malawi eye biter tankmates

elementkid65

elementkid65

gill-less
Jul 3, 2007
735
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where ever i am
i have seen an ad on local classifieds for a colony of malawi eyebiters (1 male 5 females)
they are a fish i have always wanted but never were in my price range and never were sold where i lived.

i was wondering could i keep electric yellows,red empress's,a big electric blue male,and 4 red-fin borleyis with them in a 125 gallon with heaps of caves -
or which ones can i?
i have emailed him and if i did get them could i put them with those fish i mentioned above?? thanks

oh id move the red forest jewels,zebra,and clowns into a 65 gallon
 
nickmcmechan said:
i'm not overly familiar with this fish, however i'm sure i saw a programme about them, basically they do what their title says (not your eyes, other fish)...i think they are predatory at night...i might be wrong
Click to expand...
Look on scientific name.;) Dimidochromis compressiceps.
 
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/haps/dimidiochromis.html

If you plan to keep one of these large preadtors, there are a few things to take into consideration. First of all, keep aquarium decorations to a minimum as they prefer the open, unhindered space.
art_dim_compressiceps_02.jpg
Second, respect that this fish gets quite large (9-12") and requires a large, long tank. Third, and most important, keep in mind that this fish is a predator by nature. Smaller fishes, such as Pseudotropheus speices, should not be kept with D. compressiceps. I learned this lesson the hard way after he swallowed five very valuable Pseudos of mine. Fortunately, all five escaped (they were too big to swallow) and have recovered since being separated. In the wild, this fish preys on other cichlids, mostly Pseudotropheus and Aulonocara species and could easily revert back to this practice in the aquarium if preventive measures are not taken.
 
You may have to reduce the amount of caves you have (as mentioned these active swimmers will appreciate lots of open space).

Fairly large cichlids (maxing out at 11-inches to 1-foot, mine grew from 2" to 8" in a little over 2 years and growth continues), but if your yellow labs are full grown (4"+) they may be fine in that set up (though I'm not a big fan of keeping 'haps' with mbunas'). I believe the prey more on mbuna fry and small juvies than adult mbuna specimens (one of my male d. comps stalked, but never harmed, my smallest c. moorii until it attained 4"). They'll definately go after any fry born (and kept) in the tank.

Mine haven't gone after any eyes yet. How large are the ones you're planning to get? The only concern I have is you may be close to maxing out the stocking capacity of that tank (5 fish that get upwards of a foot in length plus several other 7"+ fish in the tank and some y. labs makes for quite a bio-load).
 
could i keep them with red empress only or what about a 15cm e. blue male
they eye biters are about 10-12cm each
 
oh my combatibility chart says haps can go with the compressiceps and the labs but if i do get them
i will have the 6 didimichromis, e. blue male,2 featherfin synodotis ,5 red empress,7 bn, in the 125g
 
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