# Mbuna Stocking Advice



## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

I will be purchasing my first aquarium soon (can't wait to be able to start beginning my posts with purchasED instead of purchasing!) and have decided on this as a stock list. Aside from the demasoni I am unsure of what would be ideal numbers to have of each fish. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-?? Labidochromis caeruleus (Electric Yellow Lab)
-12 to 15 Pseudotropheus Demasoni 
-?? Albino Pseudotropheus socolofi
-?? A fish my LFS has labeled as Pseudo. Cherry Red Zebra that I believe from looking on the internet to be a Metriaclima estherae although they are far more red than any pictures I have seen on the web.

The Tank is going to be a 72 gallon bow front. It will be filtered with a fluval 405 and AC110.


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## Cook.MN (Mar 11, 2008)

What are the dimensions of the tank?


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

*Cook.MN*
48x18x22 I believe


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## fumoffu (Apr 23, 2008)

chefkevin said:


> -?? Labidochromis caeruleus (Electric Yellow Lab)
> -12 to 15 Pseudotropheus Demasoni
> -?? Albino Pseudotropheus socolofi
> -?? A fish my LFS has labeled as Pseudo. Cherry Red Zebra that I believe from looking on the internet to be a Metriaclima estherae although they are far more red than any pictures I have seen on the web.


Did you consider the Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" instead of the socolofi? I have always like the personality of the acei I have had a bit different then the other Mbuna's I have had. I would not go with the labs and the red zebas in the same tank, that's asking them to mix....or you could just get a few cat fish too.

The zebra's and socolofi you are going to want 1M with 3F, the labs and acei could go 2M and 4F in that tank, or 1M and 3 manyby 2 F.


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

fumoffu said:


> Did you consider the Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" instead of the socolofi? I have always like the personality of the acei I have had a bit different then the other Mbuna's I have had. I would not go with the labs and the red zebas in the same tank, that's asking them to mix....or you could just get a few cat fish too.


I have not considered the acei, though I have heard good things about them. I will check them out. If I have to chose between the yellow lab and the cherry red zebra I would chose the yellow.



fumoffu said:


> The zebra's and socolofi you are going to want 1M with 3F, the labs and acei could go 2M and 4F in that tank, or 1M and 3 manyby 2 F.


My question would have to be, how am I supposed to know what sex I am getting if I am buying them all as juveniles. I want to get them as juveniles because I plan on doing a fishless cycle or using something such as biospira, so that i can stock them all together to minimize aggression due to tank seniority.


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## CichInTheMind (Feb 27, 2008)

Thats the idea, you dont know how many of what sex, but you can narrow it down to your specific ratio needs over time :thumb: Also the bioload is much smaller with juvies than with larger fish so its easier to avoid a crash in your cycle.


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

Also how do you deal with quarantining when you're going to add 20+ fish at the same time. I plan on having a hospital tank set up but I was only planing on getting something like a marineland eclipse 12 gallon, or something small and simple to get set up. I trust the LFS, there stock is of very high quality, I know that doesn't take away risk but is it okay to skip the quarantining since it would seem to me to be very impractical in this instance?

Thanks for all the advice keep it coming.

-Kevin


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You use quarantine when you have a healthy, established tank and you don't want to introduce disease. If you are just starting a tank with all fish at once, then put them all directly into the main tank. It's like one giant quarantine tank...you observe them all for disease and remove any that develop symptoms.

In the future, when you acquire new fish you would quarantine them in the Eclipse so your first 20 fish are not put at risk.

If you already have fish in your main tank and are adding a large # (too many for the Eclipse), then you would purchase additional quarantine tanks, LOL! Compare the value of the fish you could lose (20 fish x $10 each = $200 or more) versus under $100 for a new quarantine tank with filter and heater.


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## moonlight (Feb 21, 2007)

Kevin, which Columbus are you from?


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

*moonlight*
Columbus, OH same as you


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## tropical_tails (Mar 22, 2006)

If you decide to go with the yelow labs over the red zebra, you could re-introduce some red by adding a nice Vic. You dont have any on your list yet and a vic is a nice addition to an mbuna tank. A Crimson tide or Nyererei would really add to your tank.


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## CichInTheMind (Feb 27, 2008)

Acei and Yellow Labs compliment each other nicely both in behavior and color! I LOVE how My Acei school and sleep together plus multiple males are easily tolerated. I hear demasoni are little demons but have no personal experience with them. That would be a nice looking combo IMHO. Oh, also have you thought about maybe throwing in a butterfly or three?


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

Thanks so much for all the help thus far...so with all the advice and comments in mind here is an updated stock list plan... Do you think in a 72 gallon (48x18x22) that an AC110 and a fluval 405 will be adequate filtration? If it is do you think I could add one more species or am I at about max?

-15 Ps. Demasoni (pomba rock)
-5 Electric Yellow 
-5 Ps. "Acei"


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It's a bowfront, right? Is the 18" in the middle of the tank or on the sides? I'm guessing the sides are more like 12". In that case I'd stick with 3 species, but I'd up the Acei and Labs to 6 each.


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## fumoffu (Apr 23, 2008)

chefkevin said:


> Thanks so much for all the help thus far...so with all the advice and comments in mind here is an updated stock list plan... Do you think in a 72 gallon (48x18x22) that an AC110 and a fluval 405 will be adequate filtration? If it is do you think I could add one more species or am I at about max?
> 
> -15 Ps. Demasoni (pomba rock)
> -5 Electric Yellow
> -5 Ps. "Acei"


Maybe some cat fish? That should be enough filtration. You just may have some dead spots that will collect debris, so you could get UGJ or a rotating power head. I have just set up my FX5 and needed to add something like that.


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

*fumoffu*

I like the idea of catfish, thanks. I've done a little reading on UGJ and I don't know that I really want to have those, especially since I think I am planning on going with Tahitian moon sand and I am already worried about it getting kicked up. I don't know much about the rotating power heads but from what i've skimmed it seems they are an add on to undergravel filters. Is this the case or not because if it is then it's not an option for me either is it? (Since I am using sand). Thanks 
-Kevin


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i have Tahitian moon sand with usj setup and i think its really the way to go.i dyed the pvc black so it blends in.if your worried about sand getting in your filters just add a prefilter sponge to the intakes and keep them up half way or more from the bottom.plus the pump for the jets is set high in the tank to keep any sand from it.it really cuts down on vacuuming and waste build up on the sand.


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## gaqua (Apr 11, 2008)

I like catfish a lot because most of them act like living UGJ systems. If you have a well filtered setup and a decent amount of catfish (Petricolas seem good for this) they'll swim all over the ground at night and kick up the debris which will then get picked up by the filter.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

how big do the Petricolas get?


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## chefkevin (Apr 6, 2008)

fishwolfe said:


> how big do the Petricolas get?


About 4 1/2 inches


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

cool i may add a few. :thumb:


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