Labidochromis Q's....

[Beardo]

I am interested in setting up a colony of Yellow Labidochromis cichlids. What would be the recommended number of fish I could keep in a 20 gallon aquarium? I have had some experience keeping African Cichlids, but it has been a while....I am mainly a herp/arachnid keeper so I am no stranger to exotic pets. Any useful links or information that pertain to the captive husbandry of Labidochromis cichlids would be extremely appreciated. Thanks for looking. :)

[MaJiKTeRRoR]

50 gallon minimum for one.

[Beardo]

50 gallons? Are you sure? These are fairly small cichlids...I think 50 gallons for one fish is a bit much, am I wrong?

[Mourinho18]

with 50 gallons, you could go with a group of about 10. DOn't go with those. THey're wicked common and not as cool as people make them out to be. Go with some kenyi or some cynotilapia or tropheops if you want to do mbunas

[Beardo]

I appreciate the suggestion, but I am more interested in the Labidochromis. I enjoyed keeping them the last time I had them, but that was when I was not very fish-savvy and all of my fish ended up dying. I'd like to do it right this time and this is the species I'd like to work with.

[repair]

I think you will not get the same behaveure in a 20 as you would in a 55 or even better a 75.

I have had them together but as they grow up they can become very nasty if they don't have enough room.

[Beardo]

Man, I was always under the impression that Labs were a small cichlid species and did not require large tanks, even as adults. Am I correct in assuming the maximum size for this species is around 4" or so?

Also....what substrate would you recommend for them? I have heard that many cichlid keepers use sand in order to keep the ph higher....am I on the right track?

[Zorro]

I have a Yellow lab/ Red zebra mix. But i would not get alot of labs cuz there very common but they do look cool :grinyes:

[Beardo]

OK guys/gals....while I really appreciate the sharing of opinions on what I should get, I am not asking for insight as to what kind of cichlid I should get....I am looking for husbandry information in relation to Labidochromis cichlids. So how about you stop telling me what to get and help me in my search for knowledge? ;)

[blacktip]

I personally feel that a 20 is too small for the Labs you wish to keep. 4" is bigger than you realize. If you insist on going this route, I would say go with 1 male and 3 females. If you provided lots of rock caves this might work okay.

[repair]

You will be much happier if you don't have to tinker with the water.

I live in Indy so I've bought fish from your area and I've tested water near you.

Your ph is around 7.8 - 8.0 so you won't need to buffer your water chem. :thumbsup:

[Beardo]

Thanks for the insight. I am by no means saying I only want a 20 gallon set-up....I was merely inquiring about it. If the fish would do better with a larger tank, then thats the way I would go.

I personally think the tanks with sand as a substrate look better than the plain old gravel look....are there any pros/cons to using sand as a substrate? would it be easier to just go with gravel? Thanks again. :)

[repair]

I can get great deals on tanks so if I can help let me know.

Sand can be hard on the filters impellers and if you want to breed the fish and if they are mouth brooders they can get a piece of sand in their mouth and it will destroy the eggs while they are moving them around in their mouth.

I like the look of sand but I have heard so many people complaine about it that I've never tried it myself.

[Beardo]

So gravel would probably be the best way to go, right? Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. :)

[Ornatapinnis]

Although these fish don't get real large, I think a 20 might be a little small. Better quality yellow labs can get closer to 6" but the ones you see every day at the local aquarium shop typically fizzle out at 4". I'd do a 4' tank with lots of rock work and caves and such. THis is what they would prefer. It will also give them the room to have thier own "home" in the rock work and the ability to get away or retreat if needed. If your absolutly stuck with a 20, perhaps 3 to 6 little ones and thin them out as the mature to like 3 or 4.

I would suggest keeping all females or if you want to spawn them keep one male with 3 or more females. Two males might not get along to well. You want several female so the male can't overly harass them. Males often harrass and even kill the female if there is just one male and one female. Sexing these guys can be hard when they are little. Males often have more black in thier dorsil and anal fins but this is not a 100% method. When they get larger, the males anal fin should be more elogated than the females but again, this is not a 100% accurate way to sex them.

I don't like sand because it can be tough to clean with out sucking it out. Aragonite, such as Carib Sea's "seaflor" substrate is heavy enough to vacuum with out sucking it out and it will positivly buffer your water. It in most cases will help maintain a ph in the low 8's which is what these guys prefer. I say "in most cases" because if you have extreamly acid water, It won't buffer that high.

These guys are not picky eaters, I feed them a good mixed diet that include vegtable matter like spirulina flakes. Avoid overly meaty foods or single ingredient foods like brine shrimp for example. They can cause digestive tract problems, espcially in juvies.

