Advice On Setting Up A 180l Malawi Tank

[pmdf]

A few years back I was the happy owner of a Tanganyikan tank, keeping A. compressiceps, N. tretocephalus, N. leleupi and a few others along with petricola and multi synodontis catfish. I've been out of the hobby for a few years but have recently set up an amazon biotope tank (I'm setting it up for my wife and daughter who want a tranquil, plant-based tank). As a result, I've caught the bug again and now want to get back into my Africans!

I'm playing with the idea of keeping mbuna this time, instead of the Tangs. However, I'm going to be limited to a Fluval Duo 1000 tank (may be able to push for a 1200, but unlikely) which is 100cm long x 40cm deep x 45cm high and 180litres/47 US gallons/40 UK gallons.

I've had a good read through this forum, which has been incredibly helpful, but I'm still undecided whether this tank will be big enough to house the mbuna, and if it is then I realise I'm going to have to be very careful what I put in it.

I'd love to get some yellow labs (Labidochromis caeruleus), and ideally at least one other mbuna or hap species to accompany them in the tank.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on whether the tank would be suitable and, if so, which species would be compatible and happy in there. Also, what kind of numbers I would be best keeping, as I have read so much conflicting advice! I've seen the thread - here - regarding stocking for a 37g tank, and wondered if similar advice applied or whether I'd have any more leeway with this 47g US size tank.

If the tank's too small to house contented mbuna then I'll revert back to my Tangs, which I'd still be more than happy with anyway ...

Thanks!

 

[Nick Sw]

I`m no expert but I`m sure a 100cm in Length Tank would be ok just stick to the more peaceful Mbuna but obviously the 120cm Tank would be more suitable. Maybe 12 fish ?
I wouldn`t mix Mbuna with Haps in a small tank from what I`ve read the Haps don`t cope so well with the Mbuna aggession and have differing dietry requirements.
I`m sure other people may expand on this.

While setting up my tank I found the CF articles a great help alongside the information and help from the members on this forum.

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/

 

[pmdf]

Thanks for the advice. The cichlid-forum links are really useful as well... much appreciated!

 

[Ferris]

I kept 8 mixed Mbuna in a Fluval Duo 1000 for 2 years with little or no problems. The stock included aggressive species like Demasoni and Crabro so i'd say go for it but don't go too mad with stocking levels, I would say 8 is a maximum.

 

[Druchii]

I kept 8 mixed Mbuna in a Fluval Duo 1000 for 2 years with little or no problems. The stock included aggressive species like Demasoni and Crabro so i'd say go for it but don't go too mad with stocking levels, I would say 8 is a maximum.

A 180L tank with plenty of filtration will allow for up to 15-20 smaller species easily, certainly whilst they are not fully grown (and that will take a few years too)

As long as you give them regulalr Water changes and have mature filters it will not be an issue..

I had a 180L (vision) before moving onto a 260 (vision)

Go for species like yellow labs, rusties, saulosi, hongi of afras.... try not to go for acei, red zebras etc etc as these can get larger than your tank will allow for..

4 species of 5 fish etc will look good and almost manage it's self, i see the problem with some tanks is that people do not stock heavily enough and have more issues because of that - than the water quality issues which can easily be sorted with the use of additional external filters and large Water Changes....

If you would like any more info .... PM me - I'll do my best to help

 

[pmdf]

Excellent... thanks very much all! You've wiped out my initial concerns and really got my enthusiasm for this project going.

The Fluval 1000 comes with a Fluval 4+ which I intend to run alongside an external power filter, so hopefully the filtration will be plenty good enough. I've got the same Fluval 4+ in my Amazon tank so I'll be using half the filter media from that to hopefully kick-start the cycle.

 

[Ferris]

I'd have to completely disagree with up to 20 Mbuna in a 180l tank, thats is taking overstocking way too far IMO. Sure people have done it and its possible with massive filtration and large regular water changes but why cram so many of these wonderful fish into a small tank?

As juveniles 15-20 would work fine but they're going to grow up and then what, return half of them? What's the point? If you are certain you can get a bigger tank in the future then great, no problem.

Overstocking is important with Mbuna but remember their natural environment provides them with almost limitless space to create territiories etc and a small tank packed full of them is about as distant as you can get from this.

