Help Please

[stephen.h89]

ok, i am confused with malawis, i want malawis and was thinkin mbuna, but aparantly mbuna are different to malawis, yet i read thet mbuna are 1 of 3 types of malawi cichlid, so can some 1 please settle my mind and explain if a mbuna is a malawi

 

[Curiosity101]

Malawi cichlids are from the Lake Malawi in Africa.
And so yes, mbuna are malwai cichlids as this is where they're from. But they're not the only cichlids from lake malawi

 

[stephen.h89]

ok thanx, i have just found a list of mbuna, can all mbuna be kept together or is there some species to be avoided in a mixed tank?

also is king british: cichlid floating food sticks good or should i look to get different food for them

 

[Curiosity101]

The information I listed above is about as far as my knowledge of malawi cichlids go. Sorry!

 

[stephen.h89]

ok thanx.

 

[Realtree]

As you know there are many kinds of mbuna in lake malawi
They are all aggressive to differing degrees.I would advise doing quite a bit of research.
As a rule of thumb most variants are better kept in a group of 1 male and 2 or more females
Along with this pick a list of mbuna you like the look of and then see if any look similar to each other - this may cause aggression problems between the varieties if they look the same.
Make sure your tank is over filtrated and the you can overstock so fish can then get lost in the crowd if they are being harassed this combined with lots of rockwork will also reduce aggression.
Certain mbuna (for example Demansoni) have a reputation for being extremely aggressive within their own groups and dominant males can kill every group member apart from his chosen female and at times she will also be killed
I have found in my experience that when starting on the mbuna journey it is better to stock juvenile fish and let them mature and grow together than stocking with adult fish
Hope this helps

 

[stephen.h89]

thanks for the help, i will be getting them as juvenilles, i have a breeder just round the corner from me, do u think 25-30kg of ocean rock will be enough in a RIO 400, i notice u have the same tank so u may kno how much i need

 

[Realtree]

thanks for the help, i will be getting them as juvenilles, i have a breeder just round the corner from me, do u think 25-30kg of ocean rock will be enough in a RIO 400, i notice u have the same tank so u may kno how much i need

Its a matter of personal preferance and tbh I love a big rockwall in my tank.
In my Rio 400 I have approx 100 kg of cobbles so if it were me I would be at least doubling your amount of ocean rock. The biggest pain is trying to catch holding females from your tank - you will find that it is virtually impossible without stripping down the whole rock wall
To do a full strip down and back up again takes me about 2 hrs - not saying that its not worth it when you've got the fry growing on safe n sound