# I think i have to reconsider my 55 gallon stocking



## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

Today when i was doing a water change, i found a dead yellow lab, from the looks he has probably only been dead for less than 24 hrs, i think that he was killed, no sickness on the fish or on any other fish, water is fine. The yellow lab was about 2 inches, he was one of the larger yellow labs, the largest fish in the tank is a male kenyi of about 3.5 inches. He is the dominant fish in the tank. I think that i am going to remove the 5 yellow labs. Like the man at the lfs told me, the johanni and the kenyi are more agressive than the yellow labs, especially since the yellow labs are smaller than one of the male kenyis and othe male johanni. So if i get rid of the yellow labs, what dou you think i should replace them with? Thanks!


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

nobody messes with an Oscar 
probably a bad idea but he will kick the bullies ass


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

I spent a while watching them, and i came up with this: 
Even thought the largest male kenyi is the doninant one, he is relaiely peaceful, spents a lot of time grazing on algae and peacefully swimming around, most of his fights occur with the other male and female kenyi, next in command is the 2nd largest male in the tank who is a yellow lab and for a yellow lab he is aggresive towards everyone, he chased aroumd my slightly smaller male johanni, next in command is a large combintion of female johanni and kenyi, the male johanni and other male kenyi, in last are the other yellow labs, the smallest fish in the tank that get bullies the most. Do you guys think I should take out those four, keep the one agressive yellow lab and replace them with some more agressive fish?


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## weedkiller (Nov 18, 2012)

I swapped a bully for a another, now the bullied is the bully, all you might end up doing is moving the chain of command and finding a new bully, it is not always the answer.
it may be that they are fighting for their territory


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Don't mix mbuna of the same color. A 55 is only big enough for one dominant yellow male. 
Pick 2 or 3 kinds of fish of similar aggression level and dissimilar coloration.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

ok emc7, so i should take out the for less agressive yellow labs and replace them wiith some other fish of similar agression, but a different color. How about some red zebras? Would 3 or 4 red zebras be a good replacement? Oh and also i have what i thought was 1m 3 f kanyi but as they grew it 1s 2m 2 f, should i trade in one of the males for a female? Any other suggestions?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Honesty, I would trade them all in. Get a smaller kind like an C. afra or P. demasoni. IME all of the Maylandia/Metriaclima eventually outgrow a 55. 

Zebras are very like the Kenyi and close enough in shape and color to be aggression targets. If you love the kenyi, you just keep pulling out the biggest males and selling them. Pick the fish you like best and have 10-12 of them. Labs will breed at 1.5-2", but will get more aggressive as they get bigger, but not as aggressive as the Kenyi or zebras. The algae grazers are more aggressive than the labidos that also eat inverts because they are protecting their food supply as well as their harem. That makes them meaner toward other species.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

What if i took out the kenyi and the johanni and replaced them with 10-12 demasoni, i like demasoni, so i think thats what i want to do, but do you think it wold be a lot better if i traded in the yellow labs for 4-6 red zebras?

I find it funny that when anyone exept me walks in front of the tank, they get terrified, its really funny. Do you guys have this issue (NOT as important as my main issue here) and i am jelous of one of the displey tanks at my lfs, looks to be about 75 gallons with a large variety of species 1-3 indivisuals of a species in a group this includes 2 kenyi and sone yellow labs and they are all full grown adults and they all get together perfectly, i dont know how they do it, they just tell me how its all about the right balance of agression. Back to my question... thanks for your help so far!


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

Yes, mbuna's and other sorts of cichlids (as well as other sorts of fish) can learn to identify the person who feeds. My mbuna's will race from one end of the tank to the other, following me as I walk by, yet ignore my wife and completely hide when a family friend or repair person (i.e, a stranger as far as the fish are concerned) approaches the the tank to get a closer look.

If you're converting the tank to a demasoni set-up plus one other species, I'd stick with the yellow labs over red zebra's.

If you had a larger tank though, red zebra's are better 'equipped' at holding their own in a tank containing johanni's and kenyi than yellow labs are.

How many fish are in the LFS's 75gal display tank and what are all the species? Smaller set ups tend to magnify aggression in mbuna tanks. Even though a 75gal is only slightly larger than a 55gal the larger volume helps. Where both genders of kenyi represented in the display tank?


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

yes it is a male and a female, it could be 100 gallons, there are about 20-25 of them, if i had the space in my basement, i would love to get a larger mbuna tank, but that wont happen. Okay so you think it would be best if i take out the kenyi and the johanni and replace them with 12 demasoni? Sounds good to me. I just have to wait, my lfs is low on africans and are redoing some of the african display tanks, ill do the trade in as soon as i can.


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

Did you mean the kenyi's and johanni's with 12 demasoni's? (you wrote 12 johanni's).

That would work. Keep in mind that demasoni's are a feisty bunch, you may seem a lot more skirmishes than what you're currently seeing (due to their conspecific aggressive nature) but the colony size will protect them by diluting that aggression; many hobbyists go the demasoni/yellow lab route.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

oh sorry ill fix that, i meant replace the johanni and kenyi with 12 demasoni and still keep the yellow labs


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You could do 6 demasoni to start with & a lot of rocks. IME, you can have 2 dominant males in 4' tank with the P. demasoni and they will keep to the rocks, where as the labs will use the top of the tank. Both of these fish are much more aggressive toward their own kind and will likely leave the other kind alone. 

You will still need to pull extra males that are getting their tails chewed, but with labs and demasoni, you could have 3 dominant fish and many females rather than just one big mean yellow fish. 

Mbuna tanks are a balancing act. You want enough fish to spread out aggression and few enough that your filters and water changes will handle the load. Your filters look good, similar to what I'd use. But check the flow on the canister when you feed them and clean it when it starts to slow and don't neglect the water.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/album.php?albumid=730&pictureid=6330

this is what it looks like now, do u really think i could use more rocks?


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