My New Malawi Tank

[lyotim88]

Ok so i have a 55gal(48"x12"x21") soon-to-be malawian cichlid tank. I'd like to know if the following fish will go well together..

4x yellow labs
4x yellow tail acei
4x red peacocks
4x bumblebees

I appreciate your time,
Tim

 

[Ferris]

Hi Tim,

There are a couple of issues with that proposed stocking:

1. I would not reccommend the Aulonocara (Peacocks) with Mbuna unless you have a larger tank - a 5 footer and up (length) IME is required to successfully combine these fish. Aulonocara are far less aggressive than Mbuna and are likely to live a very stressed life co-habiting with them in a 55 gal.

2. By bumblebees, i am fairly certain you are referring to Pseudotropheus Crabro - these are pretty high up on the Mbuna aggression scale and far more aggressive than the other 2 species you have picked out - they would almost certainly dominate the tank. People tend to have more success keeping a single Crabro rather than a group (myself included) - they tend to be less aggressive this way. Crabro also get much larger than most Mbuna at up to 8" so a group would soon fill up your 55.

I would suggest dropping the Peacocks and the Crabro (except for maybe 1 Crabro) and picking 2 other species, possibilites being:

Pseudotropheus Saulosi
Pseudotropheus Socolofi (regular or albino)
Cynotilapia Afra (various different types)
Metriaclima Estherae

The orange Estherae and albino Socolofi would add some interesting colour combinations IMO

There are lots more though so here's a couple of links with species info and pics:

[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=41"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=41[/URL]
[URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2[/URL]

 

[lyotim88]

thanks for the advice, ill be sure to do a little more research and post a new list soon. My only dilemma is the place i'm ordering from (Liveaquaria.com) doesn't stock that many malawis and it's difficult finding compatible ones that i like. Can you recommend a reputable breeder/seller on the internet? Live aquaria has a 14-day guarantee on their fish so maybe something comparable? thanks

 

[Ferris]

I never buy online so i'm no expert unfortunately.

I've looked at Aquabid's stock and from that list i'd suggest the Johanni and Callainos added to the Labs and Acei - that mix should work quite nicely. The Johanni may boss the tank but someone has to with Mbuna so it may as well be them.

F

 

[james41683]

thanks for the advice, ill be sure to do a little more research and post a new list soon. My only dilemma is the place i'm ordering from (Liveaquaria.com) doesn't stock that many malawis and it's difficult finding compatible ones that i like. Can you recommend a reputable breeder/seller on the internet? Live aquaria has a 14-day guarantee on their fish so maybe something comparable? thanks

you could also check out dave's rare fish, he has a pretty good selection on his site.

dave's rare fish

 

[lyotim88]

thanks for the advice, ill be sure to do a little more research and post a new list soon. My only dilemma is the place i'm ordering from (Liveaquaria.com) doesn't stock that many malawis and it's difficult finding compatible ones that i like. Can you recommend a reputable breeder/seller on the internet? Live aquaria has a 14-day guarantee on their fish so maybe something comparable? thanks

you could also check out dave's rare fish, he has a pretty good selection on his site.

dave's rare fish

wow great selection! thanks james

 

[kj23502]

I'll be buying my next stock from Dave's fish. I'll get 10-12 demasoni, 4 crabro (i have a larger tank), and 4-5 estherae.

That breeder has VERY HIGH positive comments on the cichlid forum rating system. http/www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/view_...iew.php?id=2556

 

[lyotim88]

to put in my 55 gal:

4x yellow labs'
4x acei
4x pseudotropheus saulosi
4x otopharynx lithobates

will these guys work together? thanks

 

[kj23502]

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/haps_vs_mbuna.php

the lithobates are said to be very peaceful....so not to sure on that one, but it could be the similar situation as Ferris described earlier when you were talking about the peacocks.

 

[lyotim88]

thanks for the link kj, very helpful

 

[Ferris]

Looking better but i'd be a liitle concerned about the O.Lithobates as they are peaceful by African standards. You could certainly try the mix and if all fish are added as juveniles with the Lithobates added first, it could work - you would have to keep an eye on things as they near adulthood though - the Mbuna may just become too boisterous for them. On the plus side, Lithobates are about half the size of a typical Hap so no issue there.

Can't see any other issues though and it would be interesting to try the combination - you can't go too far wrong if you are prepared to return/re-home fish if problems arise.

 

[lyotim88]

how about 4 Copadichromis borleyi Kadango to replace the lithobates? i really dont want to risk anything with this tank, ya know?

 

[Ferris]

A little on the large size for your tank at 8" adult size. They are also probably too peaceful - more so than the Lithobates. There is a good article here on them:

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c_borleyi.php

 

[lyotim88]

i've looked through a few more species, looking through lake victoria now as well(i was told thats ok). Paralabidochromis chromogynos; Haplochromis sp. 'Ruby'; Astatotilapia latifasciata Lake Kyoga 'Zebra'. are any of these compatible with the yellow labs, acei, and saulosi? i know im a pain but i need to make sure i dont screw it up lol thanks for any help

 

[Ferris]

I woud reccommend the Haplochromis sp. Ruby as they are Herbivores - the other 2 are Carnivores. The hardest thing when mixing Africans is trying to combine Herbivores and Carnivores - feeding them correctly becomes near impossible as most Mbuna can easily suffer from Bloat if fed a high protein Carnivore diet, which is often fatal.