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hi folks,

i've been keeping fish for about 30 years but have focused on south americans - discus, angels, apisto species, catfish, plus all the tetras... but i've just got a new tank and was thinking of lemon yellow cichlids.

the tank:

60 x 40 cm footprint, holds 25 gallons (US), or 95 litres. I plan on decking it out with fine dark gravel, lots of rockery, and anubius plants attached to the rocks. water parameters etc i can do myself, but i would like to know about the fish themselves -

- should i buy a small group and let them pair up, or get my helpful fishshop man to try and pick a pair for me?

- how many 'pairs' might i be able to keep?

- what other fish are suitable tankmates (ie a school of something small)?

thanks in advance for your help,

justin

By lemon cichlid, i'm guessing your referring to Neolamprologus leleupi;

Start with a small group and let them pair off by themselves. In a 25 gallon, only one pair would work.

For tankmates, you can get away with a pair or trio of small shell dwelling cichlids. If this tank is for breeding, I would stick with just the leleupi pair and a pair/trio of shell dwellers. You could get away with a pair of julies but I wouldn't reccomend it.

Lemon yellows? lol, I was thinking of Yellow Labs, lol. Confusion with common names again, lol. If you might know the scientific name it would very much help with your question. As these fish and what might even be a totally different fish you are calling Lemon Yellow, can and do have much different personalities.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

You can have 5/6 N.lelupi & let them pair on their own without any tankmates. I suggest lots of caves & rockwork & a sandy substrate. The can have up to 150 little ones & at the moment i'm raising about 50, that a friend of mine gave me.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

When he says lemons I too am thinking Lemon Yellows.
I highly doubt hes meaning neolamprologus.
Is this the fish youre talking about?

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/electricyellow.php

Or is the fish:
http://www.gcca.net/fom/Neolamprologus_leleupi.htm

Yellow Labs (sold here are electric yellows, yellow lab, lemon yellow) are big, 8 inch long fish, that I think would need significantly more space than 25 gallons.



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hi - sorry for the confusion, yes, i'm talking about n.lelupi. thanks for your help so far.

justin