[bluepitbullz]

Afra "hai reef" 1m-2f
SRT hongi 1m-2f

55gal filled to the top with holy limestone

 

[Jacob_valleau]

kinda boring. add another species. acei.

 

[eoconnor]

I don't know if you need limestone all the way to the top, it's nice to see your fish sometimes. Also I think you need to bring the numbers up in a 55gal. Another species is definitely a possibility, choose a metriaclima or psuedotropheus species not similiar in appearance/color to the SRTs or afras.

 

[cichlidaholic]

And I would go with 3 females of the above listed species rather than two...You have the room, and it will make for happier males.

Kim

 

[bluepitbullz]

no offense but SRTs and any afra species is hard to come by around here... hardly boring if you ask me... you can go get acei for 7.99 at any petsmart in the country... thats boring... maybe i should be more clear here... im not askin your opinions on my choice of fish im askin ifthey can co-exist somewhat peacefully and not have high risks of cross breeding... as for the 3 females instead of 2 thats a good idea but *** tried that before and i usually end up with 2 females in the end anyways ... i would like to add another species something with horizontal stripes opposed to vertical seeing as how the SRTs and afras are vertical already... any sugesstions?

 

[Dewdrop]

I don't know anything about the fish you have but a cool horizontal striped one is mainganos (Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos) like the one in my avitar. They don't get real big and would maybe make a nice 3rd species for your tank.

 

[Gibbs]

Love the attitude :lol:

I do think the advice Kim gave you about the male to female ratio is good advice, it spraeds the aggression out and increases mating possibilties if thats the road you choose. I would actually go with 4 females but thats just me

And the Maingano are a really nice fish to, i second that. Again the ratio is pretty important 1m to 3-4f

 

[noki]

You definiately would want more than 6 fish. I would add another species as well.

As for boring that is all relative. I think Acei are pretty boring because they have so little dimorphism. Do make good community fish to help your males turn up their color

 

[bluepitbullz]

thats kool i like those mainganos... do the females look diff from the males? i know i need more fish guys... i have a tank already 75gal with 1m 2f greshakei that produce fry bout every month... and also in there i have 20-25 demasoni... breeding like rabbits... and 2f elongatus chailosi (trying to find good male) in this tank i havent had any problems with cossbreeding yet im hoping the same will be true with my new tank...

 

[bluepitbullz]

what you guys think about throwin 1m 2-3f melanchomis johanni in there?i like the fact that they are ez to sex and the yellow i think would throw some nice contrast to all the blue i have already... then after those are introduced maybe get some ocellifer catfish?

 

[cichlidaholic]

M. johanni would be fine.

The reason I suggested having more than 2 females per male is because in the past, I've seen two females get really worn down from breeding too often. In many cases, 2 females will work, if you plan to increase the group size down the line with your grow out stock.

Kim

 

[Dewdrop]

Maingano males and females look ALOT alike. I think it's pretty hard to tell the difference. Some say the males have darker bellies but I have a female that is as dark as my male. The M. johanni would be nice, if you can find them.

 

[bmills]

Dewdrop is right - Maingano are hard to sex up front in the LFS. But you will know your boys from your girls when they are settled. The alpha male goes darker, and also while the boys are more interested in territories the girls seem to school together and wander around in a more relaxed manner - even with the other species.

Incidentally I love them and would recommend strongly a group of 4-6 for your tank.

For what its worth I also don't think your current guys are boring at all, and I really like Cy. Afra. It's on my list for my next new tank setup. I do agree though that you could easily double, maybe even triple, your overall stocking numbers.

 

[bluepitbullz]

Ok so i added 1 more female of each species bringing my numbers to
1m-3f hai reef afra
1m-3f SRT hongi

ALso this tank is where i bring holding demasoni females to have a safe place to spit so there are 2 holding females at the moment...

Really like the M. Johanii but cant find them anywhere around here... maybe ill have to break down and buy a group of them online... hate not being able to pick out individual fish...