For some reason the johanni/maingano cichlid I get from a nearby petsmart always usually eventually end up sickly or dies. I don't have any problems with the other mbunas and I'm sure my Johannis aren't getting bullied, but after a while they always usually stop eating, and become more sensitive to any water change than another other cichlids. I do not know what I'm doing wrong. I do weekly water changes and all the other cichlids in the same tank are healthy.
Struggling to care for the Johanni/Maingano Cichlid.
- Thread starter CichlidMan64
- Start date
What are the results of your tests for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? What are the dimensions of your tank? What is your stocklist, including gender ratios?
I would not buy fish fromPetSmart.
I would not buy fish fromPetSmart.
Everything is Zero, When the johanni is alive I had 7 fish. 1 female Electric Yellow, 1 male Red Zebra, 1 Female Auratus, 1 Juvenile Demasoni not sure of sex, 1 Baby Female Kenyi, 1 male juvenile Hybrid (looks like a johanni with Yellow fin), and the Johanni itself but its now dead. 40 gallon tank. Despite being understock I have very little aggression between any of the fish and pretty much none of them bullies the Johanni.
Sure about that?
Everything zero = tank not cycled!
Agree with Milingu on either the test results are wrong, or the tank is not cycled. You should always have some nitrates in a cycled tank.
I don't recommend all-male with mbuna in any sized tank, and all male anything in a 40G tank. When you have males and females, you want 1m:4f at minimum of every species. With some aggressive species like you have, 1m:7f. Having unidentified females in the tank tends to cause problems.
A 40G tank is usually 36" or 48" long, what are the dimensions? For kenyi, maingano, johannii, elongatus I would want 48x18 minimum. Auratus tend to do better in a 72" tank with 1m:7f and maybe 2 other aggressive species. Demasoni could be OK in a 40G, but only as a single species with 3m:9f.
And just to throw it out there, as I know you are convinced otherwise, aggression is often not witnessed by the fishkeeper. Where do the johannii hang out in the tank, are they ever lurking under the surface or near heaters or filter intakes? Before they die, what do the feces look like? Thick and food colored? Thin/thready and white/clear?
I don't recommend all-male with mbuna in any sized tank, and all male anything in a 40G tank. When you have males and females, you want 1m:4f at minimum of every species. With some aggressive species like you have, 1m:7f. Having unidentified females in the tank tends to cause problems.
A 40G tank is usually 36" or 48" long, what are the dimensions? For kenyi, maingano, johannii, elongatus I would want 48x18 minimum. Auratus tend to do better in a 72" tank with 1m:7f and maybe 2 other aggressive species. Demasoni could be OK in a 40G, but only as a single species with 3m:9f.
And just to throw it out there, as I know you are convinced otherwise, aggression is often not witnessed by the fishkeeper. Where do the johannii hang out in the tank, are they ever lurking under the surface or near heaters or filter intakes? Before they die, what do the feces look like? Thick and food colored? Thin/thready and white/clear?
