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So to finish off my african cichlid tank i got 3 more friends last night... i would like your input as to what you all out there know or have had experience with. I purchased the following:

Bumble Bee Cichlid
Krib
what i think is an albino zebra.. could someone help me with pics? i know it is albino for sure.. but species wise.. not positive. thanks!

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Your selections aren't what I'd call compatible. What else is in the tank?

Pseudotropheus crabro and M. estherae may hyrbidize, for one. They're both of the former genus Maylandia and are closely related enough that, when kept singly, they're likely to give up and spawn with each other. Each of these species is best kept as a harem, not alone.
The krib will simply never make it with the mbuna; Kribs may be fierce in the Dwarf cichlid world, but they're cats next to the lions P. crabro and M. estherae can be. Sorry, but he'll have no way of surviving them.

I suggest you plan your tank either for mbuna in a sensible arrangement (harems of species with similar dietary requirements and aggression levels but not closely related enough to hybridize) or remove the mbuna entirely and keep kribs in a good tank for them (plants, neutral water with medium hardness, robust non-cichlid tankmates like barbs).

-Molly
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the bumble bees are cool I had 2 of them

Little mousling:

i dont know scientific names off the back of my hand so i would appreciate if you would use the common names. also, i hav read several places that the krib will be strong enough, I have many, many hiding places for these guys. the rest of the tank stock is listed in my profile

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Well, as you've found with the albino (possibly xzebra) precise names are important. To clarify, P. crabro is the Bumblebee and M. estherae is the zebra, if it's a zebra.

I'm not sure where you read that a krib could survive a mbuna tank. Not only are the water parameters out of its range, but the aggression of a mbuna tank is so far beyond what a krib could take I just can't imagine combining them. Ditto the Jewel, I'm afraid - the water parameters and aggression level are all wrong. Jewels are nasty but in a very different way than mbuna are. The yellow labs aren't likely to handle the new additions, either, once they mature. None of these fish are being kept in appropriate numbers, and very few of them are compatible. Sorry, but mbuna can't safely be picked without solid forethought or sooner or later (usually sooner) there will be severe problems.


"55 gallon: 2 E. Blue Johannii(M&F), 2 Yellow Labs, 1 jewel cichlid(turquoise), 1 sunshine peacock(f), 1 bumble bee cichlid, 1 Krib, 1 albino Zebra"

-Molly
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what is the mbuna? im all confused now.. i thought i knew..

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Your bumblebee, zebra, electric blue "johannis," and yellow labs are all mbuna - rockdwelling cichlids from Lake Malawi. The kind of fairly basic research that should be done before buying any fish but ESPECIALLY cichlids of any kind would have revealed that these fish were mbuna but also, and much more importantly, might have prevented the stocking problems you're not hitting up against.
I'd suggest you decide whether you want an aggressive mbuna tank, a passive mbuna tank, or an African riverine tank (for the Krib and Jewel) and stock according to that; the current mix will only lead to destruction and death.

-Molly
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ok so my labs, johaniis, bumble bee and zebra are all mbunas. i guess im not sure why the f. peacock, jewel, and krib dont fit.. i mean the ones up above have a seemingly high agression level that match with the rest all of them are healthy in the tank, and all are juviniles. i guess i really dont understand what the "stocking option" is supposed to be with Mbunas

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

The peacock doesn't have the aggression level of the mbuna. Some mbuna tanks include a single male Peacock as a show fish so this isn't completely infeasible, but with the quite aggressive fish you have (the johannis, zebra, and bumblebee) it could be a problem in the future.

The real problems are the labs, krib, and jewel. For all three handling the aggression of the serious mbuna is too unlikely. The Krib, small, in the wrong water parameters, and unable to deal with the aggression, is just about certain to be killed. The Jewel, very likely. The labs may not be killed outright but I don't envy them their life in the tiger cage.

If you remove those three fish, add two female johannis, three to five zebras, and three to five bumblebees (then remove any extra males) you stand a MUCH better chance of having a long-term, healthy, functioning tank. If it stays as is, I don't see that as a remote possibility - unless one of the fish kills all of the others and lives peacefully by himself.

Last edited by LittleMousling at 04-Feb-2005 21:59

-Molly
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so basically, i thought the kribs grew to 5" on average, and you are saying that the jewel and the labs wont last? it seems that the jewel can hold his own so far...gosh i didnt think i would get myself in this mess... I am also purely guessing that I have a female Electric Blue Johannii... i am not positive, i thought It was an auratus, but i now know that i am wrong there..do you have a pic of one or know a good pic of one off hand.. ?

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Well, first off, just so we're clear, the Electric Blue Jahanni and the Johanni aren't the same fish. If you have Electric Blues, you have Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos (photos: [link=http://www.cichlidlovers.com/m_cyan_maingano.htm]http://www.cichlidlovers.com/m_cyan_maingano.htm" style="COLOR: #4040FF[/link]). I hope they're not auratus, for the sake of your other fish! But male auratus can also be blue with horizontal stripes (article here: [link=http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_auratus.php]http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_auratus.php" style="COLOR: #4040FF[/link]).

The jewel and labs may seem to be fine now, but juvenile fish are nothing like their mature couterparts. Mature mbuna of the types you're keeping are a force to be reckoned with.

Kribs can reach 4" at the outside but rarely pass 3".

This, I'm afraid, is why it's vitally important to reasearch research research before buying any fish, especially cichlids.
A good place to start reading would be the FP cichlid profiles and the Cichlid-forum profiles (the mbuna profiles of the latter are at [link=http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2]http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2" style="COLOR: #4040FF[/link]).

-Molly
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