Allie

I have been into African cichlids since 2006. And learned the hard way.
If you want your tank to have a good combo then you have to stick to their level of aggression: from mild to highly aggressive. The less aggressive species won't do well with the more aggressive types. Trust me, they won't breed, can't hold the eggs when they do. Hide all the time and are very timid when feeding time comes.
Size is another thing. Keep species all the same size roughly. Never have two of one species type either. Stick with one labidochromis, Psuedotropheus etc.. species per tank. Make sure to always have enough females for your males: 1 male to 3 females is good. Hybrids are a in the African cichlid world.
Here's an article explaining more about why you should be careful what you choose.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/compatibility.php

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com...ibility_1.html

Shawnie

great articles...im saving them! thanks allie

Allie

No problem. I just want people to be aware of how nasty African cichlids can be. We learned the hard way and recently that certain species shouldn't be with others.
We've been sticking to "guidelines" for the past while & no issues. Now if we don't find Mr. Red Empress females soon we may have some.

steveangela1

One fish on the problem list the Mel aur... I actually talked to my fish store that I shop at so much yesterday.... I am taking those 2 back soon they are going to pose huge problems in the future in my tank... I would rather get rid of them now... SO they are giving me full fish credit for them..

Allie

Yup they are meanies. Too bad they are so cool looking.

steveangela1

I have a tank full of peacocks.. I am about tempted to get rid of the peacocks (they are boring the crap out of me! they are always hid under rocks) If I did I would just get the mel aur and get all mel aur and fill that tank w/ them...

Allie

Add some females with the peacocks and you'll see how boring they can be.
Our were so aggressive. We had 5 A. steveni and a trio of Eureka red peacocks. Now that male was mean & he was only 3.5 inches at the time.

steveangela1

I prob should ad some mates to the tank... What kills me is they are so beautiful! I would love for them to be out all the time like my mbunas!