What fish can I put with a dozen Electric Yellow Labs?

[Complexity]

Pseudotropheus Acei "Yellow tail Acei" <-- these look promising!
Pseudotropheus socolofi <-- beautiful, but too aggressive?
Pseudotropheus demasoni <-- are these too aggressive?
peacocks <-- I'm thinking that 1-3 red/different colored ones would be a nice for variety in the tank. Would that work?
Frontosa <-- no, for the reasons others have given

Just curious, what Tanganyikan fish were you looking for that you couldnt find?

I was trying to get Tri-Color Cyprichromis. The source I was wanting to get them from just didn't come through. In the meantime, I passed up another source because I had told the first source I'd get them from him. By the time I gave up on the first source, the second source was out. I haven't found them since (other than 1 or 2 here and there). Other than the cyps, I wanted some xenos and shell dwellers, but the ones I wanted were always sold out everywhere I looked. So I've just given up on tangs.

you still have the desire for a Tanganyika tank try Dave's Rare Aquarium Fish in San Antonio. He has an impressive stock list and being in Texas overnight shipping is cheap and the fish will be boxed for less than 24 hours.

Thanks, I appreciate the suggestion. :)

Psuedotropheus Demasoni <-- these are being suggested a lot. I need to check them out more thoroughly, it seems.
electric blue <-- This is the Melanochromis johannii, right? Pretty, and supposedly less aggressive. Possible.
Maingano <-- same as the electrics, right?

Electric Blue's are fish that will get some size on them... and they can be quite aggressive. I would not have more than a pair of males MAX in a 90 and that might be pushing it.

You're talking about Melanochromis johannii? If they're that aggressive, then they're off the list.

Your question about the cobalt blue and others they will work together.. again the cobaly blue is a larger fish.. you might not be able to get as many as you can yellow labs...
This is why I choose smaller fish which work well with yellow labs and dont get huge like some of the other fish you have listed.

I'm definitely open to smaller fish. I'm just trying to get some ideas.

So a couple of these guys is out of the question.....................

What fish is that?

[Gene D]

The Demasoni are only aggressive with each other. I have had six Demasoni with 12 other Mbuna and they largely ignore them. As well they are considered Dwarf Mbuna and should not grow more than 3.5 inches.

Don't be discouraged by the information that is out there about thier aggression and the need to keep a dozen minimum. I have sucessfully kept them in smaller numbers.

[wesleydnunder]

I've housed m. Auratus with labs before and for that reason would shy away from them. Auratus are nasty mean fish. I like the peacock idea and would suggest mooriis, the malawi blue dolphins. Interesting looking and generally well-behaved IME.

Mark

[Complexity]

It seems a lot of people have recommended Pseudotropheus of different kinds. I still have a lot of checking to do, but I have to admit that I completely love Pseudotropheus socolofi. Unfortunately, I can't find them anywhere. :(

Pseudotropheus Acei "Yellow tail Acei" is a good second choice. I haven't looked into them very much yet. Anyone know of any reason why I shouldn't get a dozen of them to go with my yellow labs?

The idea would be to have a dozen yellow labs, a dozen Aceis, and then 1-3 each of peacocks and whatever would work to add some variation to the tank. I think I've read that Haps and Zebras (not sure of their scientific name yet) should also work.

I want to be sure all of the fish have similar dietary needs since I'll be feeding mostly veggies in this tank.

[semper]

demasoni are not that aggressive

plus along with yellow labs, really gives you a very colorful tank

acei, are larger than labs and demasoni, but one or two might look good

i bred demasoni for a while

[Complexity]

It seems demasoni is the most popular suggestion so I'm willing to give them a try.

Now I have to figure out where I can buy them!

[Complexity]

Thought I'd show you guys this. I like this tank. I realize this guy's tank is twice the size of mine, but can I pull something off similar to this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fF5x9wEJK0&feature=fvw

[Gene D]

I like the look of that youtube tank as well

For Demasoni I would try the following stores

Ultimate Fish
Fish Gallery
Fishland
City Pets

Most of these keep them stocked. From my experience I have bought from the two of stores and the ones from Ultimate had and held the best coloring. Depending on where you go you are looking at about 3-8 dollars for 1.5 -2 inch fish.

[dblondfemme]

I have the blue dolphins right now and I love them. Matter of fact, they are in a temporary grow out tank with small red jewels and um... something blue lol that were traded to me for some tank supplies. I love the facial structure of the blue dolphins... I like color as well and non of my tanks follow any particular guideline. I understand keeping particular lakes separate because of water differences as well as temperment... but for some reason my tanks work... for me. Good luck on your 90!

[Complexity]

I just read that blue dolphins (Cyrtocara moori) can get up to 8" in size. That's definitely too big for my tank.

Ultimate Fish is an hour away, but I might be able to make the trip now that I'm almost done with this semester at school. I would LOVE to get the fish locally!

[Complexity]

If I can find the demasoni locally, how many should I get? I'm thinking maybe 10? Too many, too few, or just right? Keep in mind the video above. That's what I'm shooting for, but I want to stick with the lesser aggressive species as much as possible.

I'm also going to see about adding more rocks to the tank to help with territories.

[Gene D]

If I can find the demasoni locally, how many should I get? I'm thinking maybe 10? Too many, too few, or just right?

That should be a good number

Keep in mind the video above. That's what I'm shooting for, but I want to stick with the lesser aggressive species as much as possible.

I forgot about Cynotilipia when I made recomendations. The striped fish he focused on in the beginning of the video is a Cynotilipia Afra Cobwe "Orange Back", I would consider some of those. Dave usually has these but they do not show on his list right now.

I'm also going to see about adding more rocks to the tank to help with territories.

You dont need to worry about seperate territories as much with Malawi fish. One reef style rockscape is fine.

[Complexity]

Cynotilipia is a pretty fish! That's the kind of fish I wanted to add for variety.

The idea I have in my mind is to have two main fish (the yellow labs and demasoni) as an anchor so the entire tank doesn't look like a total hodge-podge of fish. From there, I then want to add other fish for variety. Some of the other fish will consist of just 1 (probably male) due to aggression issues. Some might be more (3 or so).

I love overcrowded tanks, but not vicious aggression. Chasing without causing harm is fine. I want movement and color, and when I feed the fish, I want them to EAT. I adore how the labs come to the top of the tank and start eating the food immediately.

When I first started keeping tanks again, my first thought was to go with a full Mbuna (aggressive!) tank. I liked so many things about the fish and overall look of the tank. But I was afraid of the aggression. Then I got involved with planted tanks.

Well, I'm still trying to get the cichlid tank I had in my mind in the beginning, but I'm trying to avoid the really bad aggression. That's why I started out trying to get Tangs. Now that I'm learning about Malawi Mbuna, I'm beginning to really favor them.

So I want a colorful, crowded, lively cichlid tank with moderate aggression. I hope a Malawi tank would do that.

[Fire_chair]

If I can find the demasoni locally, how many should I get? I'm thinking maybe 10? Too many, too few, or just right?.

I'd shoot for at least 12-15 to start out with. Most people say that 10 is the absolute minimum to try with, and a lot of people have had 10 turn into 1 within days. With 12-15 you can lose a few and still have enough to disperse aggression. Besides, it's easier spend an extra$30 or so now than it is to lose double that down the road.

[Complexity]

12 sounds good to me. Then I can add about a dozen other fish for variety, maybe more if I stick to the smaller ones. That should make for a spectacular display and spread the aggression around.