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2 Posts
Hi All,
I've been keeping tropical fish for years but trying my hand at african cichlids and have a few questions/concerns I was hoping to get some input on.
First, I have a 75g tank that is 48" long with a Seachem Tidal 110 HOB. I'm considering a canister too, but mechanical filtration seems to ok for now. It is sufficiently outfitted with rocks and enough hides. Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates are at 0, 0, 20 ppm respectively. Ph is at 8 and Gh at 10. I've been doing one 30% water change a week at the moment. I'll prob up it to two a week once/if I add a third species.
It is currently stocked with 5 juvenile Yellow Labs and 6 juvenile P. acei. There is very little aggression that I've noticed so far. I am planning on adding 10 P. demasoni soon. All are juveniles currently. I've been reading about sexing them and it seems the only true way to do it is by venting...
My biggest concern is around mixed breeding and hybrid fry. With the three species I mentioned, do I need to worry a lot about getting hybrid fry? I'd like to eventually sell/trade some of the fry, and I certainly would not try to pass a hybrid off as pure. But I'm wondering how large the possibility of getting hybrids, or will they stick to their own if given the proper M/F ratio.
Also, are there any other good species you'd recommend in addition to or instead of the demasoni? I'm trying to get lots of color while keeping my chances of hybrid fry down as much as possible. I'd like to stick with mbuna only at this point. No Haps or Peacocks. Is the only way to completely avoid hybrids to keep a species only tank?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
I've been keeping tropical fish for years but trying my hand at african cichlids and have a few questions/concerns I was hoping to get some input on.
First, I have a 75g tank that is 48" long with a Seachem Tidal 110 HOB. I'm considering a canister too, but mechanical filtration seems to ok for now. It is sufficiently outfitted with rocks and enough hides. Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates are at 0, 0, 20 ppm respectively. Ph is at 8 and Gh at 10. I've been doing one 30% water change a week at the moment. I'll prob up it to two a week once/if I add a third species.
It is currently stocked with 5 juvenile Yellow Labs and 6 juvenile P. acei. There is very little aggression that I've noticed so far. I am planning on adding 10 P. demasoni soon. All are juveniles currently. I've been reading about sexing them and it seems the only true way to do it is by venting...
My biggest concern is around mixed breeding and hybrid fry. With the three species I mentioned, do I need to worry a lot about getting hybrid fry? I'd like to eventually sell/trade some of the fry, and I certainly would not try to pass a hybrid off as pure. But I'm wondering how large the possibility of getting hybrids, or will they stick to their own if given the proper M/F ratio.
Also, are there any other good species you'd recommend in addition to or instead of the demasoni? I'm trying to get lots of color while keeping my chances of hybrid fry down as much as possible. I'd like to stick with mbuna only at this point. No Haps or Peacocks. Is the only way to completely avoid hybrids to keep a species only tank?
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
