hello, i am wondering how many adult bumblebee cichlids are compatible (if they are compatible with eachother) in a 55 gallon tank, i am also wondering if any synodontis catfish (4 inches and above) and raphael catfish are compatible with bumblebee cichlid. i have an aquatech 30-60 filter and a marineland penguin 550, are these good filters for these cichlids? can bumblebee cichlid get malawi bloat? do bumblebee cichlids breed often? (i need to know because i do not want fry) and what cover should i provide for the catfish if any are compatible? thanks!
Bumblebee species compatibility and Misc. questions
- Thread starter CichlidFan779
- Start date
bumblebee cichlids are okay if you get one male and about 3-4 females, or if you do not want to breed at all get 4 females. I find them to not be as aggressive as some websites claim, but after they are the typical mbuna. an Ocellifer synodontis or the striped raphael catfish would work well within a mbuna setup, just be certain to have a growout tank if you are going to introduce any smaller newbies into the tank, these cats can will eat anything that fits into their mouth. I would avoid the featherfin catfish as some claim that these are very aggressive. have you considered a pictus catfish? these max out at around 5 inches and are perfect for a 55 gallon mbuna setup.
thanks, and i do like pictus catfish, is there a way to sex bumblebee cichlid at 2 inches of age?
Maybe mine was particularly rude, but he was in an all-male 4' long 110 setup for a while and constantly battled a venustus about the same size for rule of the tank. He was later moved to the 180 when I upgraded. This didn't calm him down all that much. At about age 5 when he died, he was up around 7"-8". I would not keep one in a 55 long term. If you wanted to try your hand at breeding them, I'd recommend a 125 with a ratio somewhere around 1M/4-5F.
I'm not sure how they would be as adults, but I had plenty of aggression issues with juveniles for a few months. It could have been my male:female ratio - hard to say with juveniles. However, remember that these guys get BIG - and big fish should have room. A 55g seems a bit small IMO for adult Ps. crabro. Should one or more decide to be aggressive - there isn't much room for escape.
All Malawians can get bloat - it is just less likely with the more carnivorous species because of a different intestinal tract than the more herbivorous ones.
Breeding is subjective - it all comes down to maturity, male:female ratios, waterchange regimen, water temp., etc. etc. If you don't want fry, then don't collect them. Most fry spit into a little-decorated tank don't live. The addition of catfish helps.
Just keep this video in mind - it's a pair of Ps. crabro spawning.... Do you think a 55g is big enough to house 4 or more of them?
thanks, and when the bumblebee cichlid were putting the eggs in their mouths were they mouthbrooding? and i see you live in sparta, WI, I live in Coon Valley WI
oh and what happens to african cichlids if they eat too many african cichlid vegetable flakes? will they get malawi bloat by eating the little protein in the flakes?
I'm in Sparta if you wanna come visit or need cichlids. Overfeeding will just lead to dirty tank water and/or obesity. Bloat comes from a combination of stress and the wrong food.