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how many ADULT yellow labs(labidochromis caeruleus) will comfortably fit a 44g. PENTAGON(corner back, hex front) tank? and what should my male/female ratio be? i currently have what im pretty sure is a male yellow lab, should i have just the one male and rest females? thanx for any help, answers, n suggestions.

Last edited by TIGER9 at 22-Dec-2004 16:53

maybe about 5 or 6 is the tank high or long if its high maybe 4 if its long maybe 5 or 6

its more of a tall tank i would say. if i were to go with 5, would that be enough? would there be alot of aggression between them? i know they are a bit more subdued as far as aggression goes compared to most cichlids, but theyre still cichlids. i guess what im asking is what is the min. number of yellow labs i should have in a colony?

i think 2 males and the rest feamales

nah their not really agressive but males will be to each other

Last edited by tetrafan31313 at 22-Dec-2004 17:18

If your planning to breed i would get one male and the rest female.
2 males and the rest females would also work but you may see the males fight a bit and the weaker male may spend a lot of his time hiding.







Last edited by PJ at 22-Dec-2004 17:46

the weaker male may spend a lot of his time hiding.

thats what i figured. i dont really want one awesome male, and another lil weakling scroungin his whole life ya know? i dont plan on breeding but the more i think about it the more i like the 1 male idea.

Having only 1 male would make things more peaceful

Electric Yellows aren't really considered aggresive for Cichlids but males can still get aggresive to each other.

Only 2 males would mean that the weaker males would take all the abuse. When you keep males it's always best to have around 4 or so. That way the aggression is spread out among the males and not all on one individual male.


I recommend that you keep one male for this setup.
In a tall 44g you can probably fit about 5 yellows.






Last edited by PJ at 22-Dec-2004 23:47

I would get 1 male & 3 females. It's better to limit the aggression & have a rather peaceful tank.





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if u have the right ph for them it helps agression to they r more peaceful cichlids they love caves n the taller tank will prove a benifit if u place limestone rocks upwards along the back of the glass nearly to the top they will love it i have a 55g tank with almost 250lbs of limestone rock all set up in caves n tunnels with a sand bottom i have 3 males 7 females there still younger but i only see them dashin thro the caves n when i come to the glass they all come out
id suggest shoppin round for better strains most r washed lot with white bellies n some brownish markings a good strain will b brite vibrant yellow yellow belly n black line on the dorsal fin

good luck

In that sized tank I would put a male and 4 females and that would be a nice setup. I agree that two males would result in more aggression.

Due to the smaller surface area of that tank, as compared to rectangular tanks, I would also suggest some form of high surface aggitation. Because if you are adding any other fish, such as plecos or catfish, for clean up detail and such, you will be at a maxium for stocking, in reference to the water to fish ratio for biological filtration. But the surface area is smaller, so there is less air exchange within that tank. I suggest you have either a high flow filter that shoots the water out across the surface, rather than down into the water. Or you add an aereator of some sort, like a large airstone or such in a corner of the tank.

HTH....

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

Electric yellows are extremely difficult to sex, and when they are juvis I would say that they are impossible (unless you know how to vent!). They are not as picky about harems as other mbuna, and males aren't too bad with each other. I would just get a group (5-6 sounds good), not worry about the sex for now and see what happens. Usually people can't tell for sure what they have until they breed anyway.

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