My First Malawi Tank.

[shepherd88]

Though i would create a new post after getting advice on my previous post about water parameters.

Well after a week with no fish here we go.....my first ever african cichlid tank and first fish are in.

Got myself 3 yellow labs and i love them! Such busy guys......now i dont know the sex of them just that 2 have black anal fins and one has clear.

I wasnt happy with my tank scape so bought myself some marine dead coral rock and soaked it for a few days...also bought some lava rock cheap as its very light and its priced per kg

Purchased a power head/ current flow fan also which i have pointing towards filter intake.

Opinions on future stock and hows my rock scape for the labs?
The coral rock they love swimming behind.

 

[shepherd88]

?

 

[bullit]

Id perhaps even get a bit more lava rock, the more the merrier. You mentioned about having demonsoni aswell. If you did then you would want to put a dozen in at once. This could still be hit and miss as you could get end up with one fish as they are aggressive. P saulosi are a another option for smaller tanks. Cheers

 

[shepherd88]

Yes going to buy more rock today....just watching my 3 yellow labs now and one is definitly a dominent male i think....he has very dark black dorsal and anal fins and is the largest of the 3....thing is he is chasing the other 2 around constantly and guarding his coral cave....hes never giving them a break.

Its my first time with cichlids...is this what to expect? Or should i add 3 more making sure they are females

 

[bullit]

Yeah sounds like the dominant one. The females should have lighter black anal fins than males. What do you think the other ones are? Yeah id up the numbers- if you can get another 2-3 females would be good. Try getting the smallest ones in the shop to increase your chances if its hard to tell. Only venting them would def determine their sex though.

Yes the male cichlids in any variety like to claim the females and fight for dominance. Unfortunately they cant swim off like they do in the wild so keeping one male or maybe two in normally the case depending on tank size etc. cheers

 

[shepherd88]

I think i have 2 males and 1 female but only goin off the black stripes on the fins

Suspected male ( aggressive one)

Now i think the right one is female as anal fin is clear and male on left?? Opinions

2 males??

Just been to oasis aquatics and the abyss in manchester and picked up some kind of rainbow rock so adding that later

 

[shepherd88]

New rock final scape...is this sufficient rock caves for mbuna?

Really happy with the look

 

[Lolly123]

Think it looks great. Rock is lovely. I have 9 juvi labs in my tank and they are such brilliant fish.

I'd say +1 about the salousi, male and females both have beautiful colours. Welcome to cichlids

 

[Tizer]

i'd get your intake strainer sorted too, unless you want a dead fish up there

 

[ripil]

id agree with saulosi, got a stunning male n four females, got one holding nearly every three weeks. a better option for a blue fish than demasoni as they are hit n miss would be the labidochromis sp mbamba bay.

 

[Tizer]

Socolofi if you want blue

 

[shepherd88]

Sadly i didnt read this post early enough and one of my new yellow tailed acei found dead in the intake tube...so annoyed

 

[Tizer]

Doh, sorry to hear that

 

[Malawifan]

Yeah defo get the strainer sorted. Some of the ocean rock can be very sharp. And the fish can get stuck in the holes. Also can I ask what filtration you are using? And stock up on meds especially for bloat. But with a good feeding regime you shouldn't have that problem. A good way to purge there gut is to give them a day off the food. Give them cucumber, slice down the middle and take out the seeds. Weigh it down with a spoon. Also melafix is always handy after fighting.

 

[shepherd88]

My tank is a 3ft 180 litre.....thinking of maybe getting salousi instead to keep the size down