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yellow lab and other fish, could I do it?

14K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  louu 
#1 ·
Hello my name is Lou, this is the first time I have posted on this site (I am usually over with the betta folk) so if this is in the wrong spot feel free to move...

I am very much interested in keeping cichlids Mbuna rock dwellers particularly the electric yellow lab. I have a few questions as I am hard pressed to find reliable information elsewhere.

1) I have a particularly unimpressive fish history mainly goldfish and betta's in cycled tanks how hard are yellow labs? But you must remember that I have been spent most of the last year researching various fish and I feel very confident I could handle the theoreticle side of most freshwater fish keeping.

2) what can I keep with them later on down the track I heard blue peacocks are good but I have also heard they are not for beginners, I would like something similiar in size with varying colours.

3) what is the minimun tank size and what is the minimum number of fish that can be kept together I know they are a bit aggressive and overcrowding may be needed to reduce singling out. Could you give me some more information about that?

I think that's pretty much it for now, really sorry about the length!:)
 
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#2 ·
Answers

1) All African Cichlids are fairly hardy fish. Be sure to cycle your tank for 3 weeks before you introduce your fish. You will probably need a filter with a flow rate of 4 times the actual volume of your tank.

2) I don't know the fish available to you. I live in South Africa so malawi's are like goldfish. Yellow labs live well with:

Copadichromis Borleyi
Pseudotropheus Demasoni
Melanochromis auratus

Labeotropheus fuelleborni
Melanochromis johannii
Melanochromis parallelus

Melanochromis vermivorus
Pseudotropheus crabro
Pseudotropheus zebra


I guess this is enough for now. It's basically some Mbuna. Don't mix American Cichlids with the African variety.

3) Depending on the size of the fish you plan to keep, five 1 inch malawi's can live happily for 1 year in a 15GAl. Once they grow to 2+ inch they will need at least double the size. Most people just buy a 100L tank and fill it up with 40 malawi's of various sizes. Be sure to compensate space for rock features. I currently have just 5 malawi's in a 40L tank with a rock ornament. Don't do this if you don't have good filtration and aeration.

Regards

TM








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#3 · (Edited)
Hello my name is Lou, this is the first time I have posted on this site (I am usually over with the betta folk) so if this is in the wrong spot feel free to move...

I am very much interested in keeping cichlids Mbuna rock dwellers particularly the electric yellow lab. I have a few questions as I am hard pressed to find reliable information elsewhere.

1) I have a particularly unimpressive fish history mainly goldfish and betta's in cycled tanks how hard are yellow labs? But you must remember that I have been spent most of the last year researching various fish and I feel very confident I could handle the theoreticle side of most freshwater fish keeping.

2) what can I keep with them later on down the track I heard blue peacocks are good but I have also heard they are not for beginners, I would like something similiar in size with varying colours.

3) what is the minimun tank size and what is the minimum number of fish that can be kept together I know they are a bit aggressive and overcrowding may be needed to reduce singling out. Could you give me some more information about that?

I think that's pretty much it for now, really sorry about the length!:)
1)Most mbuna are easily kept so I wouldn't worry about it. You should be fine as long as the tank is cycled and established. Mbunas should be kept in a colony setting with 1m and several females. Buy a bunch of juvies and deduct fish until you get the preffered ratio.

2) They should be kept with other mbunas but you can keep them with malawi peacocks too. "blue peacock" could be alot of fish. Could you give us a scientific name or atlest a picture of the fish? I disagree with some fish on the poster above list. Crabro are large aggressive mbuna that I wouldn't keep with other mbuna in anything less than a 75 gallon and only with more agressive mbunas. Yellow labs are one of the most peacefull mbuna so keep the with other PEACEFULL mbuna and peacocks. I would suggest either...

8 yellow labs and 12 demasoni

or 8 yellow labs and 8 acei

3)Mbunas need to be kept again in a colony setting with several females to a male to prevent aggression issues. Again if you just wanted labs(and nothing else) you could do 1m and like3-4 females in a 30gallon. To add more mbuna a standard 55 gallon is perfect. The suggested combination above would work great in a 55. But if there are certain fish you like we may be able to work with that. Any more question please ask! You also must overcrowd mbuna so that no one fish is picked on. But, overcrowding means you must also over filter.
 
#4 ·
thank you for all that both of you it has been very helpful.

I saw one tank that had male and female johanni I am pretty sure and they were in with the y. labs would they be suitable?

I may be mixing johanni and Demasoni but I thought I read that demasoni were particularly bad bullies even of larger fish although I have read quite a lot about lots of different fish and I may be a bit confused
 
#5 ·
johanni are about semi-aggressive as far as mbunas go. You should be fine with yellow labs and johanni. Johanni should not be kept with demasoni because the males look similar which will cause aggression problems. You do not want to choose mbunas that look too similar. Demasoni are not that aggressive to other mbuna but are EXTREMELY aggressive toward thier own kind which is why it's suggested to keep them in groups of 12 or more. They max out at only about 3in so you can fit alot of them in a tank.
 
