[mattawan_cichlid]

Hi all, me again haha. Sorry about all the questions, just wanna have a great looking tank. Would Saulosi be able to be mixed with haps/peacocks? I really like that dark black and blue of the males, similar looking to demasoni.

Also, would the females be a bad species mix with yellow labs?

Thanks for any help :fish: :fish:

Mike

 

[Nina_b]

As far as I know, mixing Mbunas and haps/peacocks are a bad idea - see today's featured article.

 

[Trench]

I agree mixing haps and Mbunas is a bad idea. quistion is can it be done? i honestly belive if you keep a close eye on your tank it can be done. all factors that go into play. #1 size of tank would be very important in this case. if your gonna stock this group into a 40 gallon tank not gonna happen. #2 think about this the pecking order of your tank may be an issue because some of the female saulosi will be more domanit than the pecacocks and the yellow labs depending on the size of the labs. i have keep peacocks in a highly agressive mbuna tank back in the 90's. now the haps never did color up so that may be an issue as well because whats the point if they never color right . i again didnt keep the haps until they were fully mature but they wernt killed off as well so.... Moral of the story , in a large tank say 125gallon plus i belive this can be done if you pay close attention to your tank , and this will be the case always because anything can change in a blink of an eye in your tank. for the beginer i'd so no way to this, and most experanced hobbist would probably never do this anyways. but my point is just because people say it cant be done doesnt make it true. I think it would make for a stunning tank to the naked eye with all that color , just know you are going against the grain on this one and could very well end up with problems. good luck :thumb:

 

[mattawan_cichlid]

Whats everyones thoughts on a Saulosi species tank, in a 29 gallon tank

 

[GoofBoy]

Whats everyones thoughts on a Saulosi species tank, in a 29 gallon tank

Challenging.

The level of aggression from the male may very well end up with dead girls because of the lack of floor space.

To try such a thing, I would get 8 juvies and remove the dominant male, then the next dominant male once he colors up, and the next if I can tell there are two more on down the line and see if I could end up with a calmest boy from the lot and all of the girls and it may work.

Good Luck.

 

[Louie13]

Maybe i just got lucky but I'm keeping a male saulosi in with peaocks and haps. There is also a group of yellow labs. He doesn't bother the haps/peacocks at all. And he flirts with the labs, probably since they are yellow like saulosi females. He doesn't harm them though, but it is pretty comical watching him put on a show for them. My favourite fish i think I have. Maybe you can do just the one male? A large tank will also help. Ofcourse fish are individuals, but he is gentle and mild mannered and if any mbuna can fit in I would say Saulosi. They are not like say Esthera, and other metriaclima for example which were terrors in my tank! Just my two cents from personal experience.

 

[dielikemoviestars]

My saulosi were pretty mild-mannered. I think it's worth a shot in with peacocks/haps. 1 male max. There's a member here who has a colony of saulosi in a 29g and seems to be having luck with it. Check the old tank-of-the-month files; his is in there.

 

[mattawan_cichlid]

dielikemoviestars I have seen that tank, its a pretty sweet thing which is what got me thinking of the saulosi species, I think I'll prollly just use the 29 as a fry/hospital tank and then maybe sometime down the road get more along the lines of a 55 for my saulosi species tank. Thanks for your input guys

 

[DJRansome]

I would not do it because my impression of saulosi is about even aggression-wise with cynotilapia sp. hara and I've had hara kill peacocks.

I think Fogelhund has Others have mixed them successfully, not sure I know of any other examples. Louie13, how many years have you had them mixed?

Chapman76 who used to post a lot and raised 1000s of saulosi said he never understood why people claimed they were mild-mannered and dwarf because he did not find that to be true at all.

 

[mattawan_cichlid]

DJRansome do you think they would be fine in a 55? Then use the 20 and 29 I have for a fry/hospital tank?

 

[DJRansome]

Absolutely fine in a 55G. I might even add one more species.
3m:12f Saulosi
1m:4f Perlmutt

 

[mattawan_cichlid]

Alright, thats what I'll do, and what is your take on mixing cichlids from Lake Vic with Malawi, i know it says in some articles its fine, but I want your opinion

 

[Louie13]

About a year DJRansome. Again just to be clear, mine is only one example. And I can't stress enough that any individual fish of any species can be variable. Also tank size would be a factor. I did make the mistake of also having m.esthera and m.greyshekie in the same tank and that was a whole different story. What those two brought to the table was raw aggression, constant chasing and mauling. Just the way they went about things was just a different kind of aggression. Even if he wants to chase another fish away from his territory it's just with a much lower level kind of intent. Same if he's trying to persue a female lab. The saulosi is confident, maintains territory, but is not ferocious the way the other two were. Just different mbuna temperments. In my case anyways I've found a male saulosi to be a good choice to work very well with haps/peacocks. Others may not experience the same.

 

[GaFishMan1181]

I have a full grown group of 1m 5f salosi in a 30g and the females are constantly fighting. No deaths but they are always chasing each other. The male is pretty chilled with the occassional outburst. Mine work in a 30" long 30 gallon. Not sure how it would go in your 29 gallon (24" long??).

I do find the Saulosi to be the smallest species i have ever kept or seen. Mine are somewhere around 2 1/2 years old and the male maxed out at 3 1/4"-3 1/2".

As far as aggression goes they chase alot and nip alot. I do have to agree with Louie13 in that saulosi are aggressive but not in the same way as other mbuna (like larger metraclima species who i have seen relentlessly chase another fish until they kill them). Saulosi are more like dart out do a quick chase then go back to their territory.

Also i would like to add that the aggression of my Saulosi has doubled since moving to a 30g from a 55gbut still not on the level of my M. Callainos.