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Tank mates


fishly

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Your talking about combining mbuna and haps in the same tank when they have different dietary requirements.

Dimi comps are a piscavore (they eat fish), E. blue are similar to a lesser extent. E yellow are omnivores (they eat almost anything), Melanochromis are a herbivore, the only meat in their diet is microscopic organisms that live on the algae in lake Malawi.

They will all eat food intended for each other but their intestinal tract is not designed to handle it, the result is usually that mbuna end up with a problem called malawi bloat possibly caused by too much protein in their diet, and/or haps lose condition due to not enough protein.

Most people I have talked to recommend keeping either one or the other in a tank.

Bob

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Thanks Colin and Bob for your reply. I am thinking of buying some dimmi fry, and put together with my M. interruptus fry. I thought, if dimmi can eat anything, than they should be alright if I give them spirulina every day and brine shrimp once in two weeks huh.gif . Luckily I asked you guys first thumb.gif . So, I'll look for something else.

Regards,

Tony

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Is there any reason that a tank of mixed Malawi's couldn't live on Sera Flora?

Piscavorial diet can only contain 30(odd)% protien, because fish are not 100% protien, so is there any reason that Sera-Flora couldn't sustain a piscavore as well as it maintains an omnivore or herbivore...seeing as the protien content of Sera-Flora is in the 40% range?

I am only asking this to clear things up for myself.

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On second thoughts, consider the aggression of M. interruptus as well. Melanochromis are known for their aggression. I have M. cyaneorhabdos, one of the milder ones, and even they are capable of causing haps twice their size some grief. I am not familiar with interruptus myself but I think it is a good idea to investigate their aggession further before mixing with haps, particularly if it is a smaller tank.

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Thanks Orac,

I think you are right, that I should do more reseach on the aggression between MBunas and haps. By the way, if I put them in the same tank, it would be a big tank (6x2x2).

Just wondering, if anyone doesn't have any problem of mixing mbunas and haps together?

Regards,

Tony

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Every time I ever mixed Mbune with Haps, the Haps ended up getting stressed and/or bashed.

Even now I have some 4cm P.Solousi in a 8ft tank with F. rostraus at 15+ cm and the Solousi are rounding them up like sheep.

Best not to mix them I think.

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