Africans for 33 gal 3'
- Thread starter HarlanAshmore
- Start date
Eric A;2903055; said:
I disagree. 33 gal (3'x16"x18" ?!?) is only suitable for a species tank ONLY!
Considering that for a Mbuna community you need at a bare minimum trios (1m/2f) and a minimum 75gal 4' long tank to do so, I'd say, please don't mix all those fish together.
Maingano (Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos) very aggressive Mbunas, you need at least 6-12 (depending on the space available) to disperse conspecific aggression, and to limit the stress incurred to the other inhabitants of your com-tank.
Red Top Zebra (Metriaclima Estherae), Cobalt Blues (Metriaclima Callainos) get too large for a LARGE community tank, not to mention a 33 gal. Minimum tank for these guys should be a 75gal as well. Metriaclima species are the largest of the Mbunas, they max at 7"+ and they can sure pack a punch.
Electric Yellows (Labidochromis Caeruleus) and Saulosi (Pseudotropheus Saulosi) cannot be mixed together, especially in such a small tank. They can hybridize easily and even in large community tanks I'd stay away from mixing the two.
33gal is suitable for a specie only colony. Believe me, you'll get more "natural" behavior of the fish, a lot of spawns, and you'll be able to keep your fish happy. My suggestion is a dozen of either P. Saulosi, or L. Caeruleus. If you can buy adults, if not, then buy a larger group of juvies and trade the extra males in. In that 33 gal, 1-2 males, 10 females would make a very fun setup.
Here's one of my Mbuna com-tanks that I had, a 72gal, 4' long. It housed about 60-70 fish, 6 different species, if I remember correctly.
a 33 gallon is really small for peacocks-and also mbuna. like the above poster stated-stick to a species only tank-or go with some shellies! (lake tanganyika fish).
any africans that arent common are realy expensive i realy want some peacocks but i wont im going to the lfs today il have a look and talk to the dude there (this is a good LFS) ps nice tank marius and thanks for the help everybody i still have to get a few things and save some cash cycle the tan ketc so i have time to choose carefully
well i got some marble sand st the tank up i forgot to wash the sand lol the water looks like milk anyways i got there when the shop epened so the lights werent on and i couldnt see the fish but got some supplies so ill go back some other time
