Malawi Tank

[mark7616]

i really want to house malawi cichlids in my tank would i be able to put my sailfin plec in with them also what would happen if i put 3 tiger barbs in with them?

 

[mamafish68]

what size tank?

what particular mbuna/Haps are you thinking about?

whats your PH?

 

[rixy]

if you put tiger barbs in with malawis,i'm sure the malawis would say "yum yum" sooner or later.

 

[mark7616]

its a 55g im not sure thought people could help me decide what best for my tank i havent tested ph yet as its going through a fishless cycle so wouldnt be accurate but my community tank was 6.5 or 6.7 something like that but i have mopani wood in the new tank so would go up a bit i think?

 

[mark7616]

ive just been reading and all the cichlids come from different lake can they be put in a tank together?

 

[Ferris]

The sailfin will eventually outgrow a 55gal and really needs at least a 75. I have an 8" sailfin in my 55 but he's going in my 125 in a couple of weeks. The tiger barbs would be a big risk, they are semi-aggressive but compared to most mbuna they might as well be neons.

 

[mamafish68]

Wood lowers PH it would be great if you wanted to raise German rams they like the softer water but with rams you need to be very diligent about water changes etc. kinda picky that way I guess.

From the ph in your other tank, if theres no wood in there it sounds you might be out of luck unless your willing to put buffers in the tank all the time and stay on top of them. I'm not trying to discourage you, just want you to know there are many variables that need to be taken into account.

keep plugging along.

 

[mark7616]

my mistake he is a common plec not a sail fin

 

[Ferris]

A common should be OK in a 55 gal.

 

[Ginge]

Should be but with all the types of "common" around these days they can get huge i think.

 

[Iron Man]

I had 13 tiger barbs in with my yellow labs and red zebras....they did fine as long as they stayed out of the way....which they gladly did.

They mainly stayed in what is known as "tiger barb world".....they were always so caught up in each other, like the cichlids were.....they were ignored anyway.

I'd suggest having more than a few though.....with just a couple a cichlid very well might say, "Oh thanks for the kewl looking feeder fish!"

 

[freddyk]

It seems there's always a devils advocate to recommend the unrecommended. Tiger barbs come from entirely difference waters, have different behavior, and very rarely work out in a Malawi type setup. You can try it, but they'll end up dead eventually.

 

[mark7616]

They wont be going in the tank now only cichlids just cant seem to make my mind up the problem i have is that all the pet shops out here all use the one distributer of fish so they all have the same fish which is a big problem but they all seem to have different names to what they have on here so think ill just have to see what i can get.

 

[mamafish68]

Hey Mark, whats wrong with online/mail order?

Once the weather is warmer it's a definate option, just have to make sure their DOA policies are fair and you know EXACTLY what you need. It's not like "return to sender" is a viable thing

B)

 

[mark7616]

Mail order fish???