, but finding a high quality one is quite hard.


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