cichlid compatbility advice

[mindfish]

im setting up a 90 gallon i recently revived from my uncle an was wondering on compatibility as to avoid crossbreeding. heres what ive been thinking

4 acei's

4 blue johani

6 electric yellow labs

4 kenyi

6 venustus

i already read a few guides on cichlids an i avoided the same geneses for the fish but just wondering if an expert could help me out??

[Lady Hobbs]

Sorry no one has answered you yet. We have some great people who know their africans......I just don't happen to be one of them and they are most likely sleeping right now (as I should be at 4 AM). You will get lots of help soon, I promise.

[Mbuna]

Hi the trick with Africans in avoiding cross breeding is down to the colour / markings of the females. If you get a load of mixed fish and all the females are brown any males in the tank will breed with any females no matter what breed they are.

Best mix is 1 male to 3 or more females of each type as long as you avoid any females that are similar in colouration.

[escamosa]

Hi, mindfish.
In my opinion, a mixture of those species of cichlids won't work out real well.

The Acei and the Labs will be fine together - they're two of the less aggressive species of cichlids. Red Zebra would be a nice addition to this tank, and if you would like to take a chance of getting some well behaved Cobalt Blue - sometimes you can get them to live together nicely. Still add plenty of hiding places even though the aggression will be conciderably less. A 1 male to 3 female ratio should be used for these cichlids.

The Johanni and the Kenyi maybe ok together, but expect to have a fairly aggressive tank. Kenyi are concidered by some people as being a cichlid to be only kept in species specific tanks. If you choose to stock the Kenyi, it's advisable to have just the one male and 6 or so females - multiple males can be pretty nasty. Hongi could be a good addition to this tank. The Johanni and Hongi can be kept in a 1 male to 3 female ratio. Have more than plenty of hiding places with this setup.

6 Venustus in a 90g tank, is a definite no. They can grow to around 10" long, and the males can get super aggressive once they reach maturity. Venustus really should be kept with other larger sized Haps, in probably no smaller than a 125g tank.

Other people will have other ideas for you.

[junkers12]

In my tank I have had good luck with my set up so far but I am watching closely is the bumble bee cichlids. But what I have in my 90 gallon right now is
8 x yellow labs
3 x red zebras
2 x yellow tail Acei
4 x bumble bees
2 x blue dolphins
1 x demonsoni
1 x coalbalt blue
1 x white scolofi
1 x Sydontis Lace Catfish
1 x medium pleco

The bumble bees are quite agressive my catfish lost mots of his top fin to one of the crabos. I want to put more Aceis and some more red zebras in my tank and that should complete my stocking of the 90 gallon. I have talked to some other cichlid owners and they recommend 45 fish to be stocked in a 90 gallon to reduce aggression. The last two fish on your list are quite aggressive.

[DeadSulphurhead]

The Acei and the Labs will be fine together - they're two of the less aggressive species of cichlids.

I agree with esca, just want to add, Aceis and Labs are among the calmer Mbuna, not cichlids in general. They can still tear up a tank pretty good if they wanted. I have 1 male Lab that get very viscous a few days a month, only about 3.5 inches, but he terrorizes larger 6" fish.

I'll admit, my mix wouldnt be accepted into any beginners manuals, but I found a balance with trial and error.

1 M / 6 F Yellow Labs
2 M Acei (buddy buddy)
1 M Bumblebee
1 M Sulphurhead
Bunch of various male Aulonocaras
1 Female Red Rubescens (Mating pair with largest male, he protects her even when not spawning)
1 M Rusty
1 M Prince Alberts
2 Leopard Cteno.
School of Bosemani and Turqoise rainbow for top portion (Tall tank)
Pleco
Upside down Synos
8 Yoyo loaches...
Shittt I even have a Krib who doesn't let anything near the intake tube. Holds his own and he's the size of the others tails!

Getting hard to remember lol All in all, overstocking generally helps. When beginning, I did witness some nasty scraps, as well some surprising bonds formed. Part of the fun is the challenge