Mbuna vs Venestus or livingstoni

Stephen St.Clair

Potamotrygon
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Jul 2, 2017
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RD. RD. I agree my predatory Haps have a way to go. On a side note, my LFS had an eight inch Fusco on display. Very impressive & extremely aggressive.
I too normally advise against mixing Mbuna with Haps & Peacocks, unless a large, elevated complex hardscape can be provided.
When I say complex hardscape, I mean a "reef". Here's a pic of my main tank. For scale, the rock on the left side weighs approx. 50 lbs & the big slanted rock in the middle (Purple Afra head poking out of hole) weighs about 60 lbs. I hand picked all rocks from local rockyards, selecting only ones with XL holes, crevaces & contours , as to provide shelter for the Mbuna.
Its likely most African Cichlid keepers won't go to the extremes I did to create a mixed African community.
At least at this point, so far so good. The mixture of the three African primary groups is going pretty well.20191120_100110.jpg
 

RD.

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Yes, for sure it can work, I have seen this kind of mix many times over the years. I'm just not sure that it is the best mix, but that may just be my own personal bugaboo as I have also seen it fail, with mbuna sticking out of a large haps mouth. A hap that had shared the tank for 2 or 3 years. Comm tanks are complicated at the best of times, so certainly no definitive right or wrong way. My only point was that juvenile & semi juvenile fish, especially fish that are predatory by nature, are a completely different story from full blown adults, especially with haps that can easily reach 9-11" when they mature. I wish you gents continued success with your set ups!
 

The Morning

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Jan 10, 2018
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I completely agree with RDs assessment of these tanks. I actually added the L to help reduce the amount of fry that we’re surviving in the tank. I have far too much rock work to keep pulling fry out And mbuna are prolific reproducers to say the least. While I still find fry in my filters every time I clean them there does not seem to be any survivors in the tank itself. There is definitely a balance with mbuna, haps and peacocks. I have found over the years that elevated numbers helps to spread aggression and maintain the tank. Of course this leads to 2x weekly 75% water changes but it is the price we pay.
In the past I have had to pull an occasional fish out of the tank and return him to the fish store. Unfortunately my only local store closed this year and that is no longer an option. Fortunately I seem to have a balance in the tank currently. No major issues for awhile. But as rd said the L and the V are still young.
 

RD.

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Adult male N. livingstonii can easily reach 9-10" TL, some hobbyists state theirs reached 12", but IMO 9-10" would be more typical, same as N. venustus.
 
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