My Malawi / Tanganyika Setup

[Rick A]

Thought I'd put up a few pics of my setup. mainly Malawis (mbunas and haps) and a few Tanganyikans. The tanks is 330 Liters 4' long x 2' wide x 20" high. I run two external filters, an air stone and have built a 'rock hotel' as a background to the tank, and they LOVE it!

This is where I got the idea: http/www.duboisi.com/diy/BNdiygrotto/bndiygrotto.htm

Front of tank:

Side shot:

Some of the guys & gals:

And yes, I DO have some Tanganyikans in there somewhere. You know what its like; they spend all day prancing up and down the tank trying to get your attention for food and the second you get the camera out...

I tried to get some clearer shots, but my digi camera doesn't seem to be up to it...

 

[Raoul Duke]

Very nice set-up. I like it a lot.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

what tangyikans have u got in there ans what maalwis have u in there?

 

[5teady_2012]

Looking great

 

[kj23502]

Interesting setup Looks great!!

What are the species?

 

[Rick A]

Will add species list when I get into work tomorrow. I have been slowly compiling a list of some of my fish I couldn't ID before.

 

[kj23502]

 

[Rick A]

OK, here's my best shot at the fish in my setup. It is not exhaustive as some I could not ID / some I believe were not ID'd correctly at my LFS and one or two I've had for about three years - back in the days before I realised the importance of researching any fish before you buy.

Anyway, here goes...

Tanganyikans:
1 x Altolamprologus calvus (Chisanse) sp. "Yellow Calvus"
1 x Julidochromis marlieri (Burundi) sp. "Plaid Julie"
1 x Neolamprologus tretocephalus

Victorians:
1 x Haplochromis sp. “Uganda Fire Red”

Malawis:
1 x Pseudotropheus demasoni (Mozambique) sp. "Midnight Demasoni"
1 x Pseudotropheus crabro sp. "Bumble Bee"
1 x Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Chipoka)
1 x Aulonocara sp. "German Red Peacock"
1 x Metriaclima estherae (Red) "Red Zebra"
1 x Metriaclima estherae (Blue) "Blue Zebra"
1 x Dimidiochromis kiwinge
1 x Pseudotropheus saulosi
1 x Nimbochromis livingstonii sp "Kalingo"
1 x Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) "Yellow Tail Acei"
1 x Melanochromis sp. "Auratus"
1 x Labidochromis sp. "Hongi"
1 x Pseudotropheus Socolofi sp. "Albino Pindani"
5 x Miscellaneous others that I'm still in the process of IDing

Tank is 330 Litres 4' long x 2' wide x 20" high.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

OK, here's my best shot at this fish in my setup. It is not exhaustive as some I could not ID / some I believe were not ID'd correctly at my LFS and one or two I've had for about three years - back in the days before I realised the importance of researching any fish before you buy.

Anyway, here goes...

Tanganyikans:
1 x Altolamprologus calvus (Chisanse) sp. "Yellow Calvus"
1 x Julidochromis marlieri (Burundi) sp. "Plaid Julie"
1 x Neolamprologus tretocephalus

Victorians:
1 x Haplochromis sp. “Uganda Fire Red”

Malawis:
1 x Pseudotropheus demasoni (Mozambique) sp. "Midnight Demasoni"
1 x Pseudotropheus crabro sp. "Bumble Bee"
1 x Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri" (Chipoka)
1 x Aulonocara sp. "German Red Peacock"
1 x Metriaclima estherae (Red) "Red Zebra"
1 x Metriaclima estherae (Blue) "Blue Zebra"
1 x Dimidiochromis kiwinge
1 x Pseudotropheus saulosi
1 x Nimbochromis livingstonii sp "Kalingo"
1 x Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) "Yellow Tail Acei"
1 x Melanochromis sp. "Auratus"
1 x Labidochromis sp. "Hongi"
6 x Miscellaneous others that I'm still in the process of IDing

Tank is 330 Litres 4' long x 2' wide x 20" high.

your mix is a bit random like :

-u shouldnt mix the tanginyikans u have with the malawis u have
-u shoudlnt have aulonacara in there also with the malawis u have as u have some quite aggressive species in there, so dont be suprised if the auloncara get killed.
- i also think that 17 different species is a bit much for that sized tank and this is including the 6 not identified yet

 

[Rick A]

Not that I disagree with you but....