These guys have a neat and contraversial history. Most of the ones found in the aquarium trade are supposed to be from a single pair that belonged to Pier Brichard in the early 80's or so. That's how the story gose anyway. Another interesting thing about them is that they are some what of an oddity in the wild. The most common ones are more of a silvery / blue color hence thier name Labidiochromis Caeruleus. Caeruleus means blue. I guess that has nothing to do with your question but interesting none the less.

Hope this was usefull, I'd really concider a bigger aquarium though...

Joel

[Ornatapinnis]

and another thing.....



Don't listen to repair, he's nutts and all his fish die.....



Kidding!!!!!! :ROFL:

[Beardo]

That was a very information post! Thanks alot. Like I said before, I am not set on a 20 gallon, its just the first one that came to mind. Thanks again for the info.

[repair]

and another thing.....



Don't listen to repair, he's nutts and all his fish die.....



Kidding!!!!!! :ROFL:

Thats not nice.... I have to go now :ROFL:

[Scotty]

That was a very information post! Thanks alot. Like I said before, I am not set on a 20 gallon, its just the first one that came to mind. Thanks again for the info.
Hi Beardo, your 20 gal tank will be fine for quite a few fish. Too few will result in either the male or dominant females knocking each other off. I have just listed my Malawi collection and these are kept in 2 90cm tanks. The one holds around 180 litres and the other about 110 litres. I have my wild caughts in the smaller tank.
You probably fed too much protein which results in bloat which is a killer if un-detected. I find Sera Baktopur Direct tablets help if you catch it early.
With regular water changes, 20% every 4-5 days, you can keep quite a few. Look for fish with a good strong golden yellow colour and creamy under belly. The males when mature will get a brownish colouring on the face area. Their black on the fins also tends to be a lot more and a lot darker. This shows up very early on. I would suggest sand, coral grit, as this helps with their digestion of food. They forever are sifting through my sand. Put in lots of rocks for cave formation. You can also put in quite a lot of Vallisneria variety of grass and any hardy plant.
Feed mainly spirulina based foods and better still raw algae if you can cultivate it. Small plastic tank with circulating water. Locate where some son will shine onto it. Cover with shade cloth netting and allow this to hang into the water. After a couple of weeks you should have your own home grown algae strands.
I have two males in the same tank and they are very peaceful.
I hope this will help you and I think this fish is a great choice.
:naughty: :clap :thumbsup: :cheers:

[Scotty]

Me again with some food tips. I find NUTRFIN MAX Spirulina algae flakes and Tablets, stick on the side of the tank, work extremely well.
:naughty: :thumbsup: :headbang2 :cheers:

[SinisterKisses]

My god, please do not put any mbuna in anything less than a 33gal (and even then, I'd only recommend a small group of labs only).

[Scotty]

According to AD Konings 60 litres is suitable for some mbuna. The big thing is you need to have either one kind with a single male and a couple of females or otherwise you need to basically overstock your tank so they battle to create a territorial area. This will lead to very little aggression.
I have 28 wilds in around 100 litres and they are just fine. Water quality is extremely important as they are rather messy. The reason I do 20% water change at around 4-5 day intervals. I have had these fish around 8 weeks now and have had 3 females give me fry. The saulosi I acquired about 2-3 weeks after the rest and she has produced. Once the female is carrying I will remove her into a hang-on breeding net at around 4-5 days. Once she has spat them out I feed her in the net for about 4-5 days and then put her back in with the rest. I have succesfully bred around 100+ caeruleus this way.
:thumbsup: :clap :screwy: :cheers: :nutkick:

[Ash]

it depends 35gal+ if you want 4 and if you want 8 I would say 55-65gal. and if no one can tell you about the breeding there might be info in my educating mfk on africans thread somewhere, but not positive! :D

[Beardo]

Thanks for the info. I'm not really looking to breed them....I just want to keep them. :)

[Scotty]

If you are able to have a large tank then that is the ideal. The bigger the easier the water is to keep and especially if you only want 6-8 fish.
As I said before I have 28 wilds in a 90cm tank and my saulosi has just bred for the second time in about 7 weeks. Either a few of one kind or too many so they won't become too territorial.
Once you have your tank established I would be keen to see a shot of it. Malawi's are a great fish to keep as most keep changing their colour for various reasons. I think better than marine fish.
:naughty: :thumbsup: :cheers:
:mwave:

[ill_eagle]

4 to 5 would be the most i would put. that would be very crowded. maybe even 3. the need plent of rock or caves just places to hide.