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Hi everyone, well i'm looking into starting a Cichlid tank over the next few months.

The tank is 48" x 18" x 14". I would like to have a sand base, the LFS stocks a product called lime sand, with limestone rocks. These fish need salt added the water right?

I have been looking through the profiles and have selected a few cichlids that I like but this is purely for looks and aggression levels. These are the ones I am interested in:

Lavender Mbuna (Rusty)
Cyrtocaru Moorii
Electric Yellow
Hongi
Brichardi
Maingano (Johanii (its a blue fish) - are these aggressive?)

I am totally out of my depth here so any advice on the compatibility of these fish and suitablility to the size of the tank would be very much appreciated.

Cheers and many thanks - Crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Some of the cichlids you've listed are Malawi, some are Tanganykan...I suggest you not mix. I have my cichlids in a 55 gallon aquarium...some needs lots of space for them to declare their territory. Malawis are what I have. Many are very aggressive and need lots of hiding places. The tank specifications you have given are pretty small to do more than one species. If you are going to use this tank, i would suggest doing one species of something less aggressive..and make sure you have many females to one male. I have Melanochromis Joanjohnsonae...it might be an option for you. The only Johanniis i know of are Melanochromis Johanniis, and they would not be compatible in your list if you plan on having all of the fish in your list. They are very aggressive and will kill many of your less aggressive fish...this will only be compounded by having a small tank. It's sometimes temping to get fish because of their looks or pretty colors, but these impulse buys can be dangerous. If you are seriously thinking about delving into the world of african cichlids, i highly suggest you do some reading on them before you jump the gun and and with a heartache. After you do your research, you'll find it's quite rewarding.

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

Thank you for your reply, as I said, this is all very new to me so I appreciate any advice and will take it all on board.

So basically I need to select fish from the same region as far as compatibility goes?

I am no rush to set this up so I have plenty of time for research.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Yellow Labs, Scocfolia ( spelled wrong im sure haha )and Johanni's are good staters for your size tank and for your experience with african cichlids.

I was looking more into these Johanni's, are they aggressive. I'm really heading to more peaceful - mildly aggressive varieties, well as peaceful as they can be.

The Mbuna's I am interested in now are:

Rusty Cichlid
Electric Yellow
Maingano
Cobalt Zebra

Any thoughts on this selection??? I still like the Brichardi as well, but haven't researched that yet.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

zebras are also very aggressive jsut so you know htat is what i currently have.

also PLEASE do not mix cichlid types ie africans and sa/ca
i learned htat lesson

Mixing african from diferent lakes is'nt that bad of a thing, but yes its not the most popular choice. I would go with 5 Yellow labs and 3-4 Rusty cichlids, or 5-6 Brichardi with the yellow labs.

If by Brichardi you mean Neolamprologus brichardi from Lake Tanganyika...I wouldn't mix them with Mbuna - different food requirements and brichardi, when breeding, will dominate any tank. They're great fish by themselves - they form large colonies where the generations help raise the next generation...very cool to watch.

Eric

By Brichardi I mean Princess ... is that the same fish??

So are Mbuna from the same lake?? I assumed they are. The zebra's profile said "mildly aggressive" so thats why its on the list but if its going to be a problem, i can do with out it.

Still researching so this is not the final selection. Looking forward to more input from all cichlid experts.

Thanks heaps everyone for your advice.

Cheers- Crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

The princess (sometimes called Fairy) cichlid is N. brichardi from Tanganyika - so they're not from the same lake as Mbuna. Mbuna need more veggies in their diet whereas the brichardi are insectivores.

Brichardi would be cool for a species tank. Start with 4-6 from the same tank, remove any that become outcasts, and soon they'll have kids, and then the kids will grow and guard the next generation, etc.

However, if you want variety, I'd stick with the Mbuna where you can have other species in the same tank.

Eric

Thanks Big E, I was really after a bit more variety in the tank, colour especially but I did like the Princess not so much for colour but because it was a little bit different to the other cichlids I was looking at.

So ... that one is out.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

how about daffodils? They're similar to brichardi...they're relatives, and they have more yellow coloring...they are called Neolamprologus pulcher

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

Same temperment though.

They are from Tanganyika so I couldn't have them if I was going to have Mbuna could I?

Also it says on the profile that they are aggressive.

Thanks for the suggestion tho.

EDIT : Looking at the last list, how many could I put in the tank i'm using (4ft). Some of them grow to quite a size and I am not looking at upgrading to a larger one as I have just purchased a 6ft for the community that is currently in it. There is no more space in my house for another upgrade.

Crusha -

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

5-6 Brichardi with the yellow labs

In that tank you could very well end up with a dominant pair of brichardi that will turn very aggressive and defend their territory to the death. The daffodil are very similar fish in terms of appearance and temperament. I personally like daffodils better.

They are nice fish with usually interesting personalities. You could try just one so you will end with no pairs. A single fish will clam a very small piece of the tank as their own, usually a cave and couple of inches around it. It's home will be heavily defended, but usually peaceful otherwise. I would not attempt more than single fish in a 55 gal or similar size tank.