Cichlid questions

[A Railgun]

Hello everyone. I have a question which i may not be able to provide adequate info. for a definitive answer but non the less here i go.

A friend of mine has african cichlids in his restuarant and they r breeding like crazy according to him. He is going to give me as many as i want. His description is that they r 3-5 inches in length, orange, and mouth brooders.
He bought them out of an assorted tank. So does anyone have any idea what species they r. I dont have any pics at the moment.

Also i dont have any exp. with african cichlids. How many can i put in a twenty gallon to grow up a little before selling and/or rehoming them for him?

Do all africans need the same water parameters or is it breed specific?

[Bigge3415]

If you could get a pic it shouldn't be a problem identifying. Depending on the breed they may be almost full grown at 3-5". If your going to be getting fry and then growing them out to juvys(around 2") then getting rid of them you could probly do around 10. But you will have to be able to get rid of them. A 20g is to small to keep cichlids. A 55g if minimum for the smaller breeds (except for shellies) in my opinion. Larger breeds would require a much larger tank.

[Aeonflame]

Assorted cichlids are usually all hybrids. Agree with the above poster on tank size. For a 20 gallon, you could probably raise about ten till they are a couple inches and then rehome. That size tank will not work in the long term

[Goes to 11!]

+1 to the above

Do all africans need the same water parameters or is it breed specific?

If they are mutts obviously they have never seen an African lake. I would just call your friend and ask for the details on the water they were in, Ph, temp & hardness ect.

Also, It's important to identify them as tank hybrids if/when you intend to sell them so that no one thinks [mistakenly] that they are getting a pure strain.

[nikelodeon79]

Perhaps a Red Zebra (or red zebra hybrid)? https://www.google.com/search?q=red+...w=1152&bih=749

Tell your friend to get some syno catfish... that should take care of any unwanted fry.

Hard core cichlid people seriously frown on selling "hybrids"/mutts.

I actually bred "purebred" African mbuna and it's really tough finding a local market. They only way to make any "real" money is to ship, and in that case you are absolutely not going to find a market because if people want mutts, they go to the LFS. People are simply not going to pay to ship something that is basically worthless.

As far as a 20g tank... it is extremely dangerous. Mbuna hit a point where they get aggressive... and it's very close to the point where they are just getting large enough to sell. I learned that the hard way.

I had a bunch of Cyno white top juvies in a 29g tank. I was planning on taking them in on the weekend to sell to the LFS (I got $3 per fish in store credit). On Thursday evening, something happened. My best guess is that they started getting a bit aggressive, some fights broke out, and a few fish died. Because my fry tank was overstocked, those little bodies very quickly polluted the tank and caused the ammonia to go through the roof. More fish died. In the morning, I woke up to a massacre. I'd lost almost every single juvie in that tank.

Needless to say, I am now one of the few mbuna keepers who does NOT recommend overstocking a tank to control aggression. Too many things can go wrong.

[A Railgun]

One of lfs is willing to take most fish at 50 percent retail on trade in fish.

[Lady Hobbs]

None in a 20 gallon. A 55 is just barely large enough for africans.

[A Railgun]

they r baby new borns and im looking to just get them to one inch maybe a smidge over then rehome them.

[eltylT]

good luck i hope they get along ok.i8you should receive some great advice.

[kaybee]

they r baby new borns and im looking to just get them to one inch maybe a smidge over then rehome them.

A 20gal will serve that temporary purpose: fry 'grow out' tank with intent to rehome at 1"-1.5".

At 2"+ aggression can ramp up slowly or suddenly (the latter can be disasterous).