Electric Yellow Cichlids

[Drumachine09]

Ive finally bit the bullet and got my 10 gallon running again and moved my 29's population to it. Now i amd overhauling my 29. I have a natural gravel, and i am still siliconing a slate stack for cover. I am looking to get 2 electric yellow cichlids or something of that nature. Do i not have enough room? And what would be easy to find natural tankmates?

Thanyou

[Fishguy2727]

You have enough room for a few, if you do it right. That means one male and two to three females, tons of filtration, and large frequent water changes.

[Drumachine09]

I was only going to get 2. What are possible natural tankmates?

[Fishguy2727]

Two could be a problem if ti is one male and only one female. Synodontis spp. are found in the same lake, but I'm not sure which species exactly. Other than that it is really just other mbuna cichlids. Any particular reason why no more than two?

[Drumachine09]

I just figured that they get up to 5 inches, and i didnt want to over do it. Should i get 1 mall and 2 or 3 females if thats not overdoing a well filtered 29?

[Fishguy2727]

I would, it will let them breed if you do it right. They like a lot of current, so you don't have to worry about too much flow. I would go with a Fluval 405. Do you have any filtration yet?

[Drumachine09]

I have a 25 gallon filter and a 45 gallon filter, and i will use them both. Would that be adequete?

[f1oored]

I think on a 29 gallon you should be ok with that filtration. A 405 would be better but If you are only going to have 3 or 4 fish you should be fine with what you have.

As far as tank mates, really any mbuna should do ok with the yellow labs. Certain species are more agressive than others but you can do a little research and find a good fit. Though all will likely be about 4-5 inches so you get back to the overstocking thing that you were looking to avoid. I think an all yellow lab tank would be very cool. If they breed you can sell the fry, they are usually in pretty high demand. Good luck, electric yellows are great little fish. You are going to love them.

[Cichlid_Man]

Hello all,
I had a 29 gallon cichlid setup, and if you are not going to breed, then with yellow labs, you really don't need more females than males.
They are very peaceful fish and won't bother each other.

Have hiding spaces, and you could easily put 6 cichlids in there.
Yellow labs will get maybe 4 inches.

I had 2 yellow labs, 2 P Kennyi, and 2 bumblebee cichlids. They are all alive and well now. I added them to my 75 gallon and made the 29 into a tropical tank

I changed out about 50% water weekly, but I did it in two steps.
25% Thursday and 25% Saturday, but that 's because my well water is low in PH.
Everybody here gave you excellent advice, and large water changes are fine if you are careful.
More females than males is always better, but all I am saying is that you CAN have 2 of each cichlid I mentioned here with success.


My filter was an aqua clear rated at 70 gallons.
Good luck!

[Drumachine09]

Alright, cool! Now what about tank mates? Im looking for something that the yellow labs would be around naturally. Hopefully some peacful bottom feeder or small fish.

[Drumachine09]

Ok, i have been surfing the web and have found that syndontis catfish are almost always found with cichlids in aquariums, and i should be able to keep it as long as i provide alot of hiding spaces and subdued lighting during the night, both of which i am quite capable of doing. Any other suggestions?

[Fishguy2727]

Nothing else with them naturally. What exact filters do you have? I would still try to make sure you have either all males or mostly females, it may not be a problem sometimes, but it is too likely that if you don't have enough females per male that the males will get aggressive. Synodontis eupterus is common, hardy, cheap, a great looking fish, and should be what you need.

Cichlid Man, I thought you had hard water from all that limestone?

[Drumachine09]

I think they are aqua clear brand. i dont think i should mix more than one male in their. I have also read that tetras are compatible. Would that be natural or not?

[Fishguy2727]

Tetras are on of the most incompatible types of fish for rift lake cichlids. Where did you get that info?

[Drumachine09]

Some compatibility website. Guess thats a no then eh? so its looking like the syndontis catfish is my only possible choice?

[Drumachine09]

I also read that they are compatible with most catfish. is there another african catfish i could add?

[f1oored]

If you are looking for something that is with mbunas in nature then I think the synodontis njassae which can get up to about 8 inches is about your only choice. There are a lot of great other mbunas, why not add some of them?

[Cichlid_Man]

If you don't want other Mbuna's you can put either a featherfin squeaker or an upsidedown catfish. Both are compatible.
I also agree with Rep....All male cichlids are OK. They are more colorful anyway.
If you are going to have females, they should out number the males


Sorry to go off topic here but I was asked a question.

Rep, to answer your question,
I have no clue why my PH is low and why I have to add buffers to harden the water.
My land has tons of limestone, but also a slew of pine trees.
Pine trees are extremely acid.
It is what it is.
My PH from tap is 6.0 and the GH/KH sit about 100 without buffers.

[Drumachine09]

So 3 or 4 males wont be too agressive?

