Finally decided!

[Wills]

A few of you will have seen that I've been long planning a 300 litre, 4 foot tank and I've been waiting for some building renovations to complete before setting it up, well now the works have been completed and I've finally got the chance to get going! I did toy with the idea of getting a huge 1000 litre, 8 foot tank but the total cost is a bit too much to indulge on myself compared to what we could do as a family plus its a 12 week build time and I'm fed up of waiting!

So now I am set on doing a Malawi Mbuna tank which is my first proper foray into any Rift Lake fish so excited! I've researched quite a lot and have been trying to work out what mix I'm going to enjoy and the list I've got to is

Metriaclima Msobo Magunga - Black / blue male with orange females
Metriaclima Callainos or Pseudotropheus Socolofi - Neon powder blues on males and females
Labidochromis Caeruleus - Yellow Labs, solid bright yellow on males and females
Pseudotropheus Acei Itungi - Purple/indigo bodies with yellow fins on males and females

I want to start with groups of about 7, but that will depend on cost metrics as some places do 5x species for X amount or some are 3x or 7 or 10x but I'll aim to thin them out to groups of 5 to keep 1 male with 4 females.

I also want to add a group of Synodontis, potentially 9 maybe more though I'll have to add in stages as they are quite pricey when I've seen them! These will be the first fish in the tank once its set up, likely adding them in 3's.

What d'ya reckon am I onto a winner?

Wills

 

[Slaphppy7]

I know little about cichlids, but glad to hear you've settled on a plan

 

[Wills]

I know little about cichlids, but glad to hear you've settled on a plan

Thanks I think it would look something like this.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Nice assortment, and array of colors and shapes...

 

[Fishmanic]

What d'ya reckon am I onto a winner?

Sure, that could be a winner…. but only if you enter The Tank of the Month Contest.
August….31 Gal & larger
September… 16 Gal &smaller
October…17 to 30 Gal
November…31 Gal & larger
Etc…Etc….Etc

 

[Magnum Man]

Are you going with the dwarf petricolas??? I’ve been wanting a trio of those myself

 

[Colin_T]

it could be bloodshed with all the females and males.

 

[Wills]

Are you going with he dwarf petricolas??? I’ve been wanting a trio of those myself

Yeah hopefully - most Petricolas are now Lucipinnis which is about the same always like Polli sp.white too but might be hard to get. I've heard best to keep in groups of 5.

it could be bloodshed with all the females and males.

I mean it is a Malawi tank so high risk of aggression - got a plan for a bunch of dividers that I can quickly slide in if I need to.

I thought that Mbuna were best kept in sexed groups to keep the males distracted from each other? Also why I'm limiting it to 4 males? The Msobo are the most aggressive species in here, though the Socolofi can be a bit rough - not worried about the Labs or Acei though. I did contemplate an all male Peacock tank but quite hard to get individual males from stores and breeders in the UK only a handful of reputable places that will do it that way which is what put me off.

Wills

 

[GaryE]

You will be fine with those choices, though my favourite Mbuna, the yellow labs, are a fair bit less aggressive than their projected tankmates. They may have problems.

My experience with this group says dividers and such don't matter. The major drawback with mbuna is that when the aggression starts you have to grit your teeth and bear with it. You will see behaviour you have never seen in a tank before. Everyone gets bitten, walloped and chased. The colours are amazing. The characters are a trial. And the fish are tough, and they like to live that way.

 

[Wills]

You will be fine with those choices, though my favourite Mbuna, the yellow labs, are a fair bit less aggressive than their projected tankmates. They may have problems.

My experience with this group says dividers and such don't matter. The major drawback with mbuna is that when the aggression starts you have to grit your teeth and bear with it. You will see behaviour you have never seen in a tank before. Everyone gets bitten, walloped and chased. The colours are amazing. The characters are a trial. And the fish are tough, and they like to live that way.

Thanks Gary looking forward to getting started I know its a bit rough and tumble but had some rough and tumble tanks in the past so a little used to it!

The plan with dividers is a last resort, to the point where if I think fish death is imminent I can separate for a few days and rehome them to an LFS when I can.

 

[Magnum Man]

had a buddy with a big tank, and a lot of assorted Africans... his tank was stacked full of limestone slabs, which he had to rearrange every week, as part of his water change routine... to keep things at a low rumble

 

[Wills]

had a buddy with a big tank, and a lot of assorted Africans... his tank was stacked full of limestone slabs, which he had to rearrange every week, as part of his water change routine... to keep things at a low rumble

I'm trying to fathom out the rock situation. I've bought quite a few fake rocks that I was planning to work with, I got these about 2-3 months ago and quite like the layout and also the benefits of using plastic in terms of weight.

But... I really like using natural materials and some of these are a little rough and I think it might be more responsible to go with something a bit smoother, even if it is heavier...

 

[GaryE]

My rule was always one cave per fish, plus 3 empty spots. Luckily, in my Malawi tank days, I lived in a place where slate could be picked up off the ground if you knew where it was. You do rearrange those tanks a lot, especially every single time you move a fish in or out. That's crucial. Those thin slabs of slate came in very handy.

I had a friend who was very successful with Malawi breeding. He took the opposite tack and had zero decoration so no fish claimed anything. It was an effective tank for his purposes, but kind of ugly to me.

It's funny. I was walking in the woods the other day and I noticed a rock fall - I guess the winter ice had infiltrated a low slate cliff face and made dozens of ideal pieces crack off. I don't need them anymore, but once an Mbuna keeper, I guess forever a cave maker...

 

[Wills]

My rule was always one cave per fish, plus 3 empty spots. Luckily, in my Malawi tank days, I lived in a place where slate could be picked up off the ground if you knew where it was. You do rearrange those tanks a lot, especially every single time you move a fish in or out. That's crucial. Those thin slabs of slate came in very handy.

I had a friend who was very successful with Malawi breeding. He took the opposite tack and had zero decoration so no fish claimed anything. It was an effective tank for his purposes, but kind of ugly to me.

It's funny. I was walking in the woods the other day and I noticed a rock fall - I guess the winter ice had infiltrated a low slate cliff face and made dozens of ideal pieces crack off. I don't need them anymore, but once an Mbuna keeper, I guess forever a cave maker...

Yeah I've seen tanks where people do quite square building structures but I don't love how it looks - I'm quite determined to try and put some aquascaping elements into this tank, though not at the expense of the fish obviously there in lies the rub.

Going to take a trip to a couple of garden centres this weekend to try and find the right kind of thing - I've seen a couple of landscaping companies online that sell good sized chunks (not too big not too small) of black limestone which would be perfect I just can't find anywhere that sells it in less than tonne crates!

 

[Magnum Man]

I've never seen black limestone ... here its always cream / tan color

Well it's a good day, I learned something...

BLACK LIMESTONE IS A NATURAL SOUTH INDIAN STONE THESE SLABS ARE HAND SPLIT TO GIVE A RIVEN SURFACE. BLACK LIMESTONE TILES DISPLAY CONSISTENT TONES OF CHARCOAL GREY WHEN IT IS IN DRY AND BECOME PURE BLACK WHEN IT IS WET."