outlaw

Pretty much what it states.

I have 5 African Cichlids in a 46Gal tank. 4 Red Fin (1-Male, 3-Female), and 1 Male Yellow Lab. I've read that 3 Females to 1 Male is a good ratio to have but would put me at roughly 52" of Adult Fish. I have an Odyssea CFS 4 (up to 75Gal) canister filter and an Tetratec PF300 HOB filter on it. Everything is normal as far as ammonia (0), nitrites (0) and nitrates (0-10) go. I just think he is lonely. Am I wrong for thinking this? He doesn't seem to have any problems with any of the Red Fins (they actually chase each other around). I don't think I would have to worry too much about the extra waste but want to make sure other people would think its ok. The only catch other then overstocked, is that he is about fully grown and most of the Yellow Labs I have seen are fairly smaller then him and the Male Red Fin. Would there be and how much concern should there be? If needed I have a 20Gal tank I can use for them for a few months. I just don't want them to get picked on or killed because of their size. The smallest Red Fin is about 1.5" - 2" long and doesn't seem to have any problems... gets chased by the other Red Fins and sometimes chases them.

Any advice or input is appreciated. Thanks

lilsoccakid

the only cichlids ive owned are dwarfs, so im not much help. i would say dont add any until somebody else with cichlids leaves a post. sry i cant help

steveangela1

I would suggest about 10 cichlids for your sized tank.... right now we only have 8 in our 55, however we will be getting more mbunas (we made the mistake of putting 2 peacocks in there and we had to move them out fast, and one of the smaller ones got cut on a rock (so we think it don't look like an attack)...

We were told at the store to have about 15 for our 55g.... as long as you have that overrated filitration like we do (like you mentioned) and have plenty hiding spaces I would say double the amt of african cichlids.

Allie

Gosh you can put much more than that in either of your tanks depending on the size of the species you choose. LM African cichlids don't follow the 1 gallon per inch rule. Yellow labs I'd have 5 of so get 4 more.
In a 46g I'd have 20 fish 4 species/5 fish. Over crowding is only an issues if you can't put extra filtration on it. Red Fin Borleyi get 8" males so they are too big for a 46g anyway. I'd go with fish that get 4-5 inches like yellow labs.
This combo has worked great for us in all sizes of tanks. In 2 years only one fish was murder by the other. Oh yeah feeding them more makes them less aggressive too.

steveangela1

I completly agree w/ Allie on the aggression w/ feeding.... Yesterday was when the "murder" took place in my tank and being a rare event they had a morning feeding at 7a then no food again til 4p both me and my husband had to work so no one was here to give the noon feeding (the longest they have went w/o a feeding) I noticed if I feed them smaller amt's through the day they are less aggresive towards each other.

Toddnbecka

I have a 55 that currently houses 12 yellow Lab's, 4 Hap's, a stray Julie, a BN pleco, and 4 S. lucipinnis. Size difference among the Lab's isn't a problem, finding females is another story though. They're almost impossible to sex when they're young w/out venting. Just make sure there's plenty of cover.

outlaw

Thanks everyone.

With the Male Red Fin Borleyi that we have, he is probably close to fully grown. I was thinking he was a little big for the tank. I was asking one of our LFS's about trading in our current fish for smaller ones since the ones we have are almost all matured and either of the LFS's we would buy from don't have any large enough where they wouldn't get picked on. What do you guys think of us trading in if they will let us.

ely

sorry to jump in on your thread, but i have a very similar question - i was thinking of adding a few more yellow labs to my cichlid tank too. the one that i have now is almost 3 inches - the ones i can buy at the store are all pretty small - will the size & age difference be a problem? the other cichlids in the tank are at least 3 inches as well. the red zebra is pushing 5 inches - will he bully (which he loves to do) tiny yellow labs too much?

thanks!