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greenmonkey,

You saying you can't have e.yellow and e.blues in the same tank from what age ?? ever or from 9 month period ?

yellow labs are slow growers. this is true. my acei outgrow them 2:1. as for the 125 gallon tank. you may want to reconsider the electric blues. only one male will be bright blue and the rest will look dull. decide wether you want a mbuna or a hap tank and we'll see what happens. or, you can have one male and keep something else with the labs.

If you are looking for something easy to feed non live/frozen, or in addition to.

The best manufactured product hands down is:

Nutrafix Max : Spirulina Algae Tabs

For those knowledgable enough to understand the typical Mbuna diet, you might be asking "why this food." So let me show you and I'm sure you'll understand.

Protein: 32%
Fat: 4%
Fiber: 6%
Moisture: 12%

Ingredients: Spirulina Pacifica, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Wheat Gluten Meal, Soy Protein Concentrate, Yeast Culture, Carageenan Gum, Soybean Oil, Potato Starch, Sweet Potato Flour, Ground Spinach, Rice Flour, Wheat Germ Meal, Lecithin, Anise Seed, Citric Acid, various sources of Vit. A, D3, C, E, & B12.

All other dried herbavore foods have far less veggie matter, and include mostly meat protein from some fish source.

Your feeding regiment sounds fine Sin.

The comment on growth was in reference to the fast initial growth of Labs and other Malawi fish. They can go from tiny fry to 1.5"-2" in a matter of months.

It's true, Lab growth does seem to slow down quite a bit after they hit between 2-3", with the males being on the larger side. There's a quite a few factors involved, food being one, but also genetics and water temperature among other things.

gona try to jump in here with out highjacking the thread. hope ya dont mind.
you guys mention they grow fast when given the right diet, well i got E.Yellows and Socolofi in my 75g. the yellows were twice the size of my socolofi when i put the socolofi in the tank. now the socolofi has grown beyond them and has taken over the tank. so i did some diggin and heard E.Yellows are one of the slower growing mbunas. any fact to this? and what would be a good mix of food? i currently feed wardleys cichlid pellets as a staple and mix in cichlid granuals by tetra or nutrafin max spirulina tabs every 3rd day or so just to given somethin different to look at.
the granuals have the higher protein and the tablets have a higher amount of spirulina for thier coloring. this sound like a good mix?

Andy,

I thought that was the case i read the links u sent me, and i got that i could put them together. But when the post went in saying i couldn't i was confused.

Thanks for clearing it up

Yes, you can keep them both in the same tank as feeding them both protein and vegetable matter is healthy for both of them. Just change their diet around like AndyCLS said.

I am planning a 6ft 125gallon tank with Blues and Yellows and i want to know how many would i be able to fit in.

Jeremy

"Just a word of caution wee davey - electric blues get big! And they really like their swimming space more than mbuna. I'd get some other type of mbuna instead to go with the yellows, there's so many good looking ones out there!"

Thanks for the info. One of the things that I liked about the mbunas is that I have good options for mixing them (as long as I stick now with the rocky-terrain less-aggressive types) as I currently understand it. Thanks again for the info on the electric blues.

Yes, they can be kept together.

L. caeruleus (Electric Yellow) is one of the few mbuna with a versatile diet. In fact, many of the Labidochromis genus are very similar in this regard. In the wild they are omnivorous, and feed on small crustaceans and insects. They are frequently discussed in cichlid literature as popular tankmates for both Haps and Peacocks, both of which take a higher protein diet.

Take a look at S. fryeri's species profile (http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_fryeri.php)

In nature, S. fryeri feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans. In the aquarium, where we tend to feed our fish more frequently than they would feed in the wild, it is important not to over do it with their protein consumption.

This fish is frequently misrepresented as a piscivore because it is a Hap. But note the diet is described as very similar to L. caeruleus' diet, as well as that last bit about not overdoing it with protein consumption for Fryeri.

Both of these fish would benefit from an omnivorous diet, with some vegetable matter or good cichlid flake/pellet alternated with frozen brine shrimp. The European Shrimp Mix (ESM) is also an excellent source of nutrition. See my thread in this forum on the subject. You can read the details there, but a reasonable ESM mix for this particular setup would be a 50/50 distribution of peas to shrimp, as opposed to the 75/25 mix that I described in that thread.