I've had a many of the fish for over a year now and a lot of the mbunas are around 3" - 4" pretty much adult size. It is only the two Peacocks, the Pseudotropheus crabro, the two Metriaclima estherae and the Nimbochromis livingstonii that are around 5.5". These are all adult size now.

Also, I now know well that the Peacocks should be taking a "battering" - excuse the pun - from the mbunas, but believe me, these guys are more than capable of standing up for themselves and regularly ward off the others if they get too frisky...

I know there is an argument about different water condition requirements for Tanganyikans and Malawis, but as far as I'm aware - going by the prices I paid - none are wild caught (typically cost five or six times the price of captive-bred and can be very difficult to keep i.e. they usually die before you can coerce them into eating non-wild food). You also have to bear in mind that captive-bred fish have been brought up and happily live in water that may not truely reflect their species wild environment and you will never manage to replicate those conditions.

The Tanganyikans stand up for themselves and are never bothered by the Malawis.

Finally, I am aware that the selection is a bit random, but as I said, some I've had for some time "back in the days before I realised the importance of researching any fish before you buy". Generally though, everyone gets on fine; just a bit of tit for tat chasing. They get a weekly 30% water change and I alternate cleaning each filter so I don't have any health issues.

I do agree though that if I was starting from scratch, I would go one way or the other, not 'mixed' like the setup I have.

And NO! I'm not going to get sucked in to starting any more tanks... Much as I love these guys, one is definitely enough for me...

 

[kj23502]

Wow...that's quite a mix you have there

 

[Rick A]

I know its "quite a mix" and I certainly wouldn't recomend doing it this way. I don't want to encourage anyone to intentionally create a setup like this: my tank and its occupant list has "evolved" over time and you have to remember that, like us, no two individuals, even from the same species, will behave the same.

This is my experience with what I have:

My Auratus - known for their high aggression - is an "ex" tank boss and is now one of the mellowist occupants.

My Livingstonii is a girl and has never shown aggression to any of the others, despite them having quite a reputation.

The two Peacocks are quite aggressive themselves and don't take any stick from any of the other fish, despite their reputation for being passive / shy.

I did have to get rid of a hyper dominant powder blue Pseudotropheus a few months back (he started killing my larger fish and managed to kill four of them before I positivley ID'd him as the culprit!!!) Believe me, you won't always be around when a dispute starts and it can be over in an hour or two. When you get home from work, or wake up in the morning, and find one of your fish dead with its fins in tatters its not easy to be sure whether it was killed or whether it just conked out and has been nibbled by the rest of them - they never miss an opportunity to get a bit more protien...

Everyone else enjoys a bit of chasing around and digging and then back to chasing around. disagreements never seem to last more than a couple of hours, there are no hyper dominant males and there have been no killings since the powder blue Pseudotropheus went.

The Tanganyikans are thriving well, they are as healthy as any of the others and share a fairly mixed diet with the rest of the guys - blood worm once a week, 'fast' one day a week, a piece of cucumber every other day and flake and spirulina the rest of the time, oh and the odd nibble of fish if one dies...

The only trouble makers are the Labidochromis Hongi - he's only little but a bit of a terror - and the Haplochromis Uganda Fire Red - I won't be getting any more Victorians as I have dicoverd that they are probably more aggressive than mbunas and this one certainly bears testament to that...

I hope that those who read this take it for what it is; just my experience.

 

[kj23502]

I have read that the Victorians are more aggressive. I have Pundamilia Nyererei and I would have to say that I agree with that statement also

The Tanganyikans are thriving well, they are as healthy as any of the others and share a fairly mixed diet with the rest of the guys - blood worm once a week, 'fast' one day a week, a piece of cucumber every other day and flake and spirulina the rest of the time, oh and the odd nibble of fish if one dies...

Just to let new comers know *not you Rick unless you don't know* that Mbuna should not be fed bloodworm as it can rot in their system cause bloat and kill them

 

[Rick A]

That's true KJ. They only get a bit now and then and should NEVER be fed food meant for carnivores on a daily basis. Just for info, the reason for this is that herbivores have much longer stomachs than carnivores (for digesting vegitation), which is why it can rot in their stomachs.

They don't seem to have any trouble digesting bits of fin though!