[cs9584]

i just bought (on impulse ) an unsexed 3" Nimbochromis venustus.... im kind of nervous that it wont be a good addition to my stocking list... i have a 55g aquarium with lots and lots of lava rock... my current stocking list is 6 yellow labs, 5 super red top hongi, 5 tanzania black acei (i know they get too big for my tank... but ill cross that bridge when i come to it ), and one male red fin kadango.... along with a couple synos.

im right now i know there probably wont be issues because all of my fish are relatively small at this point... but im a little worried about 2 of my yellw labs... 4 of them are close to full grown... but 2 of them are just over 1" long... i dont want the Nimbochromis venustus to gobble him up.... im not worried about the tank size for this guy because the profiles *** been looking at say min tank size 55.... also im looking for one more larger hap, as my mbuna seem to keep to the lower half of the tank (where the rock is)... any suggestions? im looking for something with mostly different colors than i have now... but still very colorful... nothing with yellow, orange, or black... i have a lot of bluish color with my kadango and red tops but id be ok with some more blue.... also doesnt have to be a hap, just something that will occupy the upper half of my tank!!!! thanks in advance everyone!!!

 

[dielikemoviestars]

Expect problems, keep an eye out, and be ready to fix the problem when it arises.

 

[cs9584]

ill definitely be monitoring everything closely and i have a non-stocked 30 gal in case i need to remove anyone in a hurry while i figure out what to do... but thanks for the advice!!!

 

[zimmy]

i dont want the Nimbochromis venustus to gobble him up.... im not worried about the tank size for this guy because the profiles I've been looking at say min tank size 55

Which profiles did you look at? A standard 55g is 48"x12" (with the inside dimensions being smaller than that). I'm assuming that's what you have, right? A venustus male can grow to 10.5" (and it's a thick 10.5"). You also mentioned you have lots of rocks so there's probably even less open space. Venustus are also among the more aggressive haps. Ad Konings actually lists them in the large predator category in his "Back to Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlids."

The species article on this site says that the adults should only be kept with other large haps in a minimum of a 125 gallon tank.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_venustus.php

HTH

 

[GoofBoy]

I would say with your 3 mbuna species and Syndos you were/are already full for a 55 and the Ps Acei should start going up into the water column more as they mature.

The Red Fin and N. Venutsus are both poor fits for a 55 for more than 6 months or so because of their size.

My suggestion would be a 6ft tank if you want to keep larger hap males. MTS baby :thumb:...

 

[DJRansome]

I've noticed the vendors give much smaller tank sizes as appropriate. This confused me when starting out, but then I decided it would be to a vendor's advantage to sell more fish if they could be stocked in smaller tanks. So I stopping looking at vendor recommendations. Hey, they have to make money to stay in business, right?