[Drumachine09]

If i wanted some more Mbunas, i found pseudotropheus scolofi, aka the powder blue cichlid or the pindani. I think that is another mildly agressive species. I i cant find any of those, ill getr a couple of syndontis catfish and som upside downs.

[Cichlid_Man]

Scolofi's are VERY peaceful like Electric Labs.
I have them in my 75 gallon. I have 3 scolofis and 4 labs along with other fish that really are not supposed to get along, but they do. (all males).

It all really depends on how you have the tank set up and how you feed.

If you have hiding spaces, Mbunas are not going to make a habit of terrorizing a tankmate just for the sake of doing it.

You need to feed very little portions, but more times a day.

There is a 2 minute feeding "rule" that a lot of people go by.
Feed your fish whatever they can eat in 2 minutes.
Well, I take that a step further when it comes to Mbunas.

I give them 30 seconds to eat, but 4 times a day.

I have Electric Blue Ahli and Auratus in my tank and I was told they would kill all my other Mbuna's, but they are getting along just fine.

[Drumachine09]

If i was just going to do cichlids, what would be the population limit. 6-8?

[Drumachine09]

or maybe i could do 6-8 cichlids and 2 syndontis or upside downs?

[Cichlid_Man]

I would do 6 cihlids and one upside down...
After that you are really pushing it.

Different examples

6 male yellow labs and an upside down cat
1 male and 5 female yellow labs and one upside down cat

Or you could do variety.

2 yellow labs male
2 P Kennyi male
2 scolofi male
1 upside down cat

[Drumachine09]

Ill do 6 males and an upside down cat then. Thanks for all of the help everybody!

[f1oored]

Mbunas can be hard to sex when they are young. Many have identical coloration when they are small. Example: I bought four kennyi a few months ago and all of them looked like this when I got them (only smaller). I thought they were all females.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/Kenyi.jpg
Now I have one that looks like this...
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/Kenyi-1.jpg This guy is an obvious male fish. The point I'm trying to make here is that when you buy young fish it's very hard to tell what you might end up with. I really doubt the guy at the LFS is going to be able to net 6 males for you unless they are larger fish. Just so you know.

[jeffs99dime]

Mbunas can be hard to sex when they are young. Many have identical coloration when they are small. Example: I bought four kennyi a few months ago and all of them looked like this when I got them (only smaller). I thought they were all females.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/Kenyi.jpg
Now I have one that looks like this...
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/Kenyi-1.jpg This guy is an obvious male fish. The point I'm trying to make here is that when you buy young fish it's very hard to tell what you might end up with. I really doubt the guy at the LFS is going to be able to net 6 males for you unless they are larger fish. Just so you know.

these pics are awesome cichlid man!

[Cichlid_Man]

Hi F1oored.
Awesome pics and great point!
Yes, that is very true for P Kennyi anyway.
I thought I had all males and it turned out not so true.
The yellow labs are easy though.
The males have a distinct black line on the top fin and that stays put.
Mine are all males.
Not sure about the powder blue or albino scolofi, but they are so peaceful it doesn't matter.
I think drumachine will be fine just making sure to stick with Mbuna's and have hiding places.
My tank is so mixed up but I like a bit of aggression :-)

[f1oored]

All of the electric yellows have a black line up top (males and females). In males the black will be darker and they will have darker black on their ventral fins but this won't show until they are older. I have four of them and all have black in the dorsal fin but only one is a male.

Here is a picture of them when I first got them. They all looked the same.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/fish003.jpg
Now my male looks like this. He is the one with the egg spot (the bottom fish). Note how dark his lower fins are compared to the lab above him. Sorry it's a bad shot. I'd take a better one but my dog chewed my usb cable for my camera in half.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/fish024.jpg

[Nautilus291]

how would electric yellows and kribs go together?

[jeffs99dime]

how would electric yellows and kribs go together?

they wouldn't go together at all. it's true adam, kribs are from africa just as are labs but, the krib doesn't inhabit the same area as the lab (lake malawi) kribs inhabit central africa/ nigeria in vegetation choked rivers. big time difference in ph/ hardness between the two. they wouldn't be able to coexist.--jeff

[Cichlid_Man]

F1oored,
Those are nice pics again, but those also may be female labs.
I thought I mentioned that the male has black on the dorsal, pelvic and ventral fins?
I am sorry if I didn't mention that. My granddaughter was here and I was pre-occupied with her.

When you first buy them it IS hard to tell, but ones with the black almost always are male.
Ive seen females that were all yellow, no black at all.

Here is a male the way a male really looks.

I don't know if this picture will open....???

[Drumachine09]

Great looking fish!

[Cichlid_Man]

Thank you!

That is a male...
Notice the black on ALL the fins? Not just the top.

