oh rite, thanks.
well what do they eat and how big do they get ? i seen sum in a pet shop n they looked class. very colourful and easily the best ive ever seen. id appreciate any useful tips if possible or maybe sum pointers on what type 2 get with wot, i like the bright yellow ones with the black line on dorsal. also ill be getting the brightest ones available. wot can you keep in with em and wot cant u keep in with em. thanlks for ya time.
LEO
Most of that is explained in the articles I posted.
In general with african cichlids there are those from 3 lakes, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganikya, and Lake Malawi(the most popular). There are also some riverine species.
Since they are the most popular, I'll stick with those from Lake Malawi.
Lake Malawi speices can be further broken down into two groups.
1. Haps & Peacocks - (quoted from cichlid-forum.com) "Most Haps are piscivores, unlike the vegetarian Mbuna. There are some exceptions to this generalization, however, but these do well on a piscovore's diet nonetheless. Haps are aggressive, but not as aggressive as the vegetarian Mbuna. They have long, slender, almost torpedo-like bodies, and cruise the open water. Most of these fish are silver or gray when small, and the males become very brightly colored as they mature. Females typically remain without color." These are also larger than mbuna, many can get over a foot long as opposed to a mbuna's average 5 inches.
2. Mbuna - These are the most common found in fish stores, they are primarily herbivours, though there are a few insectivour speices such as labidochromis caeruleus(the bright yellow with the black dorsal you like). "In contrast to Haps, both sexes of the more than 100 species of Mbuna are unusually colorful. Mbuna are smaller and tend to have flat faces, which enables them to better scrape algae from rocks. They display colorful, bright patterns of horizontal stripes or vertical bars. The smaller mbuna species will grow to a maximum of about 3", and the largest species will grow to about 8", but most Mbunas grow to be between 4" and 5" long."
In general, you'll want at least a 55gal tank to keep mbuna, and a 75gal to keep some of the smaller speices of haps or peacocks. Unless you have a very large tank (over 100gals), IMO mixing the 2 types doesn't work. And none of the cichlids from the African Lakes should be kept with average community fish with the exception of some catfish.
Before buying any fish, be sure to do a lot of research to avoid disasters. It's a good idea to write down the species your fish store carries and research them for compatability. (We can help you with that.) And what ever you do, DON'T buy from "Mixed African Cichlids" tanks. They often contain hybrids, which without knowing its parentage, you could end up with a very nasty little fish that kills off everything else in the tank.
Have fun with your research, hope I helped.
/www.fishforums.net/The-Mbuna-Aquarium-t27706.html
