kandeecane Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Labeotropheus Trewavasae... I'm new to cichlids and I'm not entirely sure what other species you can keep with this one and how many of this fish you should have in a tank? My friend owns one of these that is in a tank with two angel fish, one red tail shark and a rainbow shark, one large-ish common pleco and a smaller one, another type of catfish I'm not entirely sure about, a glass catfish, a clown loach, a sucker fish that I think might be a whiptail, there is also one red eye tetra and a bumblebee catfish. Anything he should stock up more on or remove? You would probably be more help than I am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Labeotropheus Trewavasae are mbuna - Lake Malawi cichlids. Think 'freshwater reef fish'. They are from very hard alkaline rift lake environments in Africa. A quick google search reveals that they are universally regarded as "aggressive." Most hobbyists heavily stock (and heavily filter) African cichlid tanks (with African cichlids, not community fish) to spread aggressive behaviour. I would have thought they were totally incompatible with Angelfish (being South American cichlids, with totally different behaviour/dominance patterns and water requirements). Most of the other fish sound incompatible with mbuna to me as well. While several can be aggressive, (eg angels, red tails), again, they have different behaviour patterns. To be honest, this sounds like it is going to end up being a really unrelaxing tank with lots of fish that chase and try to bully each other. I don't like the glass catfish's or bumblebee's chances. Having said all that, I prefer Lake Tanganyika cichlids and so don't profess to be an expert on Malawis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandeecane Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Well he's had them all living harmoniously for about a year so they've stood a good chance for a while with the Trewavasae being in there for about 6 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted April 7, 2010 Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Ok .... did something prompt the question? If they are all living harmoniously, why make any changes at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandeecane Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 It's a 3 ft tank and it's looking a little bare... I was thinking of convincing him to lose the Malawi cichlid and put other things in there to make it interesting as a 3 ft tank isn't really a big enough size for cichlids... I might even try get him addicted to betta while I'm at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted April 8, 2010 Report Share Posted April 8, 2010 Lots of people keep fish together that they shouldn't and say they have no problems I'm sure that happens.....but to me it's like the guy who jumps off a 20 storey building and half way down he says everything is fine....he has no pain He is correct.....at that point of time This is a good site to get direction on what works and what doesn't.....http://www.aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiguy Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 Labeotropheus Trewavasae is one of the milder Malawis and could coexist with community fish without creating havoc(unlike most of its relatives ;Metriaclima Melanochromis etc).I agree with the suggestion to loose the Malawi as water conditions will not both suit the Malawi and the Angel,catfish or tetras.Malawis liking very hard alkaline water,the others softer acid water Having said that I kept a close relative Labeotropheus fuellborni in a community tank when I was a kid so they seem fairly adaptable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandeecane Posted April 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 He wants and aggressive-type tank I believe. Would it be wiser to remove some of the other fish into a smaller tank and put a couple of electric yellows and blues in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted April 9, 2010 Report Share Posted April 9, 2010 As everyone said... the Malawi (trewavasae) is the odd one out although plecos can adapt to the harder water it is probably better getting some of the rift lake catfish (featherfins, cuckoos, etc) to be cleaners in a Malawi cichlid tank.... The Malawi cichlids are too fast and too aggressive for things like Angels - might be fine for months and then it will get into its head its the boss of the tank and everything else will be chased mercilessly ... even to the point of death.... (just had a 5cm long pelvic fin zebra bully a fish twice its size to death because it thought it was boss of the tank - so I moved its cave so it couldn't find it to get even with it!) For a Malawi tank - most who want a nice display tank only have males (as the males are the most colourful in most cases) and without females there is less fighting over who gets the girl.... Electric yellows and Mainganos are a nice combination of colours and less aggressive than most mbuna - if you're thinking of say 6 of each of two species (which is all a 3ft tank will hold). No plants will survive as most Malawi cichlids are herbivorous and they are like aquatic bulldozers and will move massive amounts of gravel to make their own caves and breeding pits - so it's mostly rocks and gravel or plastic plants if you must. Personally, I'd take the trewavasae out and put in a shoal or two of some nice tetras - tetras won't nip at any of the other fish and will more or less keep together. This tank could be planted up nicely and be quite a display tank. Remember also that Angel fish are cichlids and are no angels if they decide to get nasty so keep an eye on them with whatever you put in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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