Mbuna Tank Nearly Cycled

[morph]

Hi all,

Ok, my new mbuna tank is nearly cycled, ammonia goes from 6ppm to 0ppm in about 16 hrs, nitrites high but coming down, nitrates very high (will do large water change 80% before fish go in). About a week away i suspect. Cycing the tank with two cannister filters from other tanks, so far taken about 5 days.

Went to the only decent LFS in my area and they say they can order in the mbuna i decide on. The thing is, they only place an order with stockist on a Thursday with delivery the following Thursday. That would mean if I place an order by Thursday the fish wont be ready for 11 days from now. If i dont order this week I am waiting 18 days with a tank that will be ready within a week.

Anyway I have selected a few species mainly for what I believe is a good temperament, the thing is they all seem to be yellow or blue. Any ideas on other species would be appreciated and any thoughts on my current shortlist greatly appreciated.

Pseudotropheus Acei
Melanochromis johannii
Labidochromis Caeruleus
Metriaclima Callainos
Pseudotropheus socolofi
Pseudotropheus elongatus mbenji blue
Pseudotropheus zebra long pelvic chesese

Tank Specification.

Juwel 260 Vision

Filtration
Internal juwel 1000 lph (sponges only)
Fluval 304 cannister 1000 lph (ceramics and sponges)
eheim ecco 2232 cannister 300 lph (ceramics and sponges) more as a backup but in use.
Maxi jet 1200 powerhead 1000 lph used to keep a good flow in the water
Heater 300w juwel
Lighting twin 38w daylight bulbs
Substrate kiln dried sand
40 Kilo ocean rock and cotswold stone.

 

[morph]

Sorry picture of tank was pants

hopefully this one better

 

[dthoffsett]

For your tank size and filtration, you should be able to house 12-15 adults. You have a choice of either more species with fewer individuals (1m/2f), or more individuals of a few species (1m/4f). Personally, I recommend going with three species of 1m/3-4f each, IMO having fewer species is far more interesting because you get the chance to see different hierarchies develop, and lots of interaction. But, it's entirely up to you.


Pseudotropheus Acei - lovely fish, very peaceful, and they're often out in the open, since they come from open waters.
Melanochromis johannii - fairly boisterous as all melanochromis are, would be the boss of the tank, and you'll only want 1 male.
Labidochromis Caeruleus - excellent choice if you can get nice looking specimens, they're are a lot of bad quality labs on the market, so if you can't get a look at them before buying, I'd probably skip them.
Metriaclima Callainos - these are one of my current favorites, they're a great addition to my tank, very active and a gorgeous color that pics just don't do justice too. I'd avoid multiple males, I'm having some problems right now with two males battling for dominance, they seem to have called a truce, but I probably going to have to rehome one of them.
Pseudotropheus socolofi - another nice species, similar looking to labs, just blue instead of yellow.
Pseudotropheus elongatus mbenji blue - I don't have any experience with these.
Pseudotropheus zebra long pelvic chesese - I don't have any experience with these either, but from what I could find, they are supposed to be highly aggressive.

A nice color combination I would suggest would be:
p.acei - 4-5 m/f ratio doesn't matter (purple/yellow)
p.socolofi - 1m/3-4 (blue)
m.estherae - 1m/3-4f (orange/red) http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1730

Or
m.callainos - 1m/3-4f
l.caeruleus - 4-5 m/f ratio doesn't matter (yellow)
p.acei - 4-5
I actually have this group of species (along with a singe female p.crabro) in a 75gal and can tell you they are a great combination.

 

[fry_lover]

thats quite bare for a Malawi tank isnt it? I mean in terms of rocks? Atleast lots of open swimming space?

mines like yours, but with a little more ocean rock at back and lava rock at front

 

[morph]

Thanks very much for the input, will certainly take it all onboard.

Very difficult to make the right choice don't want any mistakes.