Your best bet is, when you go to the store, ask the salesperson if all the Labs in the tank were received at the same time.
If they say yes...then pick the biggest if you want male, and the smallest if you want female.
It is way too hard to tell otherwise.

Really, it doesn't matter anyway.
These are docile fish and will not get aggressive MOST of the time...

Go for it!
You'll love them as they grow older!

[f1oored]

Here is what you said.


Awesome pics and great point!
Yes, that is very true for P Kennyi anyway.
I thought I had all males and it turned out not so true.
The yellow labs are easy though.
The males have a distinct black line on the top fin and that stays put.
Mine are all males.

There was no mention of ventral or pectoral fins (which are the same pair of fins by the way). I'm sure you meant ventral and anal fins anyhow. Also you said it was easy to tell their sex, but then you said it was hard in a later post so that makes up for it.

Also, the fish I pointed out is a male. I added RED circles around his black pectoral (or ventral if you like) fins and his anal fin. The BLUE circles are around the fins of the female.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c45/f1oored/male.jpg I know it's a bad picture but the black fins are fairly clear.

You were right when you posted a picture of a male. That was a good example. You were also right when you repeated the stuff I had already posted about the black fins. I'm not sure about the all yellow females. If they don't have the black dorsal fin they may be cross bred and not true yellow labs, but I'm not 100% sure on that one. Also, I agree that agression shouldn't be a problem with labs regardless of their sex but I could be wrong here also. I'm not sure how they will act when they are full grown.

[Fishguy2727]

The full grown yellow lab at work in the 90 is one of the most aggressive fish in the tank. He will charge the Fuscus that is about twice his size, even though he is the one running the tank. Not all labs are equal and you don't knwo how bad they will be until they are full grown, goes with the open water haps too. They will be fine with peacocks and mbunas when small, but most will get quite aggressive and run the tank as their size pulls away from the size of everyone else in the tank.

[Cichlid_Man]

They are pure yellow labs.
Males have all the black as in the picture I have shown.

Here's some writings I found...
READ:

"This is also a good cichlid to put in your community tank as they are not real aggresive and add a lot of color and movement to your tank.
Contributed by Cardwell"

"I've been keeping and breeding Lake Malawi cichlids for years. Labidochromis caeruleus is one of my favorites. They are one of the more docile mbuna (rockdwelling) species, and are an ideal fish, for novice cichlid keepers. They can be kept in reasonable sized tanks (110 liters or larger), are hardy, and breed easily. Contrary to popular opinion, this mbuna isn't vegetarian. L. caeruleus picks invertebrates off of the biocover. In an aquarium, a typical tropical fish diet will do (they will eat almost anything). Brine shrimp helps keep them brightly colored. Contributed by slindsey"

"Yellow labs are one of my favorite mbuna. They're beautiful, hardy, and not as aggressive as most other mbuna species. I have about 8 juvenile labs housed with an equal number of juvenile Pseudotropheus demasoni (a very beautiful blue- and black-barred dwarf mbuna) in my African cichlid tank. The contrast between the sulfur-yellow and midnight-blue fish against plain rocks and gravel is so vivid, it almost looks more like a marine tank than a freshwater setup. One caution though: these little guys are pigs, and will quickly become obese if you feed them every time they look hungry. They learn quickly that a person approaching the tank usually means a feeding, and will wriggle against the glass, stare at you, follow your every move, and all but jump out of the water in hopes that food is forthcoming. Overfeeding will not only make them fat and unhealthy; it will quickly pollute the water, causing ammonia and nitrite levels to soar even in an established aquarium. Lake Malawi cichlids come from some of the cleanest water in the world, so water quality is extremely important in a mbuna tank. Contributed by Kristina Gabriel"

"I have 2 male and 2 female the sexes are fairly easy to tell apart. Males have the black on their dorsal, pelvic and abdominal ventral fins. Also I have noticed that the males have a horizontal black marking on their eyes were as the females usually do not. Females are also with out black on the pelvic and abdomen ventrals. Although some might have a light charcoal marking on the pelvic and abdomen ventrals. These markings are beautiful and very striking. Yellow Labs are a harty fish and are easy to care for. They can and do breed easily in the right tank environment. Ideally there should be one male to two or more females. This way the male will be able to divide his attention and not terrorize or pick on one lone female. Dropping the water level by doing a water change and temperature changes can bring on a spawning drive. Labs are a friendly fish and are very interactive. Mine will eat out of my hands and like to nibble at me when I am cleaning the tank. They love lots of hiding places to feel safe when they rest. Plants and rock caves are a must. Males will fight from time to time, circling tail to mouth and then stop to face each other with mouths open wide in a tug of war lip lock. Changing the tank around every so often helps to keep this to a minimum. I have enjoyed watching these fish and find that they are a part of my family and not just a pet. Contributed by Joanne H."

