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I don't know off the top of my head which fish fit in the Mbuna/Malawi neck of the woods and which are Tangs. LFS workers try and tell me it isn't strictly necessary to go only mbuna or tang. Is the body shape any indication?

What do people think?

I have found fish listed under common names that I cannot see on this site? Any headsup on what these common names might be?
Deep sea electric ($AU12)
Red Forrest Jewel ($AU9.95) (not the elongated body shape so may not fly with the rest of the stock)
Electric Blue ($AU10)
Crimson Tide ($AU12.80) pretty good prices huh? Nice guy too...

I of course found electric blue on this site but included becasue I wondered on compatibility of any of above with these that are in my 4ft with plenty of hiding spots;
Electric yellow
Hongi Island
Maingano
Auratus




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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Its a bad idea to mix tangs and malawis, the tangs tend to be outcompeted for food as malawis tend to be bulkier, and more agressive, with that list i cant help except to say that as a general rule jewels dont go in malawi or tang tanks as they are african river fish and tend to be hyper agressive towards malawis and tangs, also their water parameters tend to be more toward neutral and less hard than your alkaline hard malawi/tang set up.

the only fish i'd recomend from that list is the eletric blue, and i would recomend you buy from a very good breeder. if your in melbourne i can recomend some, or if you like i can sell you some of mine at half the cost! (though they might be a little small at the moment. (round 2.5cm)

I am in sydney and my trouble is I don't know which ones I see in the shop are tangs and which are Malawi. They aren't labelled in categories and even the profiles on this site sometimes don't specifiy.

I didn't trust that the jewels would go despite what the man said.

So how do I know what are tangs and what are malwai????



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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Id go with with the electric blues, yellows, and maybe some RedxRed zebras. Really if you stick with mbunas you can put a good mixture in there, the more thats in there ( without overstocking though ) the better, I find that aggression is down when i have a god few africans in the same tank. But i wouldn't go with the Auratus b/c they are probely the meanest african that there is to buy, so stay away from them, unless your going with a species tank.

I have only 1 auratus. It is young and not causing any trouble but I know to keep an eye on it. I have found getting two of each causes arguments so I have stuck to one only so they don't try and be king of the tank.

Thanks for the advice. I will try and take a look at a red zebra and see if he can order it for me.

you can put a good mixture in there

A good mixture but what specific names? Red Zebra is a good start. I don't have anything red in there and would like it. (I don't like the transparent looking fish)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

i've got Greshakis which are a zebra, purple with a bright orange fin, fantastic looking fish. also very colourful is the red empress (protomelas somthing) cant remember the specific name. as for distingwishing between malawis and tangs, a general rule is tangs are pointier?

hmmmmm had a look and think I will ask about
red top zebra
electric blue
acei

Seems the names with likoma, pseutdotropheus or tropheops in them would work. Shops need to get the scientific names on tanks not just common names.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Ps. Saulosi are really nice fish, the males are bright blue and the females are bright yellow.

Hi, If you get stuck trying to see what a fish looks like try doing a google image search - we've found it invaluable before deciding what fish to buy.

Do some research on the site and see what fish you like, and research what you like, then go to the store and see if they have any. I'm a big fan of Malawis. I have peacocks, Johanniis, and Joanjohnsonae...all of which get along great. Remember, it's hard to tell how fish will get along. Standard guidelines are good, but you never know what you'll really get..some fish turn out to be strangly friendly, and some are just plain mean. My tank, for some reason, worked out great. Really study the fish when they're at the store. People probably think i look wierd while at the store because before i make a purchase, i watch to see how the fish interact with each other. That way you get some sort of idea of the personality and agressiveness. It's good that you're asking here before you buy, you don't want a disaster. Good Luck!

I've got a fever... and the only prescription... is more cowbell!

P.S. Johannii are beautiful fish, but are super aggressive. I would recommend a species only tank, or make sure you have a lot of females to one male

I've got a fever... and the only prescription... is more cowbell!

Thanks Cichlid crazy, I did a search here:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/index.php

Sorry Fishprofiles. I love you the best truly.

Responding to KM post of 08-May-2006 21:47: Thx km. I will try and do that too. However, I think it pays to remember that in the shop there is a very small tank and about 35 fish. Very different to a home 4fter with lotsa hidey holes and strangers too boot.

I have found more than one of each tends to make them compete until one is deadybones. I am sticking to each type being the star and allowed to shine.

(sorry for delay in responding filter at work wasn't allowing me to upload to boards - a few days of panic for me, felt very isolated not being abot to rely on my online support)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Another place to check at Cichlid-Forum.com is the Quick Reference section, then take a look at the Cookie Cutter for your particular size tank.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Hi, There's another couple of sites we found helpful for reference:
Have a look at: http://www.riftlakes.com/ - most of it is in Swedish or German? but they have English sections with fairly good pics and info on the different African lake species, each Lake has its own section.
There's also: http://malawicichlids.com/index.htm - all in English
and the last on is in French: http://www.destin-tanganyika.com/Poissons/index_poisson_du_tanganypag1.htm
I don't speak any of these languages (other than English obviously) but still managed to find some useful pics and info on all the fish we ended up with.

Forgot to mention - FishProfiles.com is still the best/:'

No you don't want to mix Mbuna and Tangs. I wouldn't put Jewels with Mbuna either. Definitly look up pics online before you go to the store again. Also if your store has scientic labels, look for ones with simular family names. Personally, I like the Ps. Zebras the best. ^_-

Inky