Difference Between Malawis And Mbuna?

[chishnfips]

Rigfht I have set up a cichlid tank, substrate is argonite sand, I have tufa rock and slate and granite in there and some shells and what not. But before I buy fish, what are the differences between mbuna and malawi cichlids, my understanding is that they are from the same place. Can you mix malawi cichlids and mbuna cichlids?

I have a vision 180 set up for the job BTW.

cheers chish

 

[fishfishfish]

from what ive recently read , not sure if its correct though, the fish are malawis because they come from lake malawi.and mbuna is just a classification for some of the fish.so basically mbunas are malawis.ferris should be able to tell u everything or if im right.

 

[The-Wolf]

M<alawis is a generic term for any cichlid from lake malawi.
mbuna refers to a specific group of the cichlids
"Mbuna", a word meaning "rock fish," is used to describe a group of Haplochromines that are found on the rocky biotope along the shores of Lake Malawi. Ten genera belong to this group. These fish are highly specialized for feeding on "Aufwuchs," crustaceans, and algae that live on the rocks. Their mouths are chisel-shaped so that food can be picked out of the large mats of algae that cover the rocks.
Generally, mbunas are about 4-5" (10-13 cm), and do not grow larger than 6" (15 cm).

HTH

 

[Ferris]

Wolf's covered it nicely ^^

Just a couple of points:

"Mbuna" appears to translate to both "rock fish and "rock dweller". How it can translate to 2 slightly different outcomes is beyond me - dialect variation maybe???

The 10 genera is a little out of date - i think the current number is 13 but they change regularly

There are actually quite a few species that grow beyond 6" - Pseudotropehus Crabro being 1 at up to 8" and most of the Petrotilapia genus reach 7"

 

[The-Wolf]

"Mbuna" appears to translate to both "rock fish and "rock dweller". How it can translate to 2 slightly different outcomes is beyond me - dialect variation maybe?

I suppose it depends on who is doing the translation
take the word Mbu,
I always thought it was Swahili for Giant but Giant in Swahili is mtu.
as there is only one letter different perhaps that is where it got confused by some people.
Mbu means mosquito, go figure
A similar thing happend to Plakat (Siamese, now Thai) which actually means biting fish in English and not fighting fish as we call them

I don't even know what language mbuna comes from, it certainly isn't Swhaili though.

 

[Ferris]

A similar thing happend to Plakat (Siamese, now Thai) which actually means biting fish in English and not fighting fish as we call them

I like that one - sounds like a case of chinese whispers

 

[chishnfips]

magic quality info there, so I am going to get fish today or tomorrow, the guy has the fish in the shop down as malawai cichlids so some are yellow labs (I think) and some are light blue and dark blue stripes, and some are orange.

So I take they may be mbuna cichlids?

 

[Ferris]

The light and dark blue are probably Maylandia Lombardoi aka Kenyi and the orange will be Metriaclima Estherae aka red zebra's. Those 3 species should work together with the Kenyi likely to dominate the tank.

You need to try and avoid getting more than 1 male of each species with the Kenyi and Estherae as multiple males will most likely fight for territory as they grow. Not so important with the labs as they are far less aggressive.

And yes - they are all Mbuna

 

[chishnfips]

Hi ferris, I bought today (pick them up this evening) 2 yellow labs 2 of the kenyi's and a ice blue zebra, I am getting another 5 next week and then another 5 the following week.

Should I build each type up to about 4 of each cichlids?

Also I have an upside down catfish in my other tank which I am thinking of moving into the cichlid tank, do you think he will be ok in there, I know they go well with the cichlids but what about the water parameters, at the mo he is in a soft water tank with a ph of about 7 so the water parameters in the cichlid tank will be alot different.


cheers chish.

 

[Ferris]

I would aim for about 12 Mbuna - 3 species with 4 of each would be ideal, 1 male to 3 female ratio. If you can't sex them, which is not easy when they are juveniles, get more than you intend keeping and return a few as they grow and you can tell their gender - most LFS are OK with this.

The syno should be fine but you will need to aclimatise him very carefully to the higher Ph water - a swing of 7 to around 8 is a lot. The best bet would be to put him in a bag (like you get from the LFS) with plenty of water from the original tank and then float him in the new tank with a small slit in the bag to allow the water to slowly merge. Give it around an hour and then you should be good to go.

 

[chishnfips]

magic okidoki cheers ferris

 

[Ferris]

One other thought - your syno would probably benefit from a friend or 2, they are pretty good in small groups and if there is any aggression from the Mbuna - it won't be directed at 1 fish. Upside downs don't get that big so 2 or even 3 should be fine in your tank.

 

[chishnfips]

okidoki, yeah I had thought of getting a pal for him/her.


cheers again

 

[Ferris]

Always happy to help a fellow Star Wars fan.