fishgirl53 Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 Hi I have a 450 ltr tank with 3 female and 1 male blue dolphins 2 electric yellows 7 pink convicts 1 brown and 3 golden bristlenose I want to add another 3 dolphins is my tank too small for any more thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted November 22, 2013 Report Share Posted November 22, 2013 dolphins get pretty big what are the dimensions of your tank thats more important than the litres. On the other hand they are very slow growing what size are your 4 dolphins that you have already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgirl53 Posted November 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 Hi size of tank is 150 cm long x 49 cm deep x 52 cm high with 3 cm of substrate fish females around 12 cm x 3 and 1 male 14 cm thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 i would hold off on adding more dolphins yours are at a nice size and a good ratio of m/f do they get on ok? i would be wary of upsetting the balance, one of those things i guess you won't know till you try, but 6 fully grown dolphins would be a bit of a squeeze in a tank that size. You could add more electric yellows or even another group of haps. How do you find the convicts are they breeding yet? i heard they get pretty stroppy when breeding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgirl53 Posted November 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 The convict have done a lot of breeding no problems, all get along just fine the dolphins all get along as well have had no problems with the yellows some say not to put yellows with dolphins but mine have been good thanks for your info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgirl53 Posted November 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 would Tropheus Pemba suit my tank if so how many Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nudge Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 trophs usually do better in tang tanks but people do keep them with malawis. It would be best to get at least 15, 20 would be better. They are highly aggressive amongst themselves thats why they do better in large groups as this spreads out the aggression, get in touch with smidey on here think he has some pembas for sale but they would need to be grown out in a smaller tank till they are bigger as i think they would become fish food in your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 You would be able to add to the dolphins without any real issues. Choose fish that are the same or similar sizes. Ensure your filtration is up to scrap. Enjoy, they are some of the coolest AfricanC`s out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 23, 2013 Report Share Posted November 23, 2013 You would be able to add to the dolphins without any real issues. Choose fish that are the same or similar sizes. Ensure your filtration is up to scrap. Enjoy, they are some of the coolest AfricanC`s out. I reckon you have room for more dolphins too, and I agree great fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgirl53 Posted November 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Thank you both so much I will get 2 more females would you say that would be my limit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Just for your info on pembas, they aren't overly aggressive when it comes to tropheus, Ikola are nasty but the others like Pemba, duboisi and moliro I have kept have been no more aggro the what I would call medium aggressive Africans. The only difference is the tropheus fight their on specific species generally, not who ever is closest. I wouldn't recommend mixing them with the fish you're keeping but your tank is a fair size for trophs. I have kept moliro, Pemba and duboisi in groups as small as 8 without issues, my breeding colonies are 8 or 9 fish so groups of 15 to 20 aren't essential but are the best way to start off so you can weed out the fish that don't suit your group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 Hi I have a 450 ltr tank with 3 female and 1 male blue dolphins 2 electric yellows 7 pink convicts 1 brown and 3 golden bristlenose I want to add another 3 dolphins is my tank too small for any more thanks Sounds like pretty lite stocking to me, even if all are adults. I'd add another six yellows and more dolphins but if the dolphins are large then it will be best to add larger fish over juvies. When I was keeping Malawi species I had between 30 and 40 fish in 300l, half of them would have been adults so to me your tank sounds like a ghost town. I've found that Africans are better over stocked than under, a term I used to use is African soup haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishgirl53 Posted November 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 So would it be possible for me to add even another 1 male dolphin and 3 females I do love the dolphins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 The issue that may or may not have is aggression been males when they are introduced and that can be with any species that is added. If you add adults to a group there will be fighting to sort out who is boss, that could end quickly and it could turn into WW3, you won't really know until it happens. If you ad juvenile fish to an adult group there won't be a competition for top spot so your more likely to have that go well. I would add juvies around for our five cm and it should go well as long as they don't get beaten by the adults. If you have a good amount of rock work or other things they can get cover in they'll do well I think. I'd be adding about dozen fish to that tank if it was mine, a few of each of the Africans you already have as long as you have enough filtration and cover for the juvies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 25, 2013 Report Share Posted November 25, 2013 I am with Smidey on this one, you are best to start with a big group of fish or add juvvies and let them grow up and sort themselves out. I am breeding the dolphins and plan to keep back a group of around 10-15 with the intention of having a nice colony of them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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