Scarecrow Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 So ive changed my mind again. Im thinking the all male tank might not be such a great idea. Fish have already lost a fair whack of colour since selling off the females, that and there simply isnt much in the way of activity or bulk colour, so it all now just looks drab. So ive been thinking about the way i really want to go, and am actually considering trying to breed some species in the mixed tank. I will buy a standard 2, or 3 ft tank to fit under my 4 fter, along with the 14" cube i currently have, to put pregnant females, and for fry/juvies. So i just wanted some help from people with experience about what species i can keep together without cross breeding, and that meet my colour preferences. Both male and female need to be colourful also. The fish i like are: - Labidochromis sp. "Perlmutt" (I might shell out for these from Majestic Aquariums) - Metriaclima estherae (Pulu Point) The other colours i want to get into the tank are a Cobalt Blue, Dark Blue & Yellow. Some fish i had thought of to fit these colours are the: - Metriaclima callainos (Cobalt Blue) - Pseduotropheus crabro - Labidochromis caeruleus (Electric Yellow) - Pseudotropheus saulosi - Maingano As far as i know, the metriaclima's will crossbreed, same with them and the yellows. Plus the yellows might crossbreed with the Perlmutts. And in terms of aggro, the electric yellows will likely get smashed also. The crabro's look pretty nice, but if they get 8", then thats pretty huge... If i had too, i could deal with the cobalt blues and red zebs cross breeding, and just cull any fry they produce. I also wanted to try keeping the male Red Empress, Placidochromis sp. "Phenochilus Tanzania", a couple of peacocks that i already have, and maybe add a Venustus (all until they get too big for the tank). What are fish have that cobalt blue colour, and yellow that i have missed, that might fit in this scenario? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirecichlid Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 mate we have all these, just pm johns to arrange a time to look and pickup cheers Trent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolla Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Id stick with 2 species only, any extras wouldnt breed anyway in most cases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxious_nasties Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 You forgot Electric Blues! There are also peacocks that have predominately blue colouration - Aulonocara nyassae and hansbenschi but they crossbreed. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 The tank is 4'x18"x20", so 300L i believe it is. If i go with 2 species, how many of each would be ideal? I would think maybe 10 of each, going for 2 males and 8 females? Lets say i went with 10 Perlmutt's and 10 Red Zebs (Pulu Point), do you think it would be fine to keep the 3 synodontis petricola, 2 peacocks, the phenocullius Tanzania and add a Venustus to the mix, just to have a few "centre piece" fish, and to add some different colour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK-351 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Should be ok, but from my experience breeding would be sporadic at best. You can try either red zebra with maingano or msobo or saulosi for nice coloured colonies with a few centre piece fish in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK-351 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Or just get more tanks and keep them all!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 Would love to get more tanks, however money + wife + space constraints leave me with just the one 4x18x20 display tank, with whatever i can fit underneath in the cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Posted October 3, 2011 Author Share Posted October 3, 2011 Would perlmutt and demasoni work together, or will the vertical stripes on the perlmutt females be to similar to the demasoni and cause aggression issues? If they are too aggro, i wouldnt mind trying 4-6 of each of perlmutts, crabro, maingano and pulu point red zebs. Might not breed heaps, but nice mix of colours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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