Mixing Cichlids ?

[bsmith]

ok so ive pretty much decided on yellow top afras and electric yellows, but i was looking around at some sellers websites and saw some of the coolest little "shell dwellers" what kind of cichlids are these, does anyone have any general info on them like size and names and if they can go with the cichlids that i want, or are different kinds not good to put together ?

I like the "rams" and they dont get big right? can i get 5 yellow, 5 afra, and 2 rams ? and 1 pleco ?

[Z Man]

You can not put rams in an African tank. The rams need very soft water & the African mostly need very hard water. They can't digest the same foods either. Plus the African would probably kill the rams in short order anyway.

[bsmith]

so what are sopme smaller cichlids like rams that i can put in with them ?

[fishfreaks]

you could try kribs

[bsmith]

what about dwarfs ?
and what about blue dolphin haps ?
haha thanks !
I also have my angels in my 10, im told to remove them, i dont want to take them back so can i put them in with my malawis !!

i dont know what to get, i just want something else with the yellows and yellow tops, help me decide, im to indecisive

[Lisachromis]

Which dwarfs? There's lots of species, and some cannot go in your tank. (They'd go in your 10 though) The mooriis will get a bit large for your tank. Large males can easily reach 9".

You could have 1 angel in your 10. It's too small for anything but that. If you have more than one, you will need to return them or get them a larger tank. They will not go in with the Africans. I really don't see why you need more fish than the electric yellows and the redtops in your 40. If you do want something else, you can try looking for Pseudotropheus saulosi. They are on the lower end of the aggression scale and don't get too large. Your 40 is really a bit small for Malawians in my opinion. It can be doable with the right decor, but you really need to keep an eye on things.

[bsmith]

why do you say that my 40 is too small for malawians? ive been told by people here to keep 10-12 in that tank, im just thinking about putting 10 in there, and the yellow labs dont get over 4" and the yellow top afras wont get over 3.5", they arent big fish either, so what problems are you thinking that i will incounter ?
i have three driftwood pieces that are in a post of mine in the General section.
also i wanted to get the yellow top afras, but i noticed that the yellow top mbumbas and red top zebras look the exact same, will they be compatible with the yellow labs ?

[Lisachromis]

I say a 40g is really too small because of the amount of space available for each fish. Mbunas especially seem to think they require a lot of space. They'll kill to get intruders out. Unless a 40 is really well aquasacaped, I would not try it. Yellow labs get larger than 4". They can reach 5" (I've seen it and have some). The problems will be aggression when the fish get to breeding size. I've seen it where people raise a lot of mbuna in a smaller tank (like the 40), and then they reach breeding size and the dominant male starts decimating his competition. This means zebra types especially. I would avoid those in a 40. I'm not saying it can't be done, but just that the tank has to be monitored closely and setup properly.