Cost Of Setup/stocking African Tank

[Malawi MaD]

so rather than try to find trios of 1 male and 2 females in each species ( which is proving a nightmare) its best to buy say half a dozen juvies of eac h species and thin them out as they become sexable?

Yep or if you can get some trio's that are adults that would be a good option to

 

[Mystil]

If you are having problems finding adult trio's or pairs then that is probably the way to go. I usually buy 6 of each species as large as I can get hold of and just hope that I have a pair or trio.

I have done that for most of my trios. Ask the breeders if they could try to sex them the best they can for you (they might say they cant but it is worth asking).

I would not buy fish from pet shops you cannot vouch for, as they are usually expensive and you dont know if they are any good (hybrid) whereas you can get some lovely fish from private breeders.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

mark, have you considered the idea of a Tanganyikan Tropheus setup (their dietary needs are quite specific to prevent bloat I believe, so tankmates are tricky to do), with a 9+ group? There are so many striking colour variations, must admit though I'm not sure if a 4-footer (even though yours is deep and wide) is regarded as being big enough.

 

[markandhisfish]

so rather than try to find trios of 1 male and 2 females in each species ( which is proving a nightmare) its best to buy say half a dozen juvies of eac h species and thin them out as they become sexable?

Yep or if you can get some trio's that are adults that would be a good option to

malawi madness has an absolutely drop dead gorgeous species but only 2 in stock . would that be best avoided?

 

[Malawi MaD]

I would not buy fish from pet shops you cannot vouch for, as they are usually expensive and you dont know if they are any good (hybrid) whereas you can get some lovely fish from private breeders.

One thing to add to that as well if you do get fish from a breeder and you want to keep the fry(depends if they tell the truth or not) try and get males and females from different blood lines

 

[markandhisfish]

most of the fish i like seem on malawi madness to be the same genus ( metriaclima) shouldnt too many of the same genus be avoided or is it just similar colours/patterns?

 

[Mystil]

Are the fish on Malawi mayhem adults? juvies? and are they sexable?

Remember you want to try to add them in groups, not 1's and 2's. You will find if you add very small numbers to a new tank, they will get established and any other added later on will get the brunt of the aggression.

Metriaclima are one of the more aggressive fish to keep (I have been told). I have several of the species and really have not found them to be any more aggressive than the others but I would recommend starting with the more placid of the Mbuna(yellow labs/kingsizei/fellabornia etc.) just to get used to keeping them and then move onto the more agressive species when you get familiar with mbuna.

To start with I would not spend alot of money on "rare" species until you get familiar with their natures.

 

[markandhisfish]

thats what i thought . gutted this is 1 stunning fish

 

[Malawi MaD]

metriaclima species are known to cross breed alot, as many of them have similar looking females. Its best to just have 1 species of metriaclima and yes avoid buying fish with similiar coloured females.

 

[Mystil]

Ditto.

 

[markandhisfish]

right ive made a list of the fish i most like the look of on malawi madness , please note this is NOT a proposed stocklist .

metriaclama long fin pelvic mdoka
metriaclama callainos
pseudotropheus minutus "hai reef"
labeotropheus trewavase red top ( has 2 pairs in stock)
labidochromis hongi
pseudotrophius ndumi redtop
lodotropheus sprengerae
trophepop red cheek "gold"
pseudotrophius trophepops "higga reef" has only 1 pair in tho
not sure about this 1 as only 2 juvies in stock but im blown away by its beauty metriaclama zebra " maisoni reef"

 

[Malawi MaD]

metriaclama long fin pelvic mdoka
pseudotropheus minutus "hai reef
pseudotrophius ndumi redtop
labeotropheus trewavase red top
trophepop red cheek "gold"

They are the ones id go for but still i wouldn't rush just take your time and see what else comes up because if you go buy them then you see something that makes you think 'wow' and it conflicts with what you got its a pain

 

[markandhisfish]

ooops lol ive booobed pseudotropheus minutus isnt on there , must of seen that on a different site

 

[markandhisfish]

this is weird some fish have dissapeared from the list! oops nope its just me being dim lol . also like trophepops graciliior and pseudotropheus ndumbi gold

 

[markandhisfish]

ive just noticed that most of the fish on midland malawis are only about an inch or so in size . how fast to mbuna grow?would yellow labs make a compatible replacement for pseudotrophius minutus?