deano01 Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 hi guys i got a really sweet deal today picked up adault electric yellow collony [about 20] dolphin fish trio peacocks x4 all ment to be brreding the guy i got them off had them all in the one tank so i have done the same first question will the fish breed in the tank together or will i have to seperate them question 2 what is best to feed all these fish since i have not had any of them before question 3 what is needed for the fish to breed any advice for any of these questions will help greatly cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve6610 Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 africans are better seperated, they can cross breed, as for food, just make sure you use one thats made for them, not some cheap tropical one, for breeding, well just have the right temps and water conditions, they will do the rest, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Junkie Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 Sounds like you got a very good deal by the sounds of it also if you didn't snap them up someone else would but try to do some homework on fish if your thinking about keeping them its best for you the fish and us reminds me of the Ekka when people had a Goldfish in one hand and the bowl in the other FJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayton31 Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 im not 100% sure but i dont think blue dolphins and yellows will mix...but hope u got a big enough tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deano01 Posted December 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 yeah got a 10 footer and the guy i got them off had them all in the one tank and breeding there were stll fry in there when i picked the fish up and i have them together in my tank and they are getting along ok well seem to be but want to know what the chances are of them breeding while all together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffy_rana Posted December 28, 2011 Report Share Posted December 28, 2011 yeah got a 10 footer and the guy i got them off had them all in the one tank and breeding there were stll fry in there when i picked the fish up and i have them together in my tank and they are getting along ok well seem to be but want to know what the chances are of them breeding while all together if it happened for him......the chances are high it will happen for you. africans breed like stink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatic Paradise Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Those 3 species of cichlids should NOT be able to cross breed naturally. I would have no hesitation keeping them together and in a 10ft, they would look great and be happy to breed continously. The only thing is do you want to strip the females when they have eggs? or are you going to fill the tank with lots of small hidey holes for the fry to fend for themselves? Option 1: You will need to do a little work, be able to catch the females when they have fry and have a fry tank or breeder net (I prefer seperate tank) but you should end up with a lot of fry. Option 2: If you set it up right you will have some babies survive, but not likely to be more than a couple each month. As for getting them to breed, feed them 2 - 3 times a day on Live food, high quality dry food (find out what he was feeding or maybe go with New life spectrum or tetra colour bits) and do 30% water changes every couple of days for a couple of weeks and you should have plenty of mouth fulls of fry. I have seen peacocks and E yellows breed being fed 3 times a week and only one water change a month, but it's not very optimal. Also never under estimate the power of live foods (Black worms, guppy fry, brine shrimp) It's the only way I have managed to have my fish (discus, peacocks, other africans, catfish ect) breed every week, I currently have my Corydoras Barbatus pair breeding every Tuesday If anyone wants to have a discussion on pros and cons of feeding live foods start a different thread and let me know. Good luck with your fish Regards, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I dont think its very wise to reccomend black worms to someone with mbuna. electric yellow and dolphin and peacocks, can all easily interbreed. They dont tend to, IF they have mates of their own species. but they can and do frequently I dont see a problem keeping a hap species, a mbuna species and a peacock species together but unlikely as it is I would check out the fry at 1cm because a hybrid of any 2 of those 3 is going to be rather obvious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatic Paradise Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Ah the great thing about the aquarium hobby, everyone has read and experienced different things. 'Deadfishfloating' why do you single out black worms as not being a good idea, compared with other high protein foods? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 because they are a very rich and dirty food totally unsuitable for the long intestinal tract of mbuna like electric yellows. Earthworms on the other hand would be a more suitable choice. As with any food a little of something can be of no harm. But a cichlid that gorges on certain foods can be effected adversly. Something I have learnt the hard way. As far as hybrids go in malawi........ pretty much anything goes. well except for the tilapia cichlids. but yea the rest can generally cross and almost always have fertile young. being able to spot the crosses now theres the trick its getting harder with a lot of species you forget what they used to look like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatic Paradise Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I do agree that too much of any single food, particularly if they are gorging themselves on it is not very good for any living creature, however I will have to agree to disagree on most of the other things you have said Could you please also clarify how a worm which is grown in fresh water and fed fish food (black worm) is more dirty than a worm grown in dirt (earthworm) Kind regards, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I dont have a problem with Africans gorging on seafood based foods or even most pellets/flakes. Keep in mind most of my tanks have several hundred fry in them, and its very difficult to prevent the larger few amongst them from gorging. It does however let me see cassualties, something actually quite rare with African fry. So when I see them, I take note. Blackworms are something I breed myself, altho I dont feed them fish food. Instead I use mainly boiled veggies. As to how dirty they are, that comes down to how often I have to change the water. This is fine if its for apisto or kribs or discus, as I water change those tanks heavily anyway. But its not so good when you have over stocked tanks. As far as earthworms being dirty goes, strangely feeding them does not impact on water quality anywhere near as much. Yes they are full of dirt (I rarely purge them), but they dont pollute the water. They also digest VERY fast. This may have something to do with the type or amount of fat in them. As far as disagreeing on the hybrid thing goes....... what do you find hard to believe? Have seen oh so many Malawi hybrids in my time. lol I can think of at least 30 crosses in people I knows tanks right now. mbuna X haps, hap X peacocks, mbuna X peacocks (thats not advertising to sell btw mods) just saying, in the name of science....... worse case scenario......... I could show one of these b@stard offspring lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatic Paradise Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Thanks for the clarification, by dirty you mean they pollute the water of the tank they are fed too, not that the actual worm itself is dirty. After re-reading our posts I would like to conclude that - The proof of experience is a far better indicator of what can happen than the lack of proof, no matter how extensive the experience of the one who lacks proof. Meaning: Even though I have bred many Africans, in many different community tanks and maintained many more for past and present clients, then also I have read many books, articles and posts on Africans. I will concede that you have seen the proof and therefore it is very possible. Thank you for the open discussion. Now taking it back to a direct answer for Deano01, DeadFishFloating would or would you not recommend he keeps all those fish together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 yea I would not only do they look good together but any hybrid fry would be easy to identify My approach would be to build a nice rockpile for the yellows and leave much of the tank bare sand/fine gravel for the dolphins and peacocks but thats the thing with africans mate you see people having incredible success with them, even though, as far as you can tell they are bloody doing everything WRONG! very forgiving fish even worse no matter how many you keep, breed and raise you can never quite predict how they will behave! I suppose no matter your technique or choices the real key is just to watch them such a great group of fish not just to keep but to chat about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuffy_rana Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 i would like to say i read all that......but we all know i didn't best of luck with all the conflicting stuff op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 hmmm........ I was a bit long winded. next time remind me to just quote this example......... OB zebra crossed with a peacock = ob peacock ob peacock crossed with an eye biter = ob eye biter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brengun Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Welcome Dean, you must have heaps of fish breeding now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 indeed. could probably rename this thread to "electric yellows for sale" and move it to livestock trader lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
