# My First Cichlid Effort



## Moses (Aug 21, 2006)

This is my first attempt at a cichlid tank. 4' x 15" x 18" so 55gal or 210L.
It has 4 Electric Yellow's (1m 3f) and 4 Blue Dolphins. Will be adding a pleco to do some cleaning. I'm hoping the labs will breed.
Are pleco's the only option for cleaning?
Will 4 labs be enough for breeding or should I add 4 more (1m 3f)?
And the big question will the Blue Dolphins out grow this tank anytime soon? I'm getting a 6' x 2' x 2' in about 3 months and they will go in that if they get too big in a community style tank.
Anyway here are some pics taken the other day. I have some progressive pics of me making the tank which I will post later 


























They get along quite well so far.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Hello!

The dolphins will definately grow out the tank (they can get 9") but if you are getting a 6 footer soon, id say that they would be fine in a 55 for three months. And If I were you I'd go ahead and buy 6-8 more labs and make it a labs only species tank.


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## Laura Ann (May 3, 2006)

Looking good there Moses!! 

If you don't want to do a species only tank (I, for one, can't stand a bunch of fish with one color) you could also do some other smaller Africans. 

I think that the dolphins will be alright for longer than three months though, so don't worry there. They do get big though, so you can plan on either getting rid of them or upgrading. I would get rid of them and get some other species.


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## HybridS130 (Aug 27, 2006)

Rusty cichlid would make a great peaceful addition and it's darker coloring would contrast well with the yellow labs. Auratus are also nice but, can get fairly aggressive. *thinking thinking thinking*


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## Moses (Aug 21, 2006)

Thanks for all the comments 
I was looking at adding some Demosoni but they are $40 for 4-5cm fish where I live and I'm not willing to pay that much.

I added a Gold Pleco which I picked up for $14 which was pretty cheap. Its about 8cm, but man are they dirty little buggers. There is literally **************** all over the bottom of the tank in 24 hours. On the plus side my algae seems to have disappeared.

I was thinking of some Aceii and Hongi.


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## unclerick666 (Jan 27, 2006)

OK HERE'S MY THOUGHTS......
First I hope You siliconed or epoxyed those rocks, if they are real.

Africans and plecos are both diggers and if a rock falls...........

plecos arn't really that well suited for an African tank either, they prefer a more acidic and softer water, it will live fine but, wont be happy!

A much better choice would be one on the syno cats, that are found in the same lakes. certain synos actually lay their eggs in with the cichlid eggs and let them hatch them! Synos are also called upside down cats.


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## unclerick666 (Jan 27, 2006)

OK HERE'S MY THOUGHTS......
First I hope You siliconed or epoxyed those rocks, if they are real.

Africans and plecos are both diggers and if a rock falls...........

Plecos arn't really that well suited for an African tank either, they prefer a more acidic and softer water, it will live fine but, wont be happy!

A much better choice would be one of the syno cats, that are found in the same lakes. certain synos actually lay their eggs in with the cichlid eggs and let them hatch them! Synos are also called upside down cats.


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## Moses (Aug 21, 2006)

I'm having deja vu


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## Sicy (Oct 2, 2006)

Wow beautiful!!


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2006)

I second the Rusty cichlid suggestion and also suggest some Cynotilapia afra Cobue for more color.



> Synos are also called upside down cats.


USD cats are a type of Syno. There are many different kinds but alot of them get too large for a 55g. Not all Synos are USD cats.  The pleco should be ok...I've heard differing experiences...some Africans will kill plecos, sometimes they manage to survive. Some Syno petricolas would be a good addition if you decide to get rid of the plec. I think they only get around 4-5 inches. And they are quite cute.


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## agfisher02 (Sep 14, 2006)

Syno Petricolas would be a good choice instead of a pleco. I currently have 4 of them in my tank and they do a wonderful scavenage job. Personally I think they are better looking than the pleco and they mind their own and my other ciclids tend to leave them alone. They will only get to be around 4-5 inches.


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## valpofan98 (Nov 26, 2006)

Are Labs less aggressive fish and good together?


