hope

I am going to be getting a 75 gallon tank in the very near future and i have some questions regarding the tank.

1. About how long does it take to do a fishless cycle on a 75 gallon tank. I just need a general idea .


2. Ive looked over the various cichlids available and whats availablwe in my area and I have a list of the fish I like.
Labidochromus Caeruleus a favorite
Pseudotropheus Demasoni a favorite
pseudotropheus Acei
Pseudotropheus Solousi

Question is can the Demasoni and Acei and Solousi all go in with the labidochromus caeruleus

If not which would be a better tank mate?
And how many of this kind could I put in a 75 gallon tank?

What other small mbuna can I put in this tank, something yellow or orange and nothing over 4 or 5 inches.



With all of this in mind,I have considered going ahead and getting some of the fishes and putting them into a twenty gallon or 29 gallon tank to grow them up a bit as they are so small when you first get them. Would that be ok?
Should I put each type in their own tank (species tank style) or let them grow up a bit together then add them all to the big tank at the same time.


Re: Demasoni
I understand that the only way to truly sex this fish is to vent the fish.
Not sure I'd get it right if I tried. At what point in the fishes life does it become mature and begin to be aggressive and territorial against other males of its species? I had considered getting about three of them but don't want anyone to get bullied too much. Any help in this dept would be appreciated as I really do like the demasoni and would like to include them into the big tank with the yellow labs.


If I put only yellow labs and demasoni in the 75 gallon tank how many of each could I put? or is this generally a bad idea.

Also can any one recommend any plants that might look nice in the tank?
Low level regular flourescent lighting.I just want a few and don't care if they get eaten.

And what about a nice piece of driftwood, would these fish like or dislike it.
And can A plecostomus or a loach live in the same tank with these guys?


How fast do these types of cichlids grow? If I put them in a 20 or 29 gallon tank to start with about how soon would they need to move to the bigger tank.


Sorry it's a lot of questions. I just dont want to mess it up.


Thanks a bunch in advance. Any advice would be appreciated.


My water type is hard with a pH of about 7.5 to 8.5

Angela_96

For setting up a malawi mbuna tank you can put crushed coral substrate in there and limestone for building your caves. It will keep the ph up and the hardenss just right.

Demonsani's need to be in a group of 6 or more to mellow out aggression.

Also pseud species shouldn't be mixed with pseudo species (ie the acei and demonsani)

The aggression levels of the cichilds should also be around the same such as teh labs and acei go together well, then maybe an afra group.

Here is a cookie cutter to help stock the tank:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...cutter_75g.php

Also keeping 1 male to 3+ females is a great way to spread out the aggression from the male.

They do grow fast, and I would just wait until the 75g is cycled to get any fish.

Driftwood and african cichlids are not good, the driftwood will lower the ph in the tank.