It's fine to disagree with me, but if you are going to disagree with the rest of the world you have a problem!

also, they only grow to maybe 4 inches so their size isn't going to pull away from any other cichlid in my tank.

[Fishguy2727]

Who was that to?

I said (or at least meant) that open water haps will usually get more aggressive as their size pulls away from the size of the other guys in a tank if they are mixed with peacocks and/or mbunas. I know the labs stay small, the one in the 90 at work is 4-4.5". I also stated that THAT lab is quite aggressive, so there will be exceptions to the trend. They are pretty much the least aggressive mbuna, but they are still a mbuna, so it is in them. One thing that could easily bring it out is anything to fight over (food, shelter, and most importantly females). If that wasn't to me than it doesn't hurt to specify what I said/meant. If it was at me all I am doing is sharing experience, the whole point of a forum. Not all labs are only mildly aggressive, and usually open water haps/utakas get more aggressive and will cause problems when housed with fish they should not be with, which is everything except other open water haps/utakas.

[jeffs99dime]

Who was that to?

I said (or at least meant) that open water haps will usually get more aggressive as their size pulls away from the size of the other guys in a tank if they are mixed with peacocks and/or mbunas. I know the labs stay small, the one in the 90 at work is 4-4.5". I also stated that THAT lab is quite aggressive, so there will be exceptions to the trend. They are pretty much the least aggressive mbuna, but they are still a mbuna, so it is in them. One thing that could easily bring it out is anything to fight over (food, shelter, and most importantly females). If that wasn't to me than it doesn't hurt to specify what I said/meant. If it was at me all I am doing is sharing experience, the whole point of a forum. Not all labs are only mildly aggressive, and usually open water haps/utakas get more aggressive and will cause problems when housed with fish they should not be with, which is everything except other open water haps/utakas.

cmon' guys no more fighting! use pm's for that:thumb:

[Lady Hobbs]

Synodontis eupterus

This is the catfish I have and read they get a foot long. Rather large for a 29 gallon don't you think?

Now edited! They get more like 6-7 inches.

[Fishguy2727]

I'm not arguing and I don't want to. I am just stating what I said more clearly if it came across wrong. Both of us have the right to share our experience. And PMing does not really help. Many could benefit from those excerpts he used, as well as my clarification and my experience.

[Drumachine09]

How would a live plant like a java fern go in a mbuna tank? And would an air stone be a positive or a negative?

[Fishguy2727]

Air stone doesn't matter, should not need it though. Plants usually end up as food, but if I remember right it tastes bad (not first hand experience, that's what the book said) so it may have a chance. Doesn't go with the biotope at all though, but if you want to try it let us know how it goes.

[KneeKickLou]

All this talk about Yellow Labs got my interested. I am currently looking to restock a 20 gallon high that I have would this be too small for say a group of 3 yellow labs? Or would I have to go up to 30 for them?

[Fishguy2727]

You would really have to do it right (tons of filtration, big frequent water changes, one male and two females, lots of hiding places) and even then at best it would be bare minimum, I wouldn't suggest it.

[Cichlid_Man]

Reptileguy is right. Bigger tank.
I kept some cichlids in a 30 gallon with success but you are really not giving those guys half a chance at what they could be. 55 gallon minimun I would say?
55 gallon setups run relatively cheap in walmart, then you can always upgrade the filter system and other things as you go along.
That's how I got started years ago for about $120.00 including everything you need.
Of course, you probably should get a good visitherm stealth heater and NEVER use what walmart gives you for heating.

Good luck.

One last thing for all concerned.

I didn't want to make it sound that ALL Yellow Labs are docile, or that it is simple to sex them.
For the most part, Yellow Labs are a quiet fish, but that doesn't mean they all are.
Keep in mind Lake Malawi. It is huge. They need open space. They also deal with other Mbuna and Utakas in the lake and sometimes have to defend themselves. They CAN fight!
All Cichlids in general as a rule can be aggressive, even the most prettiest of the Angel Fish!
As far as sexing the Lab?
My finding is that when you buy them and they have a lot of black markings, they USUALLY are male, but they can surprise us :-)

[KneeKickLou]

Thanks guys I'll def wait on the cichlids for now till I can get a full tank of them. I think I might go with a Tiger Barb tank that would look pretty cool I think. Any suggestion on the # I was thinkin 6 or 7 1inch 1gallon right these would be the only fish in there does that sound about right?

[f1oored]

Note on lab agression.

One of my yellow labs is holding now and I think I'm going to have to pull her out of the tank because she seems very stressed. My dominant male yellow lab will not leave her alone. Just thought I would share my current experiences.

[Fishguy2727]

That is usually why the females need to be pulled out, because the others just harass and stress them.