Ordering specific Mbuna

[rarbona1029]

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving! Just joined the forum to ask a few questions about ordering fish online, something I have never done before.

some info.

The tank in question is a 55g mbuna tank I aquired, that needs some work in the stocking department. once I remove the few incompatible fish I will be left with 3 adult male's of different species that are very healthy and Ide rather not part with. 1 is a yellow lab, the second is a red zebra and the third is a blue johanni.

As you can guess tension is a little high and everyone hides in the large amount of rock I have provided except the big johanni and red zebra.

I would like to purchase approximatly 4 females of each species to fill out this tank and reduce aggression of king johanni.

Does any of this sound wrong or is there any advice I should hear going forward?

Additional information Huntsville Al is my location and my local LFS usually only carries juvenile "mixed africans". So im looking for a reputable wholesaler of africans as close as possible toreduce shipping stress.

Thanks guys, any conversation is appreciated
I'll upload pics if anyone is interested.

 

[DJRansome]

Yellow labs and red zebras crossbreed so I would not mix them. Johannii is too aggressive for a 48x12 tank.

You may have Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos Maingano which looks the same (males) but is a little less aggressive. You might TRY them in a 48x12 tank. I'd get 7 females of the maingano though...to manage aggression.

 

[rarbona1029]

Thanks for the reply! So you would reccomend replacing the red zebra? I will do that if necessary. To be honest I couldnt tell you exactly what species the johanni is but I would like to keep it. Sorry for the ignorance. Personally I'm not terribly worried about crossbreeding but It would not be ideal. what replacement species would you reccomend? Buying extra females for the johanni would also not be a problem. I enjoy yellow.

Thanks again!

 

[DJRansome]

The problem is unless you know exactly what you have, you don't know what females to buy. Although johannii and maingano males look the same, female maingano are blue and female johannii are orange/yellow. To confuse matters further, maingano are sold as electric blue johannii but are not johannii at all.

The problem with crossbreeding is what do you do with hybrid fry? You would have to keep them with you for their lifetimes...most of us don't have the tank space. You could hope you don't get survivors...maybe add some Synodontis to help with fry patrol.

Since the johannii are too aggressive for 48x12...do you think you might have maingano?

I would buy 7 females of those and 4 female labs and not add a 3rd species.

 

[rarbona1029]

Thanks for the info! is there anyway for me to tell the difference between the two species? I would hate to assume its either one and be incorrect. I've attached a photo incase it helps. hes very photogenic so it was easy

I will get rid of the Red Zebra so they dont crossbreed. your correct in that I would rather not deal with hybrid fry. 2 species would be enough for me especially if I could confirm the fish is a maingano and have blue females

 

[rarbona1029]

After a little research it seems that the 2 species cannot be differentiated once they are adult males.

There is a second "blue johanni" in the tank but with 1 very small eggspot and very faded color. if this fish ever comes out of the rocks he is immediatly attacked by the other male, and stays on the opposite side of the tank out of sight.

I was going to remove the fish as i was sure they were both male johanni, but as maingano have blue females could this be a male and female maingano and he just needs more of them? Could I use this fish to determine the species of my dominant male.

My uneducated guess would say he is a rival male as they seem to want absolutely no contact with the other and when they do he chases the other around mercilessly until he gets into the rocks.

What do you think?

 

[DJRansome]

It's possible the 2nd blue striped fish could be a female. You could vent it or post a pic on this forum with a close-up of the vent...maybe someone can tell you.

The male in your pic has broken stripes. To tell the truth I would start over with a new species that will work better in a 48x12 tank.

 

[rarbona1029]

Do you think the broken stripes points toward it being a hybrid? His left side i posted appears to have some vertical barring under his big black stripe. his right side appears to not have this barring and just a horizontal black stripe with a small barely noticeable broken section in the middle.

Unfortunate to hear but with all the electric blue confusion I may be better of starting with new species.

Can you reccomend a couple online suppliers, and species options. I am a little nervous about who to send my money too.

I will atttempt to catch and vent the subdominant fish and post back. will be very hard to catch (lots and lots of rockwork)

 

[james99]

Dave's rare fish has a huge selection with pics of most. Take a look at his site and make a list of what appeals to you, then we can help with a stocking list.

 

[rarbona1029]

Okay! I will sure check Dave's out thank for jumping in.

Even though the "Electric Blue" is my favorite fish by far. Since we cant determine his species and i am not willing to order incorrect females I was thinking of going with something proven and low risk, I would enjoy having 3 species if possible.

currently thinking.

5 Yellow labs

5 yellow tail acaei

5 rusties

Filtering is being handled by a fluval 306