 

[pmdf]

While I understand the concepts of overstocking, i don't want to go too far with my tank anyway so will probably look at around 8 fish if I go down the Malawi route.

I really like the look of the Ps. saulosi from Druchii's suggestions. I'm still keeping an open mind about whether to go Malawi or stick to keeping Tanganyikans in this tank... it's hard to get good examples of either around here, so it may depend on what my LFS has in stock anyway!

 

[Ferris]

You will probably find Mbuna more readily available than Tangs but it does vary from shop to shop. Check out the pinned UK LFS index in the chit-chat section, you may find some LFS that you were'nt aware of.

 

[Druchii]

I understand your concerns over oversotcking, however, there is not an issue.....

...many people overstock their tanks and have no problems with either aggression or filtration or water changes..

as long as you know what you are doing and exchange information with people then there are no problems with it..

In a 180L tank with standard filtration - you'll only get about 100cm of adult fish which is say 10 Adult malawis (approx) so if you want to go higher you add extra filtration..

I have a 260 vision with 2 external filters and perform 25% water changes weekly..

I have between 30-40 fish in it - they all have plenty of space and i do not have any issues with water parameters or quality.. B)

however i completely understand if you take ferris's advice and go with a low stocking number and standard filtration...

There is one point i would like to mention in passing, that over stocking malawis in europe is a very common thing, it tends to be frowned upon over the water in the US, so maybe if you go and search everal different sites that contain stocking information and species guides etc etc you will be able to look at all the different sides of this debate and make up your own decision based upon that

Either way - you will love them and you will always want more.... so then it would be a choice then of additional filtration or investing in a larger tank .

HTH

 

[Ferris]

Druchii - you'll have to post some pics of your tank, you have the same tank as i do for Mbuna and you have 30-40 in there . I have 8 Mbuna and 3 bottom feeders (all adults) and whilst i could easily fit a few more in, i can't imagine 30-40, can they even move? I can't even begin to picture it hence the request for pics, this i gotta see

I run 1 eheim Pro2 2028 and 1 Fluval 305, which is massively overfiltering as i do with all my tanks and i also do 25-30% weekly water changes.

Overstocking is pretty much essential with Mbuna - no doubt and i don't think anyone in the UK or US (or anywhere for that matter) will disagree but my point is simply this - why take it that far? Its not natural for the fish, its certainly not good for them - yes they can survive but isn't the point of fishkeeping to do the best for the fish, rather than them just surviving?

Anyway i know everyone is entitled to their opinion etc and this is nothing personal, i'm just fascinated as to the thinking behind this sort of level of stocking.

 

[pmdf]

Druchii & Ferrris - I'm really glad to have both of you on board for your opinions... the differences of opinion you both express are exactly what caused me to raise this question in the first place. I'm a confident fishkeeper within the realms of my knowledge, but I've heard so many conflicting opinions regarding the stocking of Malawis that I wanted to raise my own thread on the subject, despite the wealth of information already available.

I prefer to err on the side of caution, so I think it'll either be a lightly stocked Malawi tank or I'll keep Tangs in here and get a bigger tank for the mbuna later. I'll be making a decision in the next week so watch out for pictures soon! And thanks very much for the mbuna suggestions, as I've definitely fallen for the Ps. saulosi, so whether it's now or later I start a Malawi tank, they'll be the first ones in!

 

[Ferris]

Pics would be great whatever you decide. I think Druchii and i are actually making the same point, overstocking is the way to go with Mbuna, we just disagree on the level of overstocking.

 

[pmdf]

Pics would be great whatever you decide. I think Druchii and i are actually making the same point, overstocking is the way to go with Mbuna, we just disagree on the level of overstocking.

Understood... I should have said "lightly-overstocked" rather than "lightly stocked" in my previous post!

I've seen tanks that are more confidently over-stocked, and they look great, but I don't have the confidence to leap straight into that myself. I've had a good deal of experience with Tanganyikans, but it's quite surprising how little of this knowledge is transferable to keeping fish from a lake a few hundred miles south! There's lots of similarities of course, but maybe even more differences! It's a good lesson in always getting advice from people who have first-hand experience.

 

[Ferris]

Don't forget the pics and keep us posted on how you get on.