Hurrah!!! Finally got my tank set up....

[keane]

Hiya folks ,

My tank is (finally!!!!!!) set up and running!!

Went to Oasis Aquariums on Saturday. What a place!

Got carried away and bought.....

4 labidochromis caeruleus
Pair of Pseudotropheus Mpanga
Pair of Melanochromis Johannii
1 Metriaclima Estherae (Red)
4 Pseudotropheus Acei (Yellow Tail)
3 Clown Loaches (each about 3" inches long)

I know the johannii can be aggressive but all fish were bought with a "trial" period in mind. I made sure the guy at Oasis would take them back if any problems arise.

I was also very naughty (my heart took over my head for just a couple of minutes) and bought 4 halpochromis (sorry freddyk!! ). Can't remember what their species name is. The guy did write it down for me but I threw the piece of paper away!! Bugger! Their colours and markings resemble that of a leopard (or more so a giraffe!!)

I have taken photos and as soon as I get chance I will post some pics and you can all maybe help me out with what sort they are.

Anyways.....my question is....what do you guys feed your mbuna??

I bought some cichlid pellets but they seem a bit big for most of the fish to deal with and they are getting left! Can I crush them down a bit??

I also bought some spirulina flakes. They seem to take a quick snack on these but no eating frenzies going on!

I also bought some brine shrimp with a view to "treating" them once a week. Is this ok??

Am also intend to give them some cucumber and mushed up peas (again, once a week).

Final question....the clown loaches apparently (per the Oasis guy) need blood worm in their diet. Is this totally correct? If so, how do i manage to feed this to them without the mbuna getting any and ending up with bloat.

What else will they eat because they don't appear too keen on any of the cichlid food??

Any comments, advices or criticisms appreciated.

thanks

steve 8)

 

[Ferris]

Nice one Steve, glad to hear it. I wouldn't worry too much about the Johanni, have never had much trouble with mine (might be because the tank boss is a huge orange blotch zebra, more than twice his size ). Seriously though, he's fully grown and doesn't bother much with the others.

Let me know how you go with the clowns, I may go with some myself.

Food wise, I go for Spirinula sticks (Nutrafin), sometimes a bit of standard flake food and some frozen Cichlid mix treats. Never had bloat/dropsy or any diet related probs.

Let them settle in a bit and they'll eat anything, greedy little buggers


Nice combo by the way, you shouldn't have too many problems with that lot. You could even squeeze a Demasoni in (Sorry I'm addicted to them, got one a few weeks ago and I can't get over the colours, absolutely stunning - got him from Oasis aswell - £10 and he's barely an inch long)

Your haps sound like Venustus or Livingstoni (both look similar) - Sorry to say if they are, I bought 2 Livingstoni for my tank and had to take them both back (oasis again) - The mbuna terrorised them despite the fact that they were bigger than the Mbuna. That said, see how you go, you could be fine.

 

[keane]

cheers Ferris.

just had a nose on cichlid-forum and they are definitely Venustus.

Will see how they go like you said.

If they start to get bullied I will take them back and get some more Metriaclima Estherae! They only had one in on Saturday so I grabbed while I could!!

I bartered with the gut at Oasis......13 Mbuna, 4 Haps, 3 medium sized clown loaches...should have been £90.00 but I persuaded him to give me 10% off and got him to throw in the cichlid pellets as well!!!

Will keep you updated on the Clowns. Little worried about this bloodworm diet though Don't want my mbuna having a fill and ending up dead!!

Will post pics once I work out how!

steve 8)

 

[Ferris]

Great price, was it the slightly chubby, balding guy that served you? (not a flattering description, i know ) He really knows his stuff, especially with Cichlids and he will negotiate a bit with the price.

Not sure about the bloodworm thing, may be better to find an alternate food for the CL's cos everthing I've read/heard about bloodworm is that its a no-no with Mbuna.

I take it you didn't fancy a Demasoni then? They do get a bad rap with regard to agression - sorry, there i go again!

 

[Ferris]

Couple of links with info on feeding CL's - might help

Feeding CL's

Feeding CL's 2

 

[keane]

thanks for the CL info Ferris. Good stuff.

Am actually having a few second thoughts about having them in the mbuna tank to be honest. I love 'em and wanna make sure they are well looked after. Am not sure if i can do this fully if they are in with Mbuna, particularly bearing in mind the difference in food requirements.

I may move them to my community tank for a while (before anyone jumps on me....i know how big they get and they will be properly catered for!)

Demasoni.....yeah! Just had a look at them on cichlid-forum. Gorgeous fish!!

I might just give it a try if the haps don't work out!

Will keep you updated.

steve 8)

 

[freddyk]

That poor Johanni female is probably gonna suffer as the male grows - you really should get a couple more.

I'll remain silent on the venustus

 

[keane]

That poor Johanni female is probably gonna suffer as the male grows - you really should get a couple more.

okey dokey. will do. Will they be okay for a couple of weeks though?

I'll remain silent on the venustus

Heh heh....didn't think you would like. Have actually seen a few tanks on cichlid-forum with them in while browsing today. Will give 'em a try and keep a very close eye on them.

Any views on the feeding of the CL's? Can they survive without bloodworm?

I have got some frozen brine shrimp...will this supplement the lack of bloodworm and can Mbuna eat this?

Any other suggestions?

cheers in advance

steve 8)

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

i feed my mbuna a combo of regular flake and that gourmet color enhancing stuff (every other day type deal) and for treats i give them peas. I put about five peas in for my five mbuna and they swarm like women to a shoe sale
Im jealous of the Venustus they had those in the assorted african tank at my lfs. I was tempted to get them. ANd i may still be, they were in the tank (overcrowded) with several other types of mbuna and they all get along. Is there a known issue with them not getting along? Just curius why the paranoia of Venustus. Thanks for the info.

-ak

 

[Ferris]

It's not just Venustus, Haps in general can cause probs with Mbuna. Haps are not as agressive as Mbuna so when they are a similar size, Haps will get stressed by the Mbuna's agressive nature. The flip side is that most Haps get really big and when fully grown could see juvenile/smaller Mbuna as food.

I'm sure there may be some Haps that are OK/worth a try with Mbuna, freddyk may answer that one for us.

 

[BigFishSmallPond]

ahhh i see so when it comes down to it all agression aside they get LARGE thus would out grow my 40g =[ ill stick to mbuna

 

[keane]

Hey guys

I have more Mbuna than those mentioned in my sig!!

Am at work at the moment but having had a nosey at all of my fish types on cichlid-forum over lunch I realised I have missed 2 or 3 (i think) others out.

I am unsure of their species name (the "slightly chubby balding guy" did write a list but I still can't find it!!) but to give you some kind of description I can only say that their markings are very similar to that of my clown loaches, although the colouring is a little different...where the CL's have orange these mbuna have a much lighter/whiter colour.

Any ideas??

steve 8)

 

[Ferris]

(the "slightly chubby balding guy" did write a list but I still can't find it!!)

How could you forget about them, shame on you

They sound like Zebra's or maybe lombardoi, problem is there are a lot of Mbuna that could match that description.

Still room for a Demasoni though............................Aaaargh, i need psychiatric help

 

[Metermaid]

Steve, try dropping a Hikari algae wafer into the tank - and sit back and watch the action ! - they love them.

Don't take too long with those photos !

Best of luck

Rita