that is a very complicated question... so you dont want fish that look similar. two different types of fish with bars could fight but this also depends on the particular fish and how different the colouration is. for e.g a blue bared fish might not chase down a pink bared fish as much as it would another blue fish without bars. if that helps at all... I've kept demasoni with labs happily both types breeding happily. I've also had peacocks and yellow labs together fine. I've had cynotilapia afra with demasoni aswell again no problems.. well apart from obvious african cichlid aggression also had no casualties in that tank although they all went in together as juveniles and each fish had the choice of two hiding places per fish. in my experience and dont quote me on this because I'm no expert but alot of it comes down to trial and error.
peacocks yellow labs and demasoni
- Thread starter boogs1989
- Start date
Thank you for the detailed reply bro. I have a mix of Africans in my tank. Haps, peacocks and mbunas since haps are not so big but I know I ll need to move my Livingstonis.
I have only two fish with stripes. They are super vc 10 haps. Very peaceful really. They don't chase each other. Actually they don't chase any fish at all. Maybe I can add one dogtooth cichlid?
LOL, what is a dogtooth cichlid?
While I agree that a lot of it comes down to trial and error, a LOT of those trials have already taken place in other hobbyists tanks. Some mixes are going to be far more risky than others, so what it really all comes down to is how much risk one wants to take when mixing various genus, and species, in a 100 gallon tank? That, and everything seems peaceful when they are juveniles, but that typically changes when the fish start becoming sexually mature, and breeding instinct kicks in.
While I agree that a lot of it comes down to trial and error, a LOT of those trials have already taken place in other hobbyists tanks. Some mixes are going to be far more risky than others, so what it really all comes down to is how much risk one wants to take when mixing various genus, and species, in a 100 gallon tank? That, and everything seems peaceful when they are juveniles, but that typically changes when the fish start becoming sexually mature, and breeding instinct kicks in.
I see, C. afra. Not sure why you don't just use proper names, it doesn't take much effort to use google. I think that you'll find that you'll receive more detailed responses when one has to guess less. With 7 fish just being removed, and you now wanting to add more, IMO it's going to be a roll of the dice with much of what you do.
Use the species profiles on cichlid-forum to help gauge aggression levels, behaviour, dietary requirements, maximum sizes, etc.
www.cichlid-forum.com
Use the species profiles on cichlid-forum to help gauge aggression levels, behaviour, dietary requirements, maximum sizes, etc.
Species Profiles
I don't know if this helps but one way I keep aggression down in my tank. is that I do a 25% water change on a Wednesday and rearrange the whole scape move everything around. then on a saturday i do the same but with a 50% water change. I also feed my cichlids a small pinch of pellets 3times a day.. and I have minimal caves... I have lots of rocks blocking line of sight but no cave areas. I find this way you have no territorial problems. and if they want to be out of view the whole back of my aquarium is full of anubias plants and java fern so they can hide between the leaves if needed.
I dont want to add more fish the other guy does.... I have over 15 aquariums on my fish room. only 3 of them being african cichlids. the majority of my tanks are south american cichlids. apart from my alligator snapper but that's a reptile and she cleans up the deformitys in the tanks. her name is buttercupI see, C. afra. Not sure why you don't just use proper names, it doesn't take much effort to use google. I think that you'll find that you'll receive more detailed responses when one has to guess less. With 7 fish just being removed, and you now wanting to add more, IMO it's going to be a roll of the dice with much of what you do.
Use the species profiles on cichlid-forum to help gauge aggression levels, behaviour, dietary requirements, maximum sizes, etc.
Species Profiles
I know, that's who my comment was directed at. I've been following his tank since he first set it up.
No worries, Kashif appears to have hijacked your topic. lol
As far as aggression...…..
I have seen a hyper dominant male African cichlid defend a sponge filter, in an otherwise empty tank. It was a very young juvenile male. Territory to a cichlid can be the end wall of a tank, that is covered in algae. I have seen that defended by a dominant semi-adult male as well. A lot of it boils down to the species, some are known to be hyper aggressive, other times it's just the individual personality of the fish. I've kept & bred African cichlids for longer than I care to recall, and I never had the need to rip tanks apart each week & redecorate. There are lots of ways to manage aggressive species, IMO one of the best ways is to keep those species by themselves, and keep a reasonable male/female ratio. The fish sort the rest out.
The real problems start when one attempts to defy nature, by mixing species that would never co-exist in the wild.
Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it does not.
As far as aggression...…..
I have seen a hyper dominant male African cichlid defend a sponge filter, in an otherwise empty tank. It was a very young juvenile male. Territory to a cichlid can be the end wall of a tank, that is covered in algae. I have seen that defended by a dominant semi-adult male as well. A lot of it boils down to the species, some are known to be hyper aggressive, other times it's just the individual personality of the fish. I've kept & bred African cichlids for longer than I care to recall, and I never had the need to rip tanks apart each week & redecorate. There are lots of ways to manage aggressive species, IMO one of the best ways is to keep those species by themselves, and keep a reasonable male/female ratio. The fish sort the rest out.
The real problems start when one attempts to defy nature, by mixing species that would never co-exist in the wild.
Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it does not.
