Whats the minium size tank for african cichlids?

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Durbkat

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My friend has a 29g tank and he wants african or any other kind of cichlid is this size tank to small for them?
 
Unless you are considering some of the dwarf species (< 2") I'd say no. A pair of kribensis would be OK in that size.
 
A 29 gallon is good for a few types of Africans, but he needs to be careful and do some research because it's too small for most of them. Really he'd need to be on here to answer some questions, like what he's interested in.
 
29g tanks are 30" long, which is pretty darn short. A 36" or longer tank would be strongly preferrable. As freddy says, here are a few species that could work, but you're extremely limited. Mbuna need horizontal space, the more the better.
 
The problem with recommending African Cichlids for a tank of those dimensions is, as modernhamlet, stated is the foot print. I don't usually make much of a distinction between two tanks that are 1/2 sq. foot apart, but in this case the extra 6" really means a lot to the fish. 2.5 sq. ft. limits you to just a very few mbuna. I'd dare say even the smallest will find it cramped in a 29g tank. There are other "miniature" cichlids from Tanganyika such as Neolamprologus multifasciatus, Lamprologus caudopunctatus, Eretmodus sp. that would work, but the problem is, these are specialist fish, have specific needs, may not even be readily available, or may not appeal to "your friend." There certainly are other non African cichlids that will work in this size tank, i.e. blue rams, bolivian rams, cockatoo dwarf cichlid.
 
Min tank size for malawi is 77gal (1.5m x .5 X .6m)
Even then you must be very selective with the type(size wise +-4.5in) you keep.

1/3 of the volume must be dedicated to caves of differant size to give them some protection when the males start breeding.

Even with this size tank you will still have casualties.

The Hap Ali in my avatar was so badly mauled that he died of stess when I tried to re introduce him after his wounds was healed in my hospital tank.

He used to rule the roost.

Do the research yourself and do not allow the LFS to sel you species you have not decided on by yourself.

Malawi ; very rewarding specie to keep.
 
Thanks guys but my friend says he doesn't want to get any bigger tanks.
 
Thanks guys but my friend says he doesn't want to get any bigger tanks.
Tell him to come here, there are ways of making it work.

Min tank size for malawi is 77gal (1.5m x .5 X .6m)
.
In my experience there are ways of setting up small communities in a tank as small as 30 gallons with no fatalities.
 
How would you make those kind of fish work out in a 29g with no murders?
 
These fish are not murderers, they are territorial and competitive and simply displaying behaviour built into them for survival. He can make it work by

1) going with less species (1 is best, 2 maximum) and at least 4 of any species

2) sticking with low aggression species. Some of these are Labidochromis Caeruleus (aka Yellow Lab or Electric Yellow), Iodotropheus Sprengerae (aka Rusty), Pseudotropheus Acei (a little large for the tank but can work), and Pseudotropheus Saulosi (great because they're small, best 2-3 males and 4-6 females in a species tank)

3) avoiding a mix of any species that look similar

3) using a decent amount of rockwork in the tank

4) doing a fishless cycle and adding all the juvenile fish at once

5) doing some research for himself to learn about mbuna in general and the species he is considering
 
Not sure what they are called but at my lps they have these 4"to5" yellow fish would they work?
 
Never buy these fish unless you know what they are. It's always best to buy them young (1-2") and raise them in the tank together - adults can be more unpredictable.

Do they look like This?
 
Believe me, the advice you have been given is good advice!!! I have a 29 Gallon Malawi tank, and they are all very small and very happy at the moment. I have a very good external filter as I am overstocked, and have lots of caves for the fish to hide in. (to combat any potential aggression). I did look into this before setting out, and will upgrade to a much larger tank when necessary (I will have to). Your friend really does have to have a good knowledge of fish-keeping to be able to pull this off; and despite having done it myself, I would not necessarily recommend it!

Julia
 
Freddyk they sorta look like that but they don't have that black stripe on the top of the boddy. and their more slimmer than that.
 
Durbkat said:
Freddyk they sorta look like that but they don't have that black stripe on the top of the boddy. and their more slimmer than that.
[snapback]927071[/snapback]​

Could it be a Red Zebra Google search Red Zebra

They are a bit more orange than yellow, and do not have the black on the dorsal fins. If they are much slimmer than that, then IMHO, they are probably malnourished. Although I am sure I will stand corrected! :whistle:

Julia
 

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