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Q- Anyone know what mixes well with Labeotropheus trawavase, and has anyone ever been successful with the L. trawavase as far as breeding them? Or I might have Ps. demasoni and want something colorful with them. I like hot colors but some semblance of decent behavior among tank mates.
A- I kept L. trewavasae with Ps sp. "msobo"; Ps. elongatus, Ps "zebra OB" and Ps callainos "white", among other lake's fish only h. nyererei from Victoria.
No crossing at all (till now) but this doesn't mean it won't ... It could happen!
A- I have never kept them, but I did get overrun with fulleborni. I would try something like I. springerae. Scrappy enough to handle itself, but not over power the labeos. Plus, they should be different enough in color and pattern there should not be any hyper-dominance problems.
A- Trewavase is one mean hombre'. I put it in a class with the M. aurautus. Now the demasoni are a peaceful mbuna. I have one tank with them and Ps. flavus (but hard to find), and another with Ps (Maylandi) eastherae, M. maingano (has a new species name which I cannot spell), yellow labs, L. sp. perlmutt and a Ps. tropheops male. Oh yeah, I also have a Victorian Hap called a Hap. crossbar (really a nice red coloration in the male). It is a very peaceful tank as far a mbuna tanks go. It is a 75 by the way. The demasoni and flavus tank is really cool too since the flavus are yellow and black barred. The problem there is availability. I have some fry and am picking up an adult trio next month to broaden the gene pool. I bought mine at about 3/4" for $18 a piece! I like them and to me they are worth it for me. Hoping to have lots of fry for the ACA Convention.
Q- Electric yellows, flavus, and demasoni sound perfect. Would they get along? Do you know if they would cross?
A- I have heard that the flavus and demasoni may cross as they are both pseudotropheus......but the flavus are still very hard to get. Iodotropheus springerae (rustys) may provide that other bit of contrast to set the others off.
Our Views
Basic compatibility issues cannot be addressed with a single question and answer. First, it is a good idea to determine what the food requirements are for the fish you are keeping. Second, determine the level of aggression they are reputed to have. Third, evaluate the size of your tank and the construction of hiding places and territories available for differing fish. Lastly, the total number of fish can have a large effect on their ability to be mixed into a tank, along with one of the most important issues. BE SURE THEY WONT CROSS-BREED. Fish of a very similar appearance will attempt to breed when kept in an aquarium environment. This is definately not what keeping fish is about. Please make every attempt possible to keep cross-breeding from happening.
Q- What is the best way to determine compatibility, and is there any charts on the web for it that are sufficient, in your opinion, for that determination?( how's that for a run-on sentence?)
A- I have a 38 gallon tank and in it I have one species of Julidochromis (malieri - rock dwellers), a species of shell dwellers, Neolamprologus brevis, and another Neolamp, brichardi "Daffodil", another rock dweller. I am looking for another species, more of an open water fish in the Cyprichromis genus. My fish all seem to get along fine, all introduced as juveniles. I am sure with the bigger tank you will have other options. You can call Keegan Armke and he can tell you what would go well in the tank. His number is on his website at www.ohiexchange.com/armke. You will have lots of use for that PKS flake you got from me. I think the only fish you want to stay away from would be those in the Tropheus genus unless you want only a Tropheus tank but then you can only keep one species.
Q- can anyone tell me about fish compatibility?
A- Since there has been some ongoing discussion on mixing cichlids and the probable (in fact expected) side effects of this action (=3D dead fish), I would like to make some points which may help fellow hobbyists understand some of the underlying causes. What is compatible fish ?? We use this term mainly to speak about fish that need the same chemistry (e.g. "do not mix American with African cichlids"). Compatibility is a much broader parameter and covers dietary needs (according to which you should not mix mbuna with haps or piscivores) fish temperament (e.g. Nimbochromis species with dwarf gourami) and most of all it should mean that you shouldn't mix a predator with its prey (e.g. Nimbochromis species with aulonocaras or small mbuna). However, most of the List members regard the first as incompatible and the latter as recommended. Frankly, I feel that it should be the other way around. Mixing American predator cichlids with African predator cichlids in a tank with average water parameters makes more sense than mixing the predator and the prey in the same tank. Why? Because a) both the predator and the prey will have optimal water conditions which means that everyone will play the role it should in a perfectly balanced environment b) in such a case the predator (coming from the same Lake as the prey) will immediately recognize the melanin pattern of the prey (it is genetically built to do that).
In short, I feel that when the disaster takes place (=3D my Nimbo seems to have eaten my poor Aulonocara) it means that someone didn't do his homework (while definitely the Nimbo did its part). I am sure that this is not something new to the members of this List but (judging from the messages I read) it is very often forgotten and the selection of the fish is based on the cute colours. I fully respect the fact the members of this list range from those who just want to have orange-blue-yellow fish in their tanks to those who have many years of experience but I hope that more and more people take this hobby seriously, which is they understand the basics of African Cichlids and accept the fact that fish keeping is a difficult and demanding hobby. I prefer to refer to it as a mixture of 50% science with 50% art and skills.
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