Can anyone suggest some tank mates for melanochromis please?

M

mukundam123

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 6, 2008
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Sunderland
Hi guys,

Got 2 jeuvenille M. Aurateus and 2 jeuvenille M. Maingano in a 4ft 55G. Not sure of sexes yet (will try and take some pics). Any ideas what I can keep with them? Ideally I'd probably want to take them out, and stock with a proper stocking list (can anyone suggest one?)

Thanks
 
M

mukundam123

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 6, 2008
226
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Sunderland
hmm, thats a good idea! lol! Didn't really think of that. Only thing is, I wanted to try and sell off the fry, and I'm not sure if anyone will want these...the LFS doesn't buy from hobbyists, so it'd have to be private sales.... also wanted to add more colour to the tank.....any thoughts?
 
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cichlidgirl

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 7, 2008
718
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upstate ny
yes, other melanchromis only. These fish can be HYPER aggressive. My maingano killed 7 other mbuna in 2 day period before i had to remove him, that was in a 72 gallon bow front. The species it killed were kenyi and red zebras so i would not be too quick to place other mbuna in with them. It also terrorized another maingano to near death so even other same species tankmates are not a sure thing. This has just been my experience with them.
 
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Cichlaholics Anonymous

Polypterus
MFK Member
May 23, 2006
8,159
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Miami, Florida
the problem with the selling of fry is that most stores (and hobbyists to some extent) aren't going to want M. auratus fry.
 
M

mukundam123

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 6, 2008
226
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Sunderland
Cichlaholics Anonymous;2464350; said:
the problem with the selling of fry is that most stores (and hobbyists to some extent) aren't going to want M. auratus fry.
Click to expand...
Yeh thats what my problem was. I guess the best option right now is to return these Melanochromis to the LFS which I got them for (they'd give me store cred, but its an expensive shop, with limited choice...I was kinda hoping to have got something more out of these fish, since they've grown alot since I bought them, and eaten a ton of my food!Lol!)

If I was to have an empty tank, with the intention to breed, and make the tank look good (like a breeding community), any ideas which Malawis (mbuna, peacocks...) would you guys recommend?

Thanks
 
T

terminalMTS

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 12, 2008
728
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marysville,WA
auratus are very aggressive too. if you got the blue male color morph, then the males will look similar enough to the mainganos to encourage interbreeding or they will kill each other as competition. i would stock some different looking mbuna so you could easily tell if your fry are hybrids. different looking males will also not be seen as a threat to breeding rights. i would try to get at least 4 females for each male also. i had 2 females for my elongatus and he wouldn't let them recover after spitting fry and he bred one to death and killed the other because she had three batches in a row with a week or less in between and she wasn't ready yet. he ripped her face off. it is hard to breed in a community tank because they are likely to interbreed and there are so many fish trying to eat the fry.
 
M

mukundam123

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 6, 2008
226
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Sunderland
Thanks for that guys. The aurateus are the yellow morph so differ from the maingano.
I went to a 'Malawi specialist' Fish shop yesterday, and asked them what they recommended to put in. This is the stocking list I have now. What do you think?

M.Aurateus - 1m,1f (4 inches)
M. Maingano - 1m, 1m/f? (4 inches) (not sure if the other is a female, or a subdued male...its lost all its colour and is like a creamy red colour)

What I got yesterday (all around the 1.5 inch mark):

Pseudotropheus Acei Yellow tail- 1m, 4f
Blue Zebra - 1m, 2f
Currueleus - 1m, 2f
Aulonacara Stuartgranti - 1m, 4f

Sound ok for the 55g? I'll put some pics of the tank up when I get a chance, but the fish are too fast for my camera phone!

Thanks
 
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