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## Jgray152 (Jan 16, 2007)

Labs are excellent fish and most of the time are much less aggresive. I have 2, male and female that spawn frequently.

I also have.

2 Auratus
1 Albino Auratus
1 Red Zebra
3 Blue Pindani
1 Bumble Bee
2 Yellow labs (1 Holding)
1 Love Hearted Parrot Fish
1 Turqouis Blue Jewel Cichlid
1 Common Pleco
1 Jack Dimpsy

My tank has vertually no aggrasion so far. I have had these fish for about 8 months with zero problems. Some may say you can't mix these fish together. I say otherwise. I also have 1 large plant and 1 smaller plant that they all hide in along with rock on the sides of tank.

Just keep an eye on the dolphin. I find no matter how big a fish gets in total length, it will only get as big as its surroundings. So if you have a lot of fish taking up a lot of the water, then it wont get to its full length.


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## thebrick (Dec 20, 2006)

^ called stunting..Not a good thing


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## Jgray152 (Jan 16, 2007)

What do you mean by Stunting?


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

when aquariums are overstocked, fish's growth is stopped, they experience health complications and die. what sze tank you have?


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

Stunting is when fish don't grow as big as they should due to poor conditions.

I'd pull out the plecos if you want them in there for cleaning - in my experience, plecos need more food than just algae alone will provide, and they are little poop machines - so you end up a) feeding your "cleaners" and b) you have to clean up after them - so that a tank with (for example) 8 cichlids and no plecos may have less algae than a tank with 8 cichlids AND 2 plecos - plus lots of brown spagetti on the gravel !


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## Jgray152 (Jan 16, 2007)

I have a 55 gallon.

I have a very large plant in the center of the tank. If I removed that plant im sure they would get a little bigger.

I have never in my entire 15 years of fish keeping ever had issues with fish dieing or getting sick because of them not reaching their full adult size.

Slightly overstocking is not a bad thing as long as you have the correct filtration to keep up with damand and plenty more hiding spots as well. Highly overstocking, yes I can see issues with stress deaths.

I have 11 fish in my tank and they have plenty of room to swim around.



> I'd pull out the plecos if you want them in there for cleaning - in my experience, plecos need more food than just algae alone will provide, and they are little poop machines - so you end up a) feeding your "cleaners" and b) you have to clean up after them - so that a tank with (for example) 8 cichlids and no plecos may have less algae than a tank with 8 cichlids AND 2 plecos - plus lots of brown spagetti on the gravel !



I have sand not gravel. I never clean up after the fish. the pop decays and disapears, the bacteria in the filtration will keep up with the ammonia from that. My ammonia and Nitrite readings are always 0. Now and then I stir up the sand but I never clean up their pop.

The pleco I do want to move to my 30 gallon or get him some food for him. Maybe alergy wafers? I think the Mbunas will over power him to the food though. So I plan on moving him and getting something else to dwell on the bottom.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

wow dude... How big do you think those fish get, and how long do you think they are supposed to live? You arent a little overstocked... your WAY overstocked. What are your parameters?


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## Jgray152 (Jan 16, 2007)

Well I actually have 14 fish not 11. I don't know where I came up with that number.

Considering Mbunas should have a high number to begin with to spread aggresion. Its fine. Im actually under the limit to what people say I should have for Mbuna population. They should get 3-4.5" They are still growing. when they get bigger I will remove the plant and put the plant in my 30 gallon. the plant is real and I have had it for about 10 years now. So its really big. Most of the fish I have had for only about 8 months.

My Jewel cichlid I have had for about 3-4 years and he is around 4"
both my yellow lqabs I have had for a few years.

Remember the rule that a lot of people go by that I don't? 1" of fish per gallon? If I were to go by that rule, then I would be under the limit and not even overstocked. Say every fish hit 4". 4*14 = 56 (56 Gallon) Not even over stocked because not all will hit 4" my Adualt female lab is only about 2.75"

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: Probubly a lil high.
PH: 7.6
Hardness: Unknown
Temp: 78-80
Water changes, 50% Once a Month. Not very much stress doing this.


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