Tanganyika Tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Cynotilapia afra (cobue) might work, they are dwarfs but they are really mean so expect some losses. Also keep in mind that the females are dull and most of the males will be dull too except for the dominate male. When I had mine in a mixed mbuna tank the dominate one killed all the other cobue males and females til he was the only one left.

You could mix others dwarf I would select some from a different genus to reduce the chance of cross breeding and have plenty of females for both species.

some synos, and maybe a bristlenose or two will work, they might pick on the bristlenose some so make sure it has a place to hide like a pleco cave.
 
I could mix other dwarfs with the Cynotilapia afra? That might not be a bad idea actually. :)

I really know nothing about African cichlids, so which species are the dwarfs?

Could you give me a hypothetical stocklist if I did stick with the afra? I was already planning on the synos and bristlenose, so kudos on those! :)

Just wanted to say huge thanks for your time and patience. Really has been super helpful. :)
 
Saulosi are dwarf mbuna. They are some of my favorites.
 
demasoni stay small... but they are pretty rotten.

You could always mix in a few yellow labs.... they aren't dwarf per say, but are non-aggressive, add a lot of color and are stout enough to go with just about anything.
 
Dwarf is just a term used to describe any mbuna with a max size of 4" or under. I can find a list so you might just want to look through profiles.
Here are the ones I know off the top of my head....
Cynotilapia afra
Labidochromis caeruleus
Pseudotropheus demasoni
Labidochromis sp. Hongi
Pseudotropheus daktari
Pseudotropheus msobo
Pseudotropheus polit
Pseudotropheus Saulosi
Iodotropheus Sprengerae


Just try not to get anything in the Metriaclima or Melanochromis genus as they are super aggressive even for mbuna.
 
Ok, thanks for the list. Main thing is I want some other mbuna that DON'T look like the afra to add a little more variety. I actually like the Melanochromis auratus but I'm imaging they are out eh?

What about the Pseudotropheus flavus and Psuedotropheus aurora “Mozambique”, both of those are nice looking.

If I mix those species with the Cynotilapia afra am I going to have to worry about hybridization or will they pretty much stick to their own species?


We've got all sorts of mbuna at the LFS I work at but I have no idea which species are which. I'd have to take pictures and post them to see what you guys think if they would work or not.
 
Just started setting up the tank Tuesday night. Its been running with only a few feeders in it for about two months now. Going to add a few more to bump the bioload up a bit more too.

I ordered some EcoComplete African Cichlid Sand, which finally came in Tuesday, so I put that in there. Aside from being uber cloudy at the moment its looking great.

Going to get some eggcrate to put under the sand, then I'm going to get a copious amount of lace rock to put in there. I'll post some pictures as it progresses. Any pointers and tips as it goes together would be appreciated.

One last question. Could I do a trio of peacocks WITH the mbuna? Is that just asking for disaster?
 
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