Eddie Salita Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Umm.... I am sorry I called you a he . A cobalt blue is not the same as an electric blue. I cobalt blue is the same shape and type of fish as a hongi or zebra... An electric blue is entirely different. Getting a fair bit larger in the long run. electric blue: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1324 cobalt: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=787 Both are stunning fish. cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedge Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Umm.... I am sorry I called you a he You did? hhahaha. Which ones gets the biggest? I want to keep smaller fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedge Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 if its a display tank your best to stock it with males and overstocking helps to spread the aggression if you want them to breed id stick to 3 species in a standard 4 footer as for the hongi if you provide this fish with females its going to go on a rampage my mate recently had one kill a 13cm red devil but if there a must for you id try limit it to 2 males of each species and alot of females to spread aggression This is great advise, and makes things a bit easier for me. Right-ie-o, three species it is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 A male electric blue will get 6-8" eventually. Cobalt will only get 4-5 inches max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedge Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Colbalt Blue: 1 male - 2 to 3 female Electric Yellow: 1 male - 2 to 3 female Red Empress: 1 male - 2 to 3 female scrap Sulphur Crested Lithobate: 1 male OR 1 female scrap Hongi: 1 male. scrap Red Zebra: 1 male. scrap Tom has fallen in love with a Frontosa today, so we'll add that to the mix. scrap The list has been shrunk! I think I am still sticking with the cobalt blue and electic yellows. I have two great caves / spots in the tank for each species. I feel confident that they will both get along well, and look nice. Does this sound about right to you all? I would like to find one more small Malawi mbuna, in a red-ish colour. I would like the colour variation between the three, something semi docile and pretty. I don't really want anything that's going to get over 10cm if it can be helped. Having trouble finding something to fit my requirements! Thank you ALL so much for your help so far. Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chorrylan Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 I would like to find one more small Malawi mbuna, in a red-ish colour. I would like the colour variation between the three, something semi docile and pretty. I don't really want anything that's going to get over 10cm if it can be helped. umm both cobalts and e-yellows will exceed your 10cm limit. Switching the cobalts to Ps. demasoni will fit your size criteria better for a blue fish. I think there are yellow Tropheops around that might substitute for a smaller e-yellow but I haven't ever kept 'em myself. not sure about options for a small "red" mbuna sorry. Protomelas steveni taiwan reef are a smaller protomelas (sort of a min verison of the red-empress in your original list) that will coexist if you give them some free swimming space http://www.planetchan.com/laurie/pets/fish...reef/index.html but as mentioned before I haven't seen 'em for a while. I'd probably just stick with two mbuna families but make the two colonies 2m,3 or 4 f and then drop in some odds and ends to fill some other niches in the ecosystem rather than directly compete with the mbuna... say a pair of something from the tanganyikan neolamprologus/julidochromus world like perhaps some Julidochromis transcriptus gombi or juli marleri. With a nice rockpile these will coexist and may even breed (just ignore the fact they're not from the same lake system :-) ) and perhaps even one of the larger tang shell dwellers like Neolamprolgus hecqi (once again pretend not to notice they're not from lake malawi); If you a) can wait until march, and b) aren't getting dressed up/down for mardigras then the NSWCS major auction on the fist saturday in march is a good option to pick up fish as the less-frequently-seen fish are likely to appear there and they have fairly good info including photos, max-size etc displayed (briefly) along with auction lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Red is not really available. For some strange reason mbuna come in just about every colour but red. However.... all is not lost. Lake victoria cichlids to the rescue. There are quite a few to choose from. some of the have quite a bit of red on them. A few of the more common ones are: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1548 http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1568 http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1572 They should get along fine with yellows and cobalts. They are breeding machines too. Just add water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellow Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 not sure about options for a small "red" mbuna sorry. rustys - as red as red gets and a nice male hongi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz_gooner Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 If you are going to ignore the origin of the fish and you want red colour you could try the good old Red Jewel (Hemichromis bimaculatus?). I know the water requirement are not the same but I have not had a problem with that. I think that they have adapted to a higher than normal ph level, as long as it's not to high, and have bred with no problems. Put a breeding pair together and you will get your red as the female will nearly "Glow" when she is in the mood. They will also hold their own against mbuna. Worth A look anyway. http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/afric...ewel/100150.asp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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