Malawi Identification Needed!

[interpet123]

I went into my local maidenhead aquatics today, and came out with a great deal on a tank!! I was chatting to the guy for ages and came to the conclusion that i was going to stock it with these little dwarf african cichlids, they were like 1.5 inches and only grow to 2-3 inches!! Therefore, i am going to stock my tank with 30 or 40 of them. The question is, can you identify these fish please!!! They were about 2 inches and were an electric blue, with BOLD black stripes. Any ideas??? Thanks, Alex! This isn't the size thy were, but this is the sort of pattern they were.

 

[KittyKat]

That photo is Pseudotropheus demasoni: keep at least 10, preferably 15+. 1m to 5-6f is a good start, but better to have more females. MUST have lots of rock. Very high con-specific aggression.

In a 3ft, 200 litre tank, I had success with 1-2m 10-15f. I would not recommend a smaller tank or more males in a tank under 4ft.

 

[interpet123]

The tank is 5 ft, 250 ltrs and i would start with 30 of the fish!!

 

[KittyKat]

They are possibly my favourite Malawis, maybe because they were my first Malawis, but that's not the point 5ft tank and 30 are good numbers!

 

[interpet123]

Thats cool! Do you think 40 would be pushing it, or would you say 30 for now, and see how things go!? Thanks again, Alex

 

[KittyKat]

No, 40 would work too, I think.. but you would want to make sure you don't have too many males and you really do have the whole back of the tank covered in rockwork. I found that introducing new fish later was always problematic with this species, unless I rearranged the rockwork a lot.

 

[interpet123]

Ok, so i will cover the back with rock (of some sort)!! And then i will add the fish 'all at once?' So will that DE-crease the aggression in the community?

 

[interpet123]

Oooooh and while i'm chattin to you, do you know of a larger cichlid that could fit in my tank maybe 2 females, that wouldn't upset or eat the smaller demasoni'?? Thanks again, Alex

 

[KittyKat]

Reef bones work well, I like to have rockwork along the whole back, reaching 1/2-2/3 to the front on the bottom of the tank, 1/4-1/3 at the top of the tank. I do use granite for my rockwork, but that doesn't have any buffering capabilities to keep the water hard.

Fish-less cycle the tank first! Then yes, add all the demasoni at the same time.

I keep yellow labs with my demasoni, a group of 6-15 females would work well. I found that they breed out of control if I keep any males.