Fish lovers. How's this for an aquarium? (1 Viewer)

[Neil Joseph]

After I move, I want to get a 90 gallon (imperial= 108 us gallon) tank and set it up for African Cichlids (lots of rocks) There are 3 species I want to get, Gephyrochromis Moorii, O.B. Peacock, and L. Caeruleus....
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Does anyone have any comments or suggestions on these 3 species of African's in this size tank.
Thanks

 

[aaron campbell]

Hey Neil, Those African Cichlids are some vicious little suckers. I had some in a 55 some years back. They have lots of fry, & eat them too I started out with a big ol' oscar, but those Cichlids are just awesome!
Enjoy,
Aaron

 

[Miles_W]

Neil,

watch out for those yellow Labs They Breed like crazy... I had a small colony of them 1 male and 3 females... every 6 weeks they had a mouthfull some times upto 30 per... unless you want to start sprouting tanks...

Miles

 

[Sean Conklin]

Good choice Neil! I would also look at the "Jack Dempsey" Cichlid, they are pretty cool.

 

[Neil Joseph]

The Jack Dempsey is a South American so I don't think it will mix too weel with the African's, plus the water conditions are more thn likely a lot different. I tried to pick species that were not so aggressive as some of the Pseudotropheus ones are.

 

[ron schuchard]

Yeah, Sean, has had many Oscars and Jack dempseys and other Cichlids, he had an Oscar named Ozzy that grew into a behemoth, but it still got along with the Jack Dempsey.

 

[StephenA]

Central American cichlids(which a Jack Dempsey is) and African cichlids(the yellow lab) both require alkalinic water. African cichlids tend to need more alkalinic water than Central American cichlids. Central American cichlids can acclimate easier to African cichlid water than the other way around. It is advised to to keep the particular fish's enviroment as close to where they ancestors are from as possible in the aquarium.

 

[Gary_E]

Neil,

African cichlids are the most misunderstood species of aquarium fish. Their reputation as 'aggressive' is well founded but enhanced by the hobbyist's lack of knowledge as to their natural environment and their relationship with other species. They require special set-ups (rocks, rocks and more rocks) and alkaline water. If you use the right type of rocks in your set-up, you can maintain the correct water properties without much trouble. They adapt quickly to dry foods and are true gluttons.

A properly arranged African cichild aquarium, housing compatible species of fish, can be as beautiful as a non-reef marine aquarium set-up. There is one major difference however. African cichlids stand a better chance of surviving in captivity because they breed earnestly in fish farms throughout the Southern USA. Most marine species found in retail pet stores are so badly gassed when they're caught that they die from the inside out after a few weeks in your aquarium.

Some collectors from Hawaii and The Red Sea, net catch their marine fish, so those fish have a better chance at survival. A few marine species have been breed in captivity (percula clowns, blue devils and some damsels) but the tank-raised fish usually lack the intense colors of wild caught specimens.

I have raised African cichlids here in South Florida for many years and have stocked relative’s aquariums in the northeast and a majority of the fish I've given them are still flourishing and breeding in their homes.

So do your homework and prepare your aquarium properly and African cichlids will give you years of pleasure with their interesting behavior and brilliant colors. The peacock you picture in your post is a hybrid. The true peacocks are called Aulonocara, and come in many beautiful colors all with the same basic body shape. They come from one of the two major rift-lakes in Africa, Lake Malawai. The yellow Labidochromis caeruleus you picture in your post, also comes from Lake Malawi.

The other major rift-lake in Africa is Lake Tanganyika. I do not believe there is a common species of cichlid living in both lakes. It is advised as well, not to mix fish from the two lakes in the same aquarium because they will not be familiar with each other and trouble may arise. A third lake, Lake Victoria also has some beautiful cichlid species of it's own but they are not exported as readily since the fish population in Lake Victoria is poorer due to man's stocking of the lake with Nile perch, which devastated the cichlid population almost to extinction.

Ad Koning is probably the foremost authority on cichlids from Lake Malawi and Pierre Brichard is the guy to read about cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. There's a lot of information on the web, try doing a search for the authors above or search 'rift lakes of Africa'.

