New 55g malawi tank idea.

[luke-ns]

hello there i am thinking of starting a Malawi tank and its 55g.
i have no idea about them, but i have kept Oscars and i have a few community tanks so im not completely new to fish keeping just this species.
I would like the likes of labs and brightly coloured fish, but i dont know much about them, could somebody answer some questions please?

Gravel/sand?
decoration/rocks?
how many fish in the tank? i hear you need to overstock to keep the aggression at min.
i have 2 300g filters so that shouldnt be a problem?
rough idea of good fish that will not go mad on eachother?

cheers p.s sorry for all the questions lol.

[Drumachine09]

Most people go with sand for malawis, makes it easier for them to dig out under rock outrcrops, they love to hide.


As far as decor goes, a lot of people use stacked slate that looks very good with malawis. The dark, dull colors of the slate really make the bright colors of the fish pop.

Amount depends on which species you want to keep.

What brand and model of filter do you have?


Don't fret about asking questions, thats what we are here for.

[Sandz]

For a smaller tank, you could do Yellow Labs, Rustys and that... if you like the solid colors Mbuna may be the way to go.

Personally I have grown to love peacocks. They generally are 4-5 inch fish when they max out and an all male tank can be great as far as looks as long as you have only 1 of each type.

http://kgtropicals.com/ is a good site to look on. The owner really knows his stuff and I have talked to him many times. You can also find him on youtube if you want to see them moving.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...us_gallery.php this is a link to the african cichlid genus galary. It will give you pictures of the different genus' of Africans.

Do a bit more research and get back to us on specific fish you like.

[genocidex]

5 of each would be a good stock (1 male for every 4 females):
rusties, yellow labs, acei.

as for substrate, id go with argonite sand. i like eco complete because its black and white. it makes less reflective sand.

rock work is best with these guys. NO live plants... they will shred them to heck.

if you want you can do an all peacock tank too. they are a bit less aggressive.

stay away from Demasoni Cichlid. they are super aggressive.

be prepaired to remove unwanted males you identically bought. unless you buy adults and you can vent them you will be buying and returning stock till you have a good mix. spare tanks are always good with these guys.

if you can spare the space and the tank a 20g sump would help with water quality. because these guys are aggressive a heavy stock is needed.

i think thats the basics for you

[luke-ns]

i like the idea of a male peacock tank with only 1 of each type would look awesome but i also like the yellow labs and electric blue colours of the others, can they mix or is that a full no no.

i just want them all to be different colours and shapes and look really nice as my other tanks have been boring and dull.

also i dont want super rare fish that will have to imported from somewhere i would like it to be reasonably easy to get, iv already seen yellow labs so there defo available. are peacocks fairly common too?

[genocidex]

the 3 i listed should be fairly common to get. not sure around ireland...
if you are going to get peacocks then get all peacocks. the mbunas are more aggressive and it will dominate the peacocks. i dont like the idea of all male tanks but thats just my opinion

[luke-ns]

iv decided to go Mbuna bright coloured ones if possible and would somebody please give me ones that will be okay together, my tank is 55g so like roughly 200L i read 1 fish per 10L so 18-20 fish?

i like labs, acei but think the rusty are a bit plain are there any others to replace them?

[genocidex]

"I would recommend avoiding the mixed cichlid tank. It's full of a lot of hybrids and you never know what you're going to get. Some of the hybrids may look like one species but have the temperament of a very different species. I'd take the time to learn more about mbuna before buying any. Research the species that interest you.

A good beginner mix is yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus), acei (Pseudotropheus acei), and rusties (Iodotropheus sprengerae). 5 of each in a 55g would work well and is a nice mix of color. Other species to consider are mainganos (Melanochromis cyanerhabdos), socolofi (Pseudotropheus socolofi), and some of the Cyanotilapia afra variants.

I would recommend avoiding most Melanochromis (except cyanerhabdos) and many of the Metriaclima and Pseudotropheus species as they tend to be higher aggression, unless you want a highly aggressive tank. If you want a high aggression tank, Melanochromis auratus, Pseudotropheus lombardoi, and Metriaclima greshakei can fit that bill." -lab rat

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ighlight=mbuna

thats my post when i wanted mbunas.... i hope it helps

[luke-ns]

After some research i have found a few species that i like and would like your opinions on my choice :)
Pseudotropheus demasoni
Pseudotropheus saulosi
labidochromis caeruleus
cynotilapia afra-cobou. i like the males but females usually lack in colour? so are there any other 'Afra' that have both colourful male and female?

Im thinking 1 male 3 Females of each variety?

[genocidex]

first mbunas need a high ratio of males to females. 1:4 is best higher is better tho. 2ndly 15 would be your max in a 55g. 3rd. the Pseudotropheus demasoni is super aggressive. cant find any info on those cynotilapia ...

limit yourself to 3 species and 5 of each. and go for the less agressive fish. that would be a good set up for a mbuna begginer such as yourself...