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55g Mbuna tank

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Micheal
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:49 pm

They seem very friendly with each other btw.
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Post by Micheal Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:09 pm

I don't keep zebra's anymore for this reason. I have lost a few hundred dollars worth of fish over one rogue zebra. Once I got rid of the zebra I haven't lost a fish. I tried him in a 55 gallon and then a 125 gallon before getting rid of him.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:44 pm

What did he do?
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Post by Micheal Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:50 pm

Aggression, all it takes is bullying to make some fish go into a state where they won't eat or swim.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:31 pm

Weird. I haven't seen any bullying so far. I'm sorry about the fish you lost. Sad
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Post by Aquarium1 Wed Sep 23, 2009 9:28 pm

I added the carbon back yesterday and its clear again today. Wish me luck. I mite be gettin some more fish next weeekend, well see how it goes. Not much else to update.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sat Sep 26, 2009 2:16 pm

Ok, I set up my 5g qt, well sort of. It was already set up as a betta tank but I moved my betta and added rocks. Here it is:
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Post by Aura Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:43 am

Good luck! Very Happy

That quarantine tank should be okay as long as the fish are small. I bet the betta wasn't too thrilled to be evicted.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:49 am

Actually I think he minds. He still has his cave and there are live plants and pfs in his new tank. He also ate so he isn't too upset. It's cheaper to buy fish smaller anyway Wink lol.
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Post by Rift_Lakes_Rule Sun Sep 27, 2009 2:10 am

looks good, that'll be a safe place to store your new fish to make sure they're healthy before adding them to the main tank. It beats nuthin. Enjoying the photo's and seeing things come together for you, keep it up Wink
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:05 pm

I got 3 more labs today, the Acei looked in terrible shape there. Although one of my labs seems to have a pinched stomach as well, maybe it was underfed too. I'll keep an eye on it.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:36 pm

Got some bad news. My zebras are both fighting a lot. I bet their both males Sad
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Post by Aura Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:47 pm

What is in your 55 gallon as of right now?
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 5:55 pm

2 zebras and a lab, my new labs are in the qt. I'm probly going to take the zebras back. What do you think I should get instead?
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Post by Rift_Lakes_Rule Sun Sep 27, 2009 6:07 pm

Well, basically mbuna are going to fight. The way to deal with it is to have enough fish in the tank so that the aggression gets spread out, rather than a couple fish fighting each other all the time. Even the most docile of mbuna's don't do well if there are only a few in a tank together.

You could take your chances with the new labs and put them in the 55, remove one of the zebras to the 5 qt tank until you can up the numbers a bit.

There's just no easy way to start an mbuna tank a couple fish at a time due to thier aggressive nature.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:23 pm

Ok, so your saying take out one zebra and put it in the 5g til I get more?
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Post by Aura Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:25 pm

Unless you are attached to them, I would go ahead and take the zebras back. That will leave you with four labs...I would probably add one or two more labs to that, bringing the number to five or six labs.

A lot of people keep Pseudotropheus demasoni with their labs for color contrast. Do you have those available? Demasoni need to be kept in large groups because of their conspecific aggression (at least 12 minimum is often recommended) so don't purchase any if you can't get them all at once.

If not demasoni, the rusty cichlid, (Iodotropheus sprengerae) would be another choice. In my experience, they are at the lower end of the aggression scale and would also make a nice color combination with your labs. I would say to get at least five of those as well. The males can be nasty to each other, especially around spawning time, so two or three won't be enough.

Acei are also fairly mild in aggression. I keep mine in a 75 gallon and they can get large, so I'm not sure how well they would be suited to a 55. I would think that they would be okay because of their temperament.

There are other possibilities as well. You need to see what is available at your fish store, write the names down, and then do some research and/or ask here. It's hard in the beginning to get it right, but once you figure it out, you'll be wanting more tanks and more interesting and challenging species. I started out with some of the most aggressive species there are and had to learn the hard way.
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:31 pm

I'll ask my lfs if they could special order some rusties. I asked them about acei, and they said for some reason they couldn't order them. What about mooriis or hongis? Idk much about them but just trying to figure out my options with their compatibility.
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Post by Aura Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:36 pm

I've never kept either of those, so I'm not sure. The moorii will probably grow far too large to keep in a 55 gallon.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along shortly. Very Happy
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:45 pm

Ok, well thank all of you for your help. I'll ask about the rusties probly on tuesday if I go to the lfs, and I'll talk about givin bac the zebras for credit.
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Post by Aura Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:19 pm

Make sure you look up some photos of the Rusties to see if you like them before you order any!
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Post by Aquarium1 Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:27 pm

I read tht when cichlids chase each other head to tail their courting. Do you think thts wats happening because I don't know the actual gender of the fish.
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Post by Aura Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:38 am

It could be, but not always. I've had males circle around when they were fighting. This is usually done at a high rate of speed and in tight circles with mine.

Even if they were a male and female, you still would need to up their numbers. The male will likely harass the female to death.
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Post by Aquarium1 Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:15 pm

Yeah I'm going to get more, it's just tht school limits the days I can go.
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Post by Aura Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:48 am

Honestly, I would just return the two zebras if you can and go with something less aggressive.

Does your store carry afras?
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