help with the following please :)

[pompeyjoe]

hello there would appreciate it if any body could help please. ive been looking at some of these fish find them pretty cool and nice looking

i have a 60gallon 4ft bow fronted tank
with a rena xp3 external filter
fine gravel substrate

its all up and running cycled and every think i have fish in there at the momment but they are being rehomed into my other tank.
was woundering if anybody on here could tell me if any of these fish can be keept together in my tank, a little list of wich ones. and how many of each will go into my tank please.





Nimbochromis venustus... common name... giraffe cichlid kalingo

Sciaenochromis fryeri.... electric blue.... electric blue hap

Labidochromis caeruleus... yellow lab.... electric yellow.. canarycichlid

Metriaclima estherae... red zebra.....orange zebra

Pseudotropheus sp... Yellow Tail Acei


non cichlids that will go with cichlids

spotted synadontis (Synodontis Multipunctatus). Pleco/catfish
Ancistrus pleco/catfish
Cochliodon sp pleco/catfish



manky thanks :)

[angelcakes]

hi joe,im not to sure have you researched each fish on there temprament and territorial habits?

[Crispy]

yeah, those africans can be kept together. Also peacocks, mbunas, blue dolphins, venestus... africans can almost always cohabitate with eachother.

[pompeyjoe]

is there any change i can get all my recent and old post up on here?

[kaybee]

Nimbochromis venustus... common name... giraffe cichlid kalingo

Not a good candidate. Get's upwards of 10"-11" and is an active swimmer. 90gal+ minimum, 6ft tank (125gal+) preferred.

Sciaenochromis fryeri.... electric blue.... electric blue hap

Perhaps best kept in at least a 90gal due to size (~7-8") and swimming activity.

Labidochromis caeruleus... yellow lab.... electric yellow.. canarycichlid

Very compatible with your tank.

Metriaclima estherae... red zebra.....orange zebra

Very compatible with your tank.

Pseudotropheus sp... Yellow Tail Acei

Very compatible with your tank.

spotted synadontis (Synodontis Multipunctatus).

Very compatible with your tank.

As for the pleco's, how they fair will vary. Some will be ignored, some may be harassed and lose their eyes or worse to african cichlids. For the best chance of success, these need to be in the tank before the african cichlids.

So, for a re-cap, the mbuna's on your list (yellow labs, acei, red zebras) will do fine. If limited to just those three species you could stock perhaps 6 of each, at a one male per several females gender ratio.

You could expand the quantity of mbuna species by lowering the quantity of individuals per species. You could stock as low as a dozen total or perhaps as many as 20.

[Gemini]

africans can almost always cohabitate with eachother.
I'm going to have to disagree. I feel telling a person they can get any African is misleading and will likely end in problems.
You need to base it on whether you are having males and females or just a male show tank (breeding fish will change their behaviour drastically), which lake they are from, food preferences (herbivores do not survive well with carnivores - the individual dietary needs can not be met), tank space and decor, filtration flow rates etc.
Venustus - can be aggressive but not too bad in my experience. Grow very fast and are carnivores. Need a lot of protein in their diet.
Sciaenochromis fryeri - fairly mild in aggression. Few colour options as there are differences in geographic origin. Carnivores.
Labidochromis caeruleus - fairly mild in aggression. Few colour options as above. Omnivores so they need a mixed diet.
Metriaclima estherae - only females are usually orange. Males are often blue. Some people have had very aggressive red zebras, others more mild. So they can get up there in the cranky stakes. Omnivores.
Pseudotropheus Acei - pretty tame. But are herbivores. You need to have algae covered rocks for them to graze on. Feeding them a diet designed for carnivores will lead to digestive problems.
The only one that would concern me of the ones you have suggested would be the Acei if you don't have algae rocks or spirulina flakes. They need veges!!!!! Their digestive tract is not designed for lots of protein. The rest can be kept together in a male only tank. But if you wanted to breed I would rethink it.
That's my 2c:22:

[Lady Hobbs]

is there any change i can get all my recent and old post up on here?

I added your two threads together.

[Gemini]

Kaybee is a lot more experienced than me so I'd take her advice over mine. There are a lot of great sites that have cichid profile info. Have a squiz at what you like, what their activity levels are like, food requirements, temperaments etc.

[kaybee]

Thanks for the kind words, Gemini, but one slight adjustment, I'm not female :ssuprised: :22:
(the name I use online may be misleading, since 'kay' is a girl's name, but stands for my initials KB)

[Gemini]

Sorry Kaybee! Even with the gender signs I got it wrong!!