malawis and tangs???

[ryan1]

hey i currently have a group of 3 neolamprolous brichardi (1m,2f) in a 90 litre tank and i wondered if i could keep a group of rusty cichlids with them(say 5-6), as i know brichardis are aggresive fish, i thought that rustys would be good as there fast and stick to the top where-as the brichardi have there caves at the bottom of the tank. i know they eat different foods but most of what i will give them is frozen greens so they both eat it, would this be a god idea or not, cheers ryan.

[d_frag]

ryan,

There isn't a tried and true rule that says you can't keep tangs with malawi's or vics with tangs, or westies with vics and the like. If they have compatible water chemistry and roughly the same temper, along with roughly the same basic feeding habits then they should be alright.

Now off to the two species you are talking about. Most everything in the N. savoryi(brichardi) complex tend to be aggressive when paired off tending young and what not. That is when they are aggressive, atleast in my meager experience with them. Each generation of fry will protect the younger generation and push all the other fish from the tank.

Iodotropheus sperangae are one of the more mellow mbuna out there with no social structure other than being a harem spawning cichlid. A group of them swimming around I think would go largely unnoticed by the brichardi. Though I think the brichardi lyretails might be a bit shorter because of nipping. Rusty's also aren't vegetarians, they are an invert and insect eater, which they pull form the aufwuchs(basically detritus filled algae).

So I think both of these fish would do just fine being fed a rounded diet, but then again I could be entirely wrong and someone will correct me around here. =)

It can't hurt to try, but be prepared to remove one species or the other.

frog

[ryan1]

thankyou, this is really helped my brichardi are red spot so a rather mellow species, and at the moment there all semi juvenilles so not ready to breed yet, i think food wise the feed i already give them JBL flake food would be okay as even though it says its for tananyikans theres pictures of malwais mainly mbuna aswell in the front, so i think that should be fine, i think i may give it a go some time in the future when i get a bit of money, as i currenlty have none as i've just set up a nano marine so money is short, but thankyou again ryan

[kitana]

I agree that Malawis and Tangs can be mixed if their behaviors are compatible, but the thing that bugs me in your setup is the volume of the tank: 90 liters isn't, in my opinion, suitable for anything but a very small group of some of the smallest Tanganyikan cichlids. Malawis shouldn't be placed in such a small volume, let alone with another species which is known for its colonization habits and all the agressivity that comes with it.

[ckfishead]

While Tanganyikan cichlids can be physically kept with those from lake Malawi, I wouldn't recommend it. The fish are too different from one another. Malawi cichlids are flashy and bright and always the center of attention. Malawi's are set on killing each other and competing to see who's prettiest in doing so. Tanganyikans however are more subtle. Their beauty and elegance is in their diverse personalities, their subdued colors that show differently when reflecting off the light and through the water and when displaying. Their swimming patterns are less sporadic and more graceful. With Tanganyikans, you actually need to sit down and watch for a while before you realize how subtly beautiful they are. In a tank full of Malawi's, Tanganyikans would get lost in the crowd and go unnoticed.
My thoughts anyway...
I don't think adding any other fish would be a good idea anyway. Once your brichardi start to breed, anyone else in the tank is as good as dead. You don't want "The Brichardi Death Squad" to kill a group of Rusty's, it's not worth the money. Once you have a lot of fry in the tank it will prove to be even more interesting than if you had two different species anyway.
Hope I helped a little bit, and didn't babble too long.
Connor

[ryan1]

it helped and i understand what your saying but if it was a tank full of A.Calvus i would understand as there slow, and keep them selves to them selves and would get lost like you with malawis in a tank,but i belief with brichardi they are probably the most like all malawis in the fact that there out for the kill and when you add another species of fish to there tank they just want to show off and be like look at me, so yes i understand what your saying but also for a week i had two of my male featherfins from another one of my tanks who were harassing the females almost acted like dither fish, so they would bring the brichardi out and keep themselves to themselves as long as they stayed towards the top and didn't go near there territory, so i think with brichardi especially red spot to see them in full colour you need other fish in the tank to get them out, so maybe i might be wrong saying the rusty cichlid maybe i should be looking for a group of zebra danio to act like dither fish, but i belief to put a group of malwais who have them same temperament as the brichardi would make a really interesting tank as they would both be fighting for best colour and who is the best fish and as rustys are a mellow malawi they wouldn;t go on to kill the brichardi like other fish would, so thankyou for yopur comments they have helped alot, i think i just need to think and read up about it all.