Fish List

[hargi22]

hi,
Just finished cycling my tank and now found a LFS that has some mbunas in.
this is my first time keeping these fish so im looking for something easyish i've been doing some reacearch on the fish they stock and come up with the following shortlist
Labidochromis caeruleus
Aulonocara Nyassae
Dimidochormis Compressiceps ( think will grow to large)
Placidochromis electra
Protomelus Spilonotus (think will grow to large)
Otopharynx lithobates
Pseudotropheus acei

i know that the yelllow labs are supposed to be the easiest of all mbuna to keep and i like the look of the pseudotropheus acei.
I am only going to have 2 of the abouve species in my tank what do you recomend

 

[brewyn]

hello hargi, there are different types of malawi fish that all come from the same lake but live in different habitats and also have different diets. have a read of this as it will help you to understand a bit more about the fish you are wanting to keep.

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

with regards to the cichlids at your lfs I can recomend most of the fish except the Dimidochormis Compressiceps as it is a preditory fish and will eventualy make an easy snack of your mbuna. I know nothing about the Protomelus Spilonotus so I cant make any comment. have fun, there great fish to keep.

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

hi,
Just finished cycling my tank and now found a LFS that has some mbunas in.
this is my first time keeping these fish so im looking for something easyish i've been doing some reacearch on the fish they stock and come up with the following shortlist
Labidochromis caeruleus
Aulonocara Nyassae
Dimidochormis Compressiceps ( think will grow to large)
Placidochromis electra
Protomelus Spilonotus (think will grow to large)
Otopharynx lithobates
Pseudotropheus acei

i know that the yellow labs are supposed to be the easiest of all mbuna to keep and i like the look of the pseudotropheus acei.
I am only going to have 2 of the above species in my tank what do you recomend

hargi, the yellow labs and acei are the only 2 mbuna on your list, the rest are haps and depending on the size of your tank, they maybe grow too big. if your tank is large enough, i'd suggest a group of 8 labs and a group of 8 acei, the colours compliment each other nicely and having only 2 species makes for more interesting behaviour, dare i say more natural behaviour. once you feel confident enough, then maybe introduce a 3rd species, such as ps. saulosi if you want to keep the yellow/blue or rusties for a different colour.
hth
AA

 

[hargi22]

hi,
Just finished cycling my tank and now found a LFS that has some mbunas in.
this is my first time keeping these fish so im looking for something easyish i've been doing some reacearch on the fish they stock and come up with the following shortlist
Labidochromis caeruleus
Aulonocara Nyassae
Dimidochormis Compressiceps ( think will grow to large)
Placidochromis electra
Protomelus Spilonotus (think will grow to large)
Otopharynx lithobates
Pseudotropheus acei

i know that the yellow labs are supposed to be the easiest of all mbuna to keep and i like the look of the pseudotropheus acei.
I am only going to have 2 of the above species in my tank what do you recomend

hargi, the yellow labs and acei are the only 2 mbuna on your list, the rest are haps and depending on the size of your tank, they maybe grow too big. if your tank is large enough, i'd suggest a group of 8 labs and a group of 8 acei, the colours compliment each other nicely and having only 2 species makes for more interesting behaviour, dare i say more natural behaviour. once you feel confident enough, then maybe introduce a 3rd species, such as ps. saulosi if you want to keep the yellow/blue or rusties for a different colour.
hth
AA

thanks both of you i was thinking about the labs and acei and there really the reason i changed from tropical to mbuna, i just got a sail fin synothordontis(sp) in there at the moment will that be ok with them 2?

 

[brewyn]

yes your sail fin synadontis will be fine. if you can, try to get your yellow labs etc from different sources to reduce the risk of in breeding. you will be ok with keeping some happs in with your mbuna, theres no regulations unless your a purrist (keeps to the same types of fish) and you have some knowledge on the different types.

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

yes your sail fin synadontis will be fine. if you can, try to get your yellow labs etc from different sources to reduce the risk of in breeding. you will be ok with keeping some happs in with your mbuna, theres no regulations unless your a purrist (keeps to the same types of fish) and you have some knowledge on the different types.

it still depends on the size of the tank though brewyn,
don't get me wrong i have got haps and mbuna mixed,
but thats in a 7ft long tank and with very peaceful mbuna.

hargi, what size is your tank, you maybe able to add lots more fish if its big enough!!

 

[brewyn]

not getting at anything budd, but you could easily keep a pair of aulonacaras in a 4ft fish tank with mbuna, like you I have a large tank with both in, I admit that I will be seperating both my happs and mbuna as I am a purist, but thats my personal choice and I dont want to give out the impression that keeping malawis is full of rules and regulations and that is why I suggest to people that they should read the article on happs Vs mbuna, hopefully it will help them decide between one or the other, if not both. knowing the dimensions of the tank would help as you could not keep a graet variety of fish in a small tank due to there aggressive and territorial nature.

oh and I was under the impression that you were saying that you couldn't keep both together, my appologies.