 

[typhoon]

heres my 260

http/img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=05062007206ab3.jpg

http/img207.imageshack.us/img207/7647/05062007206ab3.jpg

<a href="http/img207.imageshack.us/my.php?image=05062007206ab3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http/img207.imageshack.us/img207/7647/05062007206ab3.th.jpg" border="0" alt="Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us" /></a>

[img=http/img207.imageshack.us/img207/7647/05062007206ab3.th.jpg]

sorry ditn no which link to choose haha

 

[morph]

Nice tank

whic species are you keeping?, having real problems choosing mine, the ones I really want seem to be highly aggressive, may have to end up with just a species tank. maybe demasoni, but still not sure

 

[typhoon]

ive got 9 Red Zebra Cichlid (Pseudotropheus zebra)
8 Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus)
and 8 Elongatus Cichlid (Pseudotropheus Elongatus) I THINK! they were sold to me as electric blues.
got 3 female bristle noses 1 royal plec 1 snowball plec and 5 synos =]

 

[morph]

ive got 9 Red Zebra Cichlid (Pseudotropheus zebra)
8 Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus)
and 8 Elongatus Cichlid (Pseudotropheus Elongatus) I THINK! they were sold to me as electric blues.
got 3 female bristle noses 1 royal plec 1 snowball plec and 5 synos =]

Do you have any real trouble with them or are they all pretty much ok together?

God im having trouble spelling today hence edit

 

[typhoon]

i dont have any probs and i think ive got more than 1 male in the zebs but no probs at all =]

 

[morph]

To tell the truth, the hardest part of all this is choosing the fish, I have taken on board everybodys opinions and ideas, have looked at as many similar sized setups on the net and it appears I have two choices,

either a tank of 15-18 Pseudotropheus Demasoni

or

Pseudotropheus Acei 1m 3f
Pseudotropheus socolofi 1m 3f
Labidochromis Caeruleus 1m 3f
Metriaclima callainos 1m 3f

(will this combo work)

Just cant make up my mind Arggghhhhhhh

 

[typhoon]

erm i duno if im right here but i think alot is trial and error tbh noone wud no anything about anything if ppl hadnt tried things out i have a royal plec in my tank which ppl advised against but i did it ne way and its been fine for 9 months now! i jst say its up to u! you can always chop n change i supsoe

 

[dthoffsett]

To tell the truth, the hardest part of all this is choosing the fish, I have taken on board everybodys opinions and ideas, have looked at as many similar sized setups on the net and it appears I have two choices,

either a tank of 15-18 Pseudotropheus Demasoni

or

Pseudotropheus Acei 1m 3f
Pseudotropheus socolofi 1m 3f
Labidochromis Caeruleus 1m 3f
Metriaclima callainos 1m 3f

(will this combo work)

Just cant make up my mind Arggghhhhhhh

That combo should work, a couple of notes, m/f ratio on p.acei and l.caeruleus doesn't matter as multiple males can coexist peacefully (unless you're unlucky enough to get a rogue male), which is fortunate since the only way to accurately sex either species is to vent them (and even that is tricky).

 

[morph]

Thanks dthoffsett i'll make a note of that when i get to the lfs, what about the other two species, are they any easier to sex?

 

[dthoffsett]

Thanks dthoffsett i'll make a note of that when i get to the lfs, what about the other two species, are they any easier to sex?

M.callainos are difficult to sex as juveniles, it's a little easier as adults, males are a powder blue color and a little larger, females are a darker blue/gray color, however sub-dominate males can take on female coloration, so it's best to vent.

I've never kept p.socolofi so I can't tell you how easy they are to sex, from what I can find males and females have the same coloration, so that may be another one to vent.
I found this in the profile clareuk wrote:

Sexing and breeding:

There is almost no color difference between male and female. A mature male is sometimes a more vibrant blue than the female whereas she remains a drab blue. Some females lack egg spots on the anal fin, but this is not the most accurate means of differentiating males from females. Males? egg spots also tend to have a sharper, more defined color. Males can reach up to 5-inches in length, while females will stay slightly smaller.
Breeding this fish is not an easy task due to intra-species aggression. Males can be rather rough on unwilling females and if the correct ratios are not kept or sufficient hiding places are not provided, a male can easily kill off his females. It?s possible to keep more then one male in a 55-gallon aquarium, but it will make breeding more difficult.