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#Post#: 253--------------------------------------------------
Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: Sitkafish Date: September 21, 2014, 5:04 pm
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I am looking for advice. I am setting up a mbuna tank. I like
the following fish: Johanni, OB Zebra, Yellow Lab, Kenyi, and
Rusties. Which grouping would be best for a beginner? Can I put
4 different species together going with 4 of each.? However, is
it better to go with 3 species with 5 each?
Thanks for your help? :)
#Post#: 262--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: KGTropicals Lisa Date: September 21, 2014, 7:41 pm
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The ones you mentioned will do fine together. The more the
better to keep aggression down. I have a 125 mbuna tank. The
only ones I can say I've had a bad experience with is the bumble
bee and demasoni. Some may argue but I mix most all of the
mbunas.
#Post#: 264--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: kgtropicals Date: September 21, 2014, 7:45 pm
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There are people who would argue that Pseudos shouldn't be put
with Metros but I'm not buying it. We've kept them all together
and been fine.
I think you'll be fine picking the ones you like. As far as 4 or
5 of each, we'll that's up to you too:-) If you can afford it
more is always merrier:-)
#Post#: 267--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: My Affair Date: September 21, 2014, 7:49 pm
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If you end up with a male Kenyi (yellow) keep a close eye on
him. Just my experience, but they have always been bruisers in
my mbuna tanks. OB zebras are a cool mbuna can have a variety of
color in them depending upon there mood that day.
#Post#: 269--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: My Affair Date: September 21, 2014, 7:55 pm
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Just another thought. Be picky when buying your yellow labs. I
find the ones with darker/black fins more striking.
#Post#: 278--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: Midnighttide102 Date: September 21, 2014, 8:46 pm
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I think bumble bees get a bad rap I have one in my 75 gal MBUNA
tank that's about 7 inches and he's a big baby don't bother
anyone it all depends on tge fish some are better then others
like most anything in this world you can get good or bad in any
species but personally I love the bumble bee cichlid there a
great cichlid to keep
Wish you the best on your set up
#Post#: 335--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: deanmbuna Date: September 22, 2014, 5:54 pm
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Hi there, I just set up my 55 gallon mbuna tank this month.
John and Lisa know a lot more about this than any of us so I
would trust their answer. I personally went with three species
so that I could buy juvis with undetermined sex and then end up
with a good sex ratio for breeding and keeping the peace in the
tank. With more species, you have to sacrifice the number of
fish you can get initially and so you are less likely to get the
sex ratio you would like. I also chose Saulosi and Rusties
because of their size (3 to 4 inches and this works good in a
55). Rusties are so underrated--such a cool looking fish. Good
luck and let me know how it goes.
#Post#: 355--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: yodahorn Date: September 22, 2014, 9:33 pm
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If I were going with 3 species from your list, I'd go with OB
zebra, yellow labs and rusties. You could also do a mix of
several different mbuna. cichlid-forum.com provides a nice list
of species profiles to give you an idea of temperament and such.
#Post#: 369--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: Seth_O Date: September 22, 2014, 10:13 pm
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In my small amount of experience i had a Demasoni (a dwarf mbuna
with small-dog syndrome) and a male Auratus who were the most
aggressive in my mbuna tank, but i think any mbuna can get
testy.
#Post#: 788--------------------------------------------------
Re: Advice For A New 55 Gallon Mbuna Tank
By: phantom Date: September 28, 2014, 2:25 pm
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I realized you have already set up you tank but I am replying to
give my two cents on others that may be viewing this later. Fish
like kenyi and auratus do best in large numbers. For this reason
I have keep more auratus in my tank than anything else. I remove
over aggressive fish by donate them to my local fish store. I do
keep multiple males in order to distribute out the aggression.
More passive species like labs will do ok with fewer numbers as
long as you don't get a bad egg. Keeping P. demasoni is best
kept in large groups. However, I use larger female kenyi
cichlids as substitutes if I cannot find more demasoni because
they outgrow overly aggressive males and have similar
coloration. I do monitor the female kenyi daily to make sure
there is abuse.
Summed up: stock heavy on hyper-aggressive fish and make sure
less aggressive fish have a size advantage.
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