Topic: Labidochromis caeruleus white

[sablebeauty]

Hey guys, I'm new to the Cichlids world... and I'd like to get some Labidochromis caeruleus white, but I need a little more information on them. If anyone could help me out, that would be great.

Thanks!

[altaaffe]

just another colour morph as far as I'm aware but I've never come across any before.  I have had half yellow/half white before though.

[callen]

Welcome Aboard!   

I've never owned Labidochromis caeruleus white but a friend had the yellows.  When thinking about the tank I remember he made caves out of PVC piping.  He glued about 20 together. I think 2 or 3 inch holes by 4 inches (some longer then others) and stacked them.  The design was cool.  So I did learn these fish like their caves.  The tank was also a species only but not sure if that is a must.

I have to say it was a cool tank and the fish were fun to watch.  Sorry not much help.

[Gerry]

Hi sablebeauty, see you came over 

guys I think SB want's info on keeping Labs in general, says they are new to them

[tracey]

I also have never had the whites, but have kept the Yellow's before and loved them 

They're one of the more peaceful species of Mbuna and have a much higher tolerance of lower ph that some of the other Rift Lake cichlids.  The need to be kept in groups with a ratio of around one male to three females.  Depending on your tank size, it might be better to stick with just a single male.  They are territorial and each male generally claims around 30 to 40 gallons of tank space for his little private kingdom.  In a 55 gallon tank, one male and three to five females would be a good group.

They are pretty tolerant of other species as well, which is unusual for Mbuna.  IMO they make a nice colour contrast for some of the blue Peacocks, and are placid enough not to cause problems for the Peacocks.  I found them easy to breed once mature, although I never got more than 5 fry from a spawning as I just let nature take its course and didn't interfere.

The biggest difference I've found with Yellow's as opposed to other Mbuna is that they need more protein in their diet than your average Mbuna.  Not quite as much as SA/CA cichlids, but they tend more towards being omnivores than herbivores.  They are not prone to the bloat that other Mbuna can get from too much protein in their diet.

HTH

[altaaffe]

Apologies, that's what happens when I try to rush through posts before work.

Tracey has said it all though and as Callen has said - I also use PVC piping for caves with rocks overlaid to hide them.

Most of those for sale will be around the 1-2" mark and if so good luck on sexing them.  I got lucky with 2 males and 3 females which has since turned into a harem of females and 3 males, they seem to have picked off the male fry (bar the one lucky survivor).

I feed mine a mix of spirulina type foods with catfish pellets thrown in too, something for everybody then with a prawn, bloodworm, brineshrimp mix once a week along with peas and cougette (zucchini) and various times too.  Never had a problem with bloat and the different fish in the tank seem to take the elements they like the best.

[Stormbringer]

Hiya and  welcome to the site seems your in good hands with the advice given 
ps dont know much about Africans tho 

[sablebeauty]

Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome! And the info!

I'm getting 10 babies that are about an 1 inch to 1.5 inches, so they wont be sexible for a while. The local breeder I found is only selling them in groups of 10. Will they be fine in a 55g or will I need to rehome them after they get to adult size once they become sexible?

Also, can they have tank mates like Plecos -- or will they beat up/kill the plecos?

Right now I've just got playsand in the tank and I'm gathering up some pond/river rock from a rock yard and going to try and piece together some hidey-holes/caves... and from what was suggested I might pick up a pipe or two from home depot.

[tracey]

I have always had pleco's in all my tanks, including my Malawi one when I had it.  Any cichlid can be temperemental, especially when breeding, but I never saw my Yellows having a go at the Albino Gibby I had with them.  Admitidly, Common's are more robust that many other pleco species though.

Keeping a pleco with your guys will depend more on tank size and water conditions than any aggression that your Yellows might dish out.  The Common's can handle a much more diverse range of water conditions than most pleco's, but their adult size can be prohibitive.  Most of the smaller species of pleco are less able to cope with water conditions outside those they'd live in in the wild.

A 55 gallon will not allow you the space to keep a Common, unless you're able to rehome one once it reaches a larger size.  What is the ph of your tank?

As for the group of 10, i would be very surprised if you'd need to rehome more than one or two of the males once their reach maturity.  It's all going to depend on what you've ended up with.  They may even all live quite happily in that size tank.

[sablebeauty]

Well what about a regular BN pleco? I have some of those, and even though they're tiny, right now they're bigger than the Labs I'll be getting ironically enough. Would they like the same water PH as the Labs? I read somewhere that the Labs were some of the Africans that didnt mind softer water, even though they like Hard water as well.

[tracey]

Yes, the Labs will tolerate softer water than other Malawi's, but they are happier when it's a little harder.  I am not 100% sure how BN'z would go with Yellow's, but my first reaction is that they might work out OK.  I only have the one BN and he is a pretty feisty little thing, and like I said, my Yellow's never bothered my Gibby when he was in the tank with them.

[altaaffe]

I've got a BN pair in my mbuna tank, but the tank is double the size.  They have bred several times whilst surrounded by mbuna but have taken a battering when they are protecting eggs.

[sablebeauty]

Hmmm okay, I guess we'll see what happens.

I also had a question about pool filter sand. I went to Leslie's Pool Supply and tried to buy some pool filter sand and the lady there told me that it would kill my fish. She was very rude about it and discouraged me from buying it, so I said I would check around. She said any Silica based sand is bad --- but isn't that what sand is made of?

Any suggestions?

[Gerry]

I have heard of people using that before so don't see what the problem is

[tracey]

She said any Silica based sand is bad

 

I know of many ppl who use pool filter sand in their tanks and have never heard of anyone losing fish because of it.  You're correct, almost all sand around the world is silica-based.  Unless that particular sand had an additive in it, I don't see how it could affect the fish.

Try a hardware store for "play sand", that is the other one I've heard about being used a lot.