Mbuna

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jredouard25

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Can I measure my GH and KH at home for Mbuna Cichlids or do I have to do to the store?
And how many Mbuna can your put in a 66 gallon?

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I'd say 2-3, though you wouldn't be able to have any other fish. Also, the recommended tank size for mbunas are 70-90, but 55 is the absolute smallest, so I'd say only2-3. You can buy a liquid test kit to measure GH and KH.
 
I'd say 2-3, though you wouldn't be able to have any other fish. Also, the recommended tank size for mbunas are 70-90, but 55 is the absolute smallest, so I'd say only2-3. You can buy a liquid test kit to measure GH and KH.

What about smaller species like demasoni (I think that’s how you spell it). A guy on a different forum I read said u can have like 29-30 fish species that are small.


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What about smaller species like demasoni (I think that’s how you spell it). A guy on a different forum I read said u can have like 29-30 fish species that are small.


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Demasoni is a kind of mbuna, after reading a but more, I feel that you can do 10 demasoni and 10 yellow labidochromis since mbuna like to be crowded.
 
Demasoni is a kind of mbuna, after reading a but more, I feel that you can do 10 demasoni and 10 yellow labidochromis since mbuna like to be crowded.

Lol I like the way u said “crowded”. “They like to be crowded”. And other colors of that size cuz uk im lazy and ur smart and really useful. like any other colors of that size of fish.


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Lol I like the way u said “crowded”. “They like to be crowded”. And other colors of that size cuz uk im lazy and ur smart and really useful. like any other colors of that size of fish.


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I can be pretty smart, but I'm reaaaaally lazy...
 
You can buy GH & KH test kits and test the water at home.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

Mbuna are pretty territorial and should either be kept in breeding pairs or colonies consisting of 1 male and a group of females, or in a single sex tank of either males or females. If you have males and females the males will fight more to get the females. If there are only males or only females, they will be less inclined to fight over partners.

If you buy a group of young fish and grow them up together, they will settle into the tank and develop their own pecking order, and they should be fine.

If you have a couple of fish in the tank and add new fish, the new fish will probably be considered intruders and get attacked. If you do want to add new fish to a tank that already has Mbuna in, you should rearrange the ornaments to break up the territories and then add the new fish straight after you moved the decorations around.
 
You can buy GH & KH test kits and test the water at home.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

Mbuna are pretty territorial and should either be kept in breeding pairs or colonies consisting of 1 male and a group of females, or in a single sex tank of either males or females. If you have males and females the males will fight more to get the females. If there are only males or only females, they will be less inclined to fight over partners.

If you buy a group of young fish and grow them up together, they will settle into the tank and develop their own pecking order, and they should be fine.

If you have a couple of fish in the tank and add new fish, the new fish will probably be considered intruders and get attacked. If you do want to add new fish to a tank that already has Mbuna in, you should rearrange the ornaments to break up the territories and then add the new fish straight after you moved the decorations around.

12.75 in L x 48.5 in W x 25 in H


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Depending on species, you could have about 8-10 Mbuna in that tank, however you want to cycle the filters first so the ammonia produced by the fish is broken down straight away. Rift Lake tanks have an alkaline pH (pH above 7.0) and any ammonia in the water will be very toxic to the fish. If you cycle the tank first, then any ammonia produced by the fish will be removed quickly and the fish won't suffer from ammonia poisoning.
 
If you want to keep mbuna, or any hard water fish, you MUST have kits to test hardness at home (as well as the standard test kits, for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate that all fishkeepers should have).

As you will be having to test the tank water before and after EVERY water change, as well as the water you're mixing for the water changes themselves, it's just not possible to rely on a shop doing your testing for you.

I'll be honest. You are very inexperienced, and don't have a good understanding of hardness, pH or the nitrogen cycle yet.

You would be far, far better off learning the basics with fish that suit the water you have now, before you move on to the more complicated things.
 

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