Tank Mates

[oz_gooner]

I'm looking at getting some new tank mates for my 3'x18'x18" tank but don't know what would be compatable with the current inhabitants or if adding more would be a bad option. At the moment I have 4x Melanochromis Maingano (1M/3F), 3x Pseudotropheus Demasoni (Not sure of sex) and 4x Pseudotropheus Saulosi (1M/3F). All are about 1 1/2" to 2". I am aware of the chance of cross breeding but it will only be a display tank. If breeding occurs then nature will take it's course. No fry will leave the tank. They have plenty of rocks to hide in but would like to get some more to crowd the tank and ultimately I would love to get more colour in there if it is possible. If all goes well the 3 foot will be replaced with a 6 foot in about 6 months.

Any advice would be fantastic.

Rob

[Eddie Salita]

I would say that is about enough mbuna for a tank that size. It may look a little sparse now, but those fish have lots of growing to do yet. If you insist on getting more it might be worth considering getting more demasoni. They are notoriously hard on their own kind, and only 3 in a small tank is not spreading their aggression out every much. The others have good ratios, but demasoni are early bloomers when it comes to conspecific aggression, and you can almost guarantee they will be at each others throats soon enough, regardless of ratios. I havent mixed saulosi with demasoni, maybe others have and can share, but males look similar enough to possibly generate friction between them. The Females give you the good spread of colour you are probably after though.

If and when you move to a 6ft, your options expand greatly. Going on colour alone and not worrying much about hybridization, there are many choices. You have enough blue, and some yellow/orange. Whatever else you add will need to be reasonably tough. Hongi are one of my favorites, and are great enforcers to over confident mbuna. Zebra long pelvic are another nice one. Polits are also a big favorite s. But seriously, it might be a good idea to get more fish once you have the bigger tank. It might save aggression problems. I also think you will need more demasoni to spread their aggression.

However.... in a 6ft if colour is what you crave you might want to check out the multitude of stunning peacocks available.

cheers,

Jason

[jpa]

hey rob,

if you are looking for some more tank mates i too agree in getting some more demasoni. i had 54 demasoni in a standard 4ft and watching them was too much fun. i only had two caves and males would often fight for it. they also breed at a really young age had fries everywhere and females always had mouthfuls.

cheers, Paul