#6 ·
If you are looking for a good mixture of color in a 55 Gal tank you could go with
6 Yellow Labs
6 Ps Acei
6 Rustys

Just remember to keep it to 1 male per group to help keep down aggression. These are all peaceful african cichlids, but they are still african cichlids. And remember, you can not over filter a cichlid tank.
 
#7 ·
I currently have yellow labs mixed with :

Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei"
Labidochromis sp. "Perlmutt"

Amatitlania (Archocentrus) nigrofasciata
(Marble Convict**)
Pseudotropheus demasoni
Copadichromis Borleyi
Ancistrus dolichopterus


It's advisable to keep smaller convicts rather than convicts of similar size to the rest of your fish...
 
#9 ·
Mbuna cichlids are vegetarians and can get what is called malawi bloat if their diet has too much fat in it. Also, they will over eat so watch how much you are feeding them and let them fast at least one day per week. They have very long intestines and fasting helps them to clean out their system.

Good luck and make sure to post some pictures!
 
#10 ·
The above poster could not have said it better.

Make sure you have a fine substrate and good filtration! I used to have my HOB and Submersible running simultaneously. I don't compromise on excellent water quality!

Feeding a high protein food can be done just as long as its one serving per day this is like 3 granules of Tetra Bits per fish . Nothing more or they will get Malawi bloat! You don't want that.....

I make my own version of Tetra Bits which is formulated to increase growth, color and fin quality. This food is for omnivorous fish as well as carnivorous. I noticed a size increase in my orandas after a month on the food.

There's many recipes on the net, not all of the good, but you can make a similar food and try and make granules or pellets(Good luck:-D) .Most homemade food is either frozen or a paste it is almost impossible to make pellets without proper DRY ingredients.

It took me long before I figured out the correct ratio of all the ingredients to get the Granule form. Unfortunately the recipe is not available to anyone.

Tetra Bits is an ideal food. Use the serving size I suggested and you will be okay. Feed Cucumber or Zucchini 1 day before the fast.

Regards

TM
 
#11 ·
wow thanks I didn't even think about what I was going to feed them! But that is very useful information.

Ok so I must remeber a fast and to not feed them too much and I need excellent filtration etc (theres much more)

Is that it so far? I will go do some serious reading search around the internet some more before the time comes to set up the tank

Thank you SO much I now have my bearing and will go be a good girl and do the rest of my homework!

:) Lou
 
#12 ·
Hello again! I am revivnig this thread as I am about to start cycling my 37g tank (I decided I would start with that as I already have it and if I like the fish I will upgrade later) I am hoping that would be ok?


I have also been considering a species tank angelfish instead of yellows as I hear they have wonderful personalities (as long as you dont get a nasty one) but my tank is too short for adults probably and I am somewhat preturbed by the idea of their sensitivity to water quality. I know that cichlids need A LOT of filtration does that mean these cichlids (yellows and the like) are also very sensitive? How many water changes would I have to do each week on a well stocked tank? This site's profile on yellows rates them very easy and says that you could cycle with them?

Which brings me to my next dilema of actually cycling the tank I can't get a hold of a good ammonia source I have tried several stores and have only found one bottle which foams ever so slightly when shaken, so I am not sure how I get around that...

Also how can I tell males and females apart to get a good ratio or doesnt it matter quite so much with yellows?

and finally I still havent decided what else I will put with the electric yellows probably when I have a bigger tank I will think about it more :) THANK YOU AGAIN
 
#13 ·
I don't know much about Angels so I wouldent feel comfortable giving you any advice on them. As far as filtration for cichlids, the reason for over filtration is because you normally overstock cichlids to keep down aggression and additional filtration is needed to keep up with the excessive bio-load. Yellows are pretty forgiving and hardy but as with most fish, consistency with your water parameters is the most important aspect to their health.

I have found the best method for cycling a tank is to use media from an already established tank rather than trying to find a pure ammonia source.

It is hard to tell males and females apart in yellow labs when they are juveniles without venting them. Luckily they are one of the least aggressive cichlids and the 1:4 ratio is not as important with them as say Kenyi or Auratus.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
#14 ·
hmmm well to add to my cycling woes since losing some fish I have only got one 5g cycled tank with sponge filter and another smaller filter I could potentially put all the gravel in the new tank and run the filters but I dont think that would be enough... would I put all that stuff in with the yellows and cycle from there? Sorry I didn't quite grasp entirely what you meant.

OK I will make another thread asking a few Q's on angels hopefully it would be ok to start a new one.
 
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