[alihyde75]

hi

just planning a 55 gallon, tank is 45"x 17", i am going to have a group of multies and 6x cyp utinta.

i was going to go with 4x calvus with them, but for a bit of variation i wondered if i could do a mix of single specimens, ie 1x calvus, 1 x julie, 1 x leleupi etc.

any recommendations to mix with multies and cyps please?

cheers ali

 

[CichlidAndrew]

I would say go with at least 10 cyps, they do better with more fish.

Single specimens dont do well, they just cause problems. You could do like 4 calvus and 4 julies.

 

[triscuit]

Multies and cyps are a great start. And yes, get at least 10 cyps if you possibly can: they'll do better and look better as a larger group.

Leleupi are not a good mix with multies... neither are the larger julidochromis. But, a smaller julie would be fine. Singletons can be kept, but these fish are much more interesting when kept in breeding groups. They're braver, more colorful, and watching baby fish is just too much fun to miss. J. transcriptus would do well in your tank with the calvus, cyps, and shellies, and would likely raise fry in the tank successfully.

 

[alihyde75]

you've convinced me. so i would get away with 4x calvus and 4 x julie with my cyps and multies.

if they breed a lot will they keep their numbers under control or will i end up with a crammed full tank?

 

[Hyperion]

you've convinced me. so i would get away with 4x calvus and 4 x julie with my cyps and multies.

if they breed a lot will they keep their numbers under control or will i end up with a crammed full tank?

Good question. From my experience with multies, anything that breeds with so much vigor is going to be all over the place. My multies wasted no time conquesting my 20 gal that i had them in. I guess it could be interesting to see the "breeding wars", ha

 

[triscuit]

well, both julies and calvus are efficient fry predators, but multies are fiercly protective of their colony... a balance will likely be achieved. I wouldn't expect cyp or calvus fry to survive in the tank, but you may have to thin out julies after awhile.