Help Setting Up My 50Gal Malawi

[foley69]

hi all i am setting up a 50gal(200 ltr) malawi tank and was wondering what fish people may suggest and the best way to stock my tank.

there is some fish that i do like which are : nimbochormis venustus, Cyrtocara moorii,imbochromis polystigma and of course yellow labs.

now will these fish go together anf if so what else would fit in to my tank

thanks andy

 

[stang1]

Unfortunately, the Nimbochromis and Moori will grow too big for the tank so you would be best sticking to some of the smaller species.
Yellow labs are a great fish and one of the less aggressive of the Malawi Cichlids. Pseudotropheus Acei are also another nice one and their colours can be stunning as they mature.
You could also consider some of the following:

Rusty Cichlid (Iodotropheus sprengerae)
Metriaclima Estherae - there is a beautiful orange blotch version available and some of the colours are stunning
Cynotilapia Afra - feisty little things but generally well behaved

Hope that helps.

 

[foley69]

yes cheers after lookn online i was looking at mbuna set up or aulonocara and haplochromis species would they work well or not ?

 

[stang1]

An Aulonocara set up would look stunning, I personally think they are one of the prettiest of all.
It's worth having a look at this site for ideas on what to stock, may help you decide what to go for:

My link

 

[foley69]

your link isnt working sorry

 

[stang1]

Hmm, doesn't seem to like it.
If you go to cichlid-forum.com and type in cookie cutter in the search bar, it should lead you to different tank sizes and suitable fish.

 

[foley69]

right ok thanks for you help much appreciated i will have a look now

 

[stang1]

You're welcome

 

[foley69]

o yea also i will obviously changing round my tank but will pictus cats and my green phantom plec still be good to keep as i assume they will ?

 

[stang1]

Pictus and Plecs prefer soft water whereas the cichlids prefer harder water. The other problem is the aggression side of things. Plecs tend to end up with nipped fins and can become quite stressed.
I personally, wouldn't keep them in the same tank together.

 

[foley69]

my pictus and plec have been slowly acclimitised to harder water as my water round my area is quite hard and ph is usually around 7.5 from tap so maybe they could handle that and i have decided to go with a aulonocara set up with a few different groups

 

[stang1]

I'd still keep an eye out for nipped fins and any signs of stress. Although Aulonocara are more docile, they may still attempt to nip at the Plec.
There are many people that have successfully kept the two together but just as many that have suffered casualties. All you can do is keep an eye on them.

 

[foley69]

o yea obviously if any sign of that shows ill act upon it but i think i have decided what i am going to do i could possbly give up my beloved green phantom i have had it since it was like 2" he is like 8" now and stunning

 

[stang1]

I know the feeling well, I wouldn't part with my Green Phantom either.

 

[foley69]

oki so i have decided to go for an aulonocara set up i have seem a few species i want such as :

aulonocara baencsh (spelling)
aulonocara nyasse

as well as some yellow labs

now my question is how many species could i choose and what would be the m/f ratio for each species ?

thanks andy