I am thinking of getting some 2-3cm electric yellow and blues. I know nothing about these fish. I was thinking of putting them in a 2 foot tank. Is this not enough space. I know 2 foot is not big enough for when they grow up. But for a little while untill i talk my wife in to letting me get another big tank. Is there a ratio i should have of these, or ratio for male and female. What do i need to know about these fishies

Thanks in advance.

you cant keep them together at all even in a larger tank. they have different diets and agression is different. yellows are herbivores/part omnivore while blues are mostly carnivores.

Just a word of caution wee davey - electric blues get big! And they really like their swimming space more than mbuna. I'd get some other type of mbuna instead to go with the yellows, there's so many good looking ones out there!

digiclear - it should be fine then. Personally I'd wait to get the big tank first, then you don't have to stress out the fish moving them later, but of course it's your decision and I know these fish are hard to resist!

I understand about your wife too, my partner is the same way, he points to random fish he likes in the LFS and goes 'why can't this one go in our tank?' and I have to explain to him about compatibility issues. But he won't let me set up another tank, even if it means getting the fish he likes! ]:|

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

I just got a pair of them for my 40 gallon tank. I took my girlfriend to help me to look at fish for the tank and she fell in love with the yellow labs. She says that her family had kept other fish, tetras and danios and such, and she never had any experience with cichlids. I had some, but never with lake malawi cichlids. Man, they are soooo cooool. I'm gonna wait a month or so and then add some blues. Great choice!

she understands all that she knows what they are etc etc. She keeps on telling me to buy them. She doesn't understand the can't mix them with the current community fish i have @ the moment. I have to save for the new tank. She doesn't really have a prob with getting it, just i need to save for it and where are we going to put it. So a bit of OT this and next month should be good to get it. I was planning to get a min of a 6foot tank. Currently have a 50G community tank. I am getting her to turn my hospital tank in to her tank so she can learn about fishies etc etc.

*nods in agreement* Electric blues attain a length of around 8", so a 55 gallon mimimum would be needed for a colony, a 75 or larger would be much better. And they do grow fast with the right diet. I bought some maylandia crabro fry at around 1" earlier this year, it took barely 3 months before the males were 3 times that size, within 6 months the alpha male is over 5" and very full bodied.

If you can't convince your wife to let you have the larger tank now, why will she be convinced in a month or two?

I'd suggest that you take her to the LFS and show her some of the fish you're after, if they happen to have adults in a display tank or something so much the better! Show her how big and active they get, and how beautiful they are, and use that to convince her to allow the larger tank now. You could also use the fact that these fish breed much better in larger colonies - and more breeding, more fry, more money! You could use the 2ft as a grow-out tank to raise the fry and sell them. Surely she can see the sense in that! (Just don't allow her to compare the cost of the tank and the food etc. with the amount you'd get from the fry )

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

Not a problem if the larger desired tank will be accessible within a few months, I'd say.

These fish will quickly attain a size which are not suited for a tank this small. Something to keep in mind.

I'd recommend reading up on these fish before proceeding further. Some good starter reading is as follows:

Setting up a Malawi Cichlid Tank
Compatibility Issues with African Cichlids (addresses dietary concerns, among other things)
Electric Yellow Species Profile
Electric Blue Species Profile

Basically, read as much of everything you can get your hands on. Up-front preparation and knowledge is especially crucial with African cichlids, as there are varying diets and territorial concerns which must be addressed for a successful tank.

My recommendation would be to hold off until you get that big tank. Most Malawi fish will quickly achieve a size, given proper nutrition, which will be inappropriate for a small tank such as a 2ft. My last batch of Electric Yellow fry went from birth to over 1.5" in less than 3 months.

how many do u think i could put in a 2 foot tank ???

there should be more females than males...ideal number is 1 m to 3 f...but 1 m to 2 f usually is ok as well....however..if you are buying young 2-3cm fish...you cannot tell it's sex by just looking at colour difference or some other external features.

certainly not a problem keeping them in 2 ft tank if you know you will get bigger tank later...

and this website's profile has some discription on them as well as www.cichlid-fourum.com