Good Luck.

-Gary

 

[Neil Joseph]

It's a tossup I think as to which will be more of the bully in my proposed tank. Both the Gephyrochromis Moorii (Acei) and the Labidochromis Caeruleus (Yellow Labs) are up to the task. I think the Aulanocara Sp. (peacocks) are slightly more tame. As I said, I will have plenty of hiding spaces so co-existence should be ok.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Well what can I say. Upon doing more research, I discovered that the o.b. Peacock is a much dispised member of the Cichlid world because it is a crossbreed and therefore making the gene pool more muddy. Being an open minded person, I have modified my selection of fish to populate my 108 gallon tank to the following...
- Labidochromis Caeruleus (yellow lab)
- Pseudotropheus Demasoni
- ???

What I am looking for is a third species of Malawi Cichlid that makes a nice colour contrast but is not to weak or too strong/aggressive as far as a match to the Labs and Demasonis.
Suggestions?

 

[Bill Cowmeadow]

your choice of fish is just fine. the mention of a Dempsey in the tank is not a good idea. the Jack will grow much faster than the African's and if he has a mind, he will kill all the other fish overnight. Not a pretty sight in the morning.

You will need about 40-50 cichlids in a tank that size.

I haven't had fish for a number of years, but this just piqued my interest again.

Bill

 

[Gary_E]

Neil,
It is very difficult to get any species of Pseudotropheus to live with other Africans. They are very aggressive and do best amongst themselves. There's a very good chance the Pseudotropheus Demasoni would make quick work of the yellow labidochromis.
http://www.cichlidpress.com/photos/l...ae-zimbawe.gif
Labeotropeus Trewavasae or Labeotropeus Fulleborni provide the same basic color pattern as the Pseudotropheus but are much less aggressive. Both of these species are identified by their down-turned mouths, which they use to graze algae off the rocks.
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Melanochromis johanni is another good candidate for a tank of your size. The males are dark blue/black with 'electric-blue' horizontal lines running along the sides of their bodies. The females are bright orange-yellow with no markings. Johannis are the easiest African cichlids to sex because of this contrast. Interestingly when they are born, they are all yellow until the males began to dominate and change color.
http://www.ohiexchange.com/armke/images/ps_saulosi.jpg
If you have your heart set on a Psuedotropheous species, the Psuedotropheous Saulosi is a dwarf variety that doesn't seem to be as aggressive as it's big cousins. They are not readily available here in South Florida but I've seen a few specimens and they are very striking.
Regards,
-Gary

 

[Peter Burtch]

Hi Bill,
If he plans on stocking rift lake cichlids, 40-50 growing to adult size in only a 90g ain't gonna happen .
-Pedro

 

[Peter Burtch]

Hi Gary,
Glad to find another rift lake enthusiast in this forum . You made some of the same fish choices I would. Mbuna make the best tankmates for mbuna . Another good one for color contrast is the Rusty cichlid (you know it well, I am certain), Iodotropheus sperengerae. Very mellow and will not draw much attention from either the Labs or demasoni since it has quite different coloration.
Neil> If possible, try to obtain multiple females per male of each species since they are openly polygamous mouthbrooders. Males breed with multiple females. Of course this is tough since you cannot reliably sex them when small. If this is the case, I would get at least a half dozen unsexed individuals of the yellow labs & the rustys I suggested. The demasoni might be better in a slightly larger group (~8-10) to dilute their aggression. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask since I work primarily with the rift lake cichlids.
regards,
Pedro
fish pics & videos here:
http://briefcase.yahoo.com/damba98

 

[Peter Burtch]

Neil,
This is one book on Lake Malawi Cichlids I recommend by Ad Konings:
http://www.cichlidpress.com/books/gr...alawi2001e.jpg
regards,
Pedro

 

[Tony_Faville]

I had a 150 gallon cichlid tank years ago. Funniest thing....I had a Texas and a Jack Dempsey hook up in a front corner of the tank, had babies, corraled them and defended the heck out of them. They made it and were some of the funniest looking fish, shape of a Jack but the markings of a Texas....called them Texas Jacks.