How Many Fish?!

[Jamie1985]

Hi all, this is my first post on this forum so please be gentle with me!

Ive kept tropicals for years and learnt by mistakes along the way but have now ventured into the cichlid community namely malawis!

Ive cycled my tank and tested the water parameters which are all fine so im now looking at adding the first batch of malawis to the tank but my question is how many can i add in one go ive heard different things from people and the LFS.

Am i better adding say 6-8 juveniles then waiting for a 3 week period and adding another 6-8 more?! Would this cause a problem with the second batch being attacked by the first?

I have a fluval roma 240 with the 305 external filter dont know if this will help.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

 

[Malawi MaD]

Hi all, this is my first post on this forum so please be gentle with me!

Ive kept tropicals for years and learnt by mistakes along the way but have now ventured into the cichlid community namely malawis!

Ive cycled my tank and tested the water parameters which are all fine so im now looking at adding the first batch of malawis to the tank but my question is how many can i add in one go ive heard different things from people and the LFS.

Am i better adding say 6-8 juveniles then waiting for a 3 week period and adding another 6-8 more?! Would this cause a problem with the second batch being attacked by the first?

I have a fluval roma 240 with the 305 external filter dont know if this will help.

Thanks in advance

Jamie

You'r best adding a larger group all at once as this sorts out the aggression side of thing's. Then as you say when you add your next batch of fish make sure this is also a good amount in one go. Another thing i do when i introduce new fish is rescape my tank so the dominant male's of the tank have to find a new section of the tank to claim as there own and this muddles things up meaning the new fish don't get targeted. How many fish you wanting to add to your tank?

 

[Jamie1985]

Thanks for the reply ive been told by my LFS that im better off "over-stocking" or put in as many fish as my filter will allow!

I have a 240 litre tank which i know isnt an ideal size for a malawi set-up so id like to have as many fish as possible, do you know how many i could stock?

I will try the re-scaping trick once ive added the second group of fish to allow them to settle in without being bullied

Thanks

Jamie

 

[Malawi MaD]

Thanks for the reply ive been told by my LFS that im better off "over-stocking" or put in as many fish as my filter will allow!

I have a 240 litre tank which i know isnt an ideal size for a malawi set-up so id like to have as many fish as possible, do you know how many i could stock?

I will try the re-scaping trick once ive added the second group of fish to allow them to settle in without being bullied

Thanks

Jamie

Yeah the key is to overstock malawi's as long as your filtration can cope. I think you would need to add another external filter or buy something larger like a Fluval FX5 for example. If your wanting to overstock your tank, the better turn over of water you have the better it will be for your fish( you will most probbaly know this already ). With the right filtration and perfect water condition's 25 to 30 fish could easily be achieved. Any plans on what species your adding mate?

 

[Jamie1985]

Really an FX5 i had one of those until about 3 weeks ago i sold it because i never used it !!

I want to try stock mbunas but really like the Aulonocara especially the malauna would i be able to stock a few say 4 with the mbunas?

Many Thanks

Jamie

 

[Malawi MaD]

Really an FX5 i had one of those until about 3 weeks ago i sold it because i never used it !!

I want to try stock mbunas but really like the Aulonocara especially the malauna would i be able to stock a few say 4 with the mbunas?

Many Thanks

Jamie

Ahh gutted .. Yeah I personally don't mix the 2 but enough people do so having a few shouldn't be a problem as long as there is some open water space for them to swim about

 

[rifty]

maulana are really nice fish! but work well as a pair for aulonocara one of the few that doesbetter as two fish most work well in groups? well that is what i have found with them? also they dominate a rocky area over instead of open water like most of my other aulonocara so very different habits for this type of fish!
i have mine in with afra cobue and otopharynx lithobates and copadichromis azuras so mainly haps with no issues in a six foot tank but thinking of adding more mbuna soon!