Who Gives A Fish Forums

Africans I've always been fond of include julidochromis, those brichardis, and shell dwellers - there's just something about 'em. Plenty of other great options out there too, I'm sure.

"I think you could comfortably stock up to 15 or so, 3 males and 12 females should work fine. The 1 male to 5 females ratio was just an example, not a hard and fast rule by any means."

I've had experience with synodontis catfish in mbuna tanks, and I gotta say, not all species are created equal. Featherfin catfish, for instance, can grow pretty massive - I've seen them hit a foot long, though 8 inches is more typical. They're also super territorial and fast growers; mine went from ...

It's down to personal choice really. Mbuna tanks already have a high bioload due to the number of fish, so over filtration is a must. Adding a pleco would only increase the workload. As I've read, most mbuna cichlids have a herbivorous diet, just thought I'd mention that.

I'd be wary of introducing plecos to your setup, the higher pH and hardness might not be ideal for smaller, colorful species. While some people do keep bristlenoses in their tanks, I'd personally err on the side of caution and avoid them altogether.

To start, I'd love to know the dimensions of the tank you're working with. Generally, the rule of thumb is to have one male for every 5+ females, but some species tanks do just fine with only 1-3 males. That being said, certain cichlids like labidochromis and aceis are pretty chill and won't bother ...

In my opinion, limestone, sandstone, and granite work wonders. I'm not a fan of slate, though - it's too flat and doesn't create those beautiful, natural caves. The cave systems you can make with slate are pretty generic and can easily topple over. I think slate can be a great accent rock in some ...

picked up some granite from a local quarry, they were selling it super cheap - 32 bucks a ton. ended up doing my entire tank for just 2 dollars.

I didn't overthink it, just stacked the rocks wherever they seemed stable. surprisingly, it created some nice caves on its own, no fuss.

Honestly, I'd advise against it due to the brackish water requirements of the Scat. There's a huge variety of cichlids out there - some are peaceful, others are aggressive, and they all have different needs. To give you a more informed answer, we'd need to know what specific type of cichlids you're ...

Honestly, venting is the only reliable way to sex them, I've found. If you're looking to mix it up with other species, I'd say go for it - a pair of shell dwellers and a pair of calvus could work well. If you really stack the tank with rock from top to bottom, you might be able to squeeze more in ...