birchirs and mbuna.....????

[goose_uk]

Does anyone have any experience of keeping poly's with malawi cichlids? If so, was it sucessful?

I kept malawis for years with catfish (who obviously feed in the same strata as poly's) without any problems as any aggression from the cichlids was directed at each other.

Was wondering if I could set up a large mbuna tank with a few birchir lurking around.....

G

 

[SimonL]

I've tried it with mbuna and the bichirs always got a) picked on or b) ate the cichlids. I had much better luck keeping polys with utaka cichlids instead (peacocks, copadochromis, etc). The Malawi predator species worked well too (what do you call the rock dwelling preds?), the ones that I kept with them were...

Aristochromis christyi "Malawi Parrot"
Nimbochromis (both venustus and livingstoni)
D. compressiceps
S. ("Hap") alhi
Champsochromis caeruleus

Hope that helps

 

[goose_uk]

I've tried it with mbuna and the bichirs always got a) picked on or b) ate the cichlids. I had much better luck keeping polys with utaka cichlids instead (peacocks, copadochromis, etc). The Malawi predator species worked well too (what do you call the rock dwelling preds?), the ones that I kept with them were...

Aristochromis christyi "Malawi Parrot"
Nimbochromis (both venustus and livingstoni)
D. compressiceps
S. ("Hap") alhi
Champsochromis caeruleus

Hope that helps

So basically you kept them with the big boys!!! I have kept Nimbochromis in the past - lovely fish.

 

[SimonL]

I suppose so ... I find they act more like SA/CA cichlids in terms of aggression. I wouldn't recommend breeding in the same tank with polys though lol.