Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm considering setting up an African cichlid tank in my 37 gallon, and I'm really drawn to the idea of keeping masked julies. However, I've heard that if you pair them up, they can get pretty aggressive, which makes me wonder if I'd be able to keep any other fish in the tank with them.

I've been itching to try something new, and an all-julie tank just doesn't seem worth it if I can only have a pair in a tank this size. The dimensions are 30" long, 12" wide, 24" tall - I feel like I should be able to fit more than just two fish in there.

Would it be possible to keep all males or all females and have some other compatible fish swimming around? How do you sex them, anyway? I've seen them at the LFS and I'm always impressed, but I need to know if it's worth the risk.

Any info you guys can share would be great, thanks.

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 there, but I'd be cautious not to overdo it.

oakleyride wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 7:37 pm 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 there, but I'd be cautious not to overdo it.

That sounds like a solid plan, I'm really fond of the calvus now too, and I'll definitely look into stacking the rocks high, just gotta be careful not to put too much stress on the bottom of the tank.

I think I've made up my mind. Turns out the julies are marlieri, not transcriptus, but honestly, I love 'em all. My LFS is out of shell dwellers and doesn't carry calvus, so I'll have to do some searching around town for those.

I was wondering, would I really be limited to just a pair of shell dwellers or could I have a small group? And what about adding some synodontis nigriventris to the mix - would that work?

Here's what I'm thinking:

2 Julidochromis Marlieri
2 Altolambrogus Calvus (that big mouth shouldn't be a problem for the shellies or julies, right?)
2 or more shell dwellers (no idea what species are available around here)
6-8 synodontis nigriventris

I think you'll be okay with that setup, but personally, I'd consider skipping the synos since they're not native to the lake. Shell dwellers can be kept in pairs or small groups, just make sure you've got plenty of shells for them to claim as their own. As for the calvus, they're slow growers, taking around 5 years to reach maturity, but in my experience, they're super peaceful with other fish. The marlieri julies are pretty chill too - I think the only ones that might be even more laid-back are the transcriptus. If you're looking for a syno alternative, you might want to check out the dwarf cuckoo syno, which I've heard do well in small groups. As for the rock stacking, you can go all the way to the top without worrying about cracking the bottom of the tank - just start with a layer on the glass, add your substrate, and make sure each additional layer is stable as you build it up.

oakleyride wrote: ↑Thu Jun 23, 2022 7:37 pm 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 there, but I'd be cautious not to overdo it.

I was looking at the dwarf cuckoo syno and I think it might be the same as the synodontis petricola, can anyone confirm that for me. I'm also curious about what a "small group" would be, is it 3-4 or can I get away with 6-8 of them in a 37 gallon tank.

I'd say a small group of dwarf cuckoo synos would be around 4-6. I was having a brain fart on the scientific name, but I'm pretty sure you're right that it's synodontis petricola.

I'm not convinced that a lake syno, even petricola or lucipinnis, would thrive in a tank that size. They're incredibly active swimmers, constantly scouring the substrate, and would likely harass any shellies you have. Although they do better in groups, they can be quite aggressive towards each other - I had a pair of adult lucipinnis that went at each other, resulting in one losing most of its barbels. Thankfully, they're resilient and the barbels have grown back.

Given the tank's size, I'd recommend a pair of julies, one or two pairs of robust shellies like brevis, ocellatus, or ornatipinnis, and some non-tang dithers, such as small rainbow fish, to fill the vertical space. In my experience, shellies and altolamps don't coexist well unless the shellies have a large enough territory to feel secure, as altolamps are fry predators in the wild. With a 30x12 footprint, there simply isn't enough floor space. I'm currently dealing with issues between brevis and altolamprologus compressiceps in a 54"x18" tank, where the brevis males won't let the comps near their shells.