My New Stocking List (thanks To Ferris)

[mark7616]

Well thanks to Ferris i have i.d all my cichlids now and here is my stocking list and a pic of my tank.
3x Labidochromis caeruleus
1x Metriclima Estherae
1x Pseudotropheus socolofi Albino
1x Melanochromis Johanni
1x Maylandia Greshakei
1x Maylandia Lombardoi
1x Astatotilapia Latifasciata i was told by someone these are very rare is this true?
3x Aulonocara Peacock 1xm 2xf

Here is the tank

 

[Ferris]

Looking good, is that an eheim pro you've added aswell as the Juwel filter? If so...a good choice

Also, have you paid a visit to Pets at home by any chance? All the rocks, root etc look like they're from there.

 

[mark7616]

Fraid not its a fluval 305 seems to be really good very quiet and water is crystal i feed my fish every day a variation of blood worm brine shrimp and flake is this ok? Also how often should i do water changes and how much?
The root is but all the lfs all use the one supplier so they all hold the same stock including p@h

 

[Ferris]

Yeah fluvals are good too, the pipes just looked like the eheim ones. I've got a couple of those roots in my Mbuna tank and they love them.

Water changes - i do 25-30% every week, its easy enough when you get in the routine and its well worth it, i've never had any water quality issues.

Drop the bloodworm - Mbuna are mostly herbivores and cannot process meaty foods which will kill them. Sounds dramatic i know but i can't stress enough how important this is. Get a good veggie flake, Tetramin Pro veggie is readily available and contains spirinula, which is essential. I use this and some nutrafin spirinula sticks and nothing else. Forget the "treats" with Mbuna.

 

[mark7616]

Yeah they love my root but the johanni seems to of claimed it as his he chases everyone away from it bar the greshakei so might need to take the johanni back and swap it i was looking at one common name taiwan reef how are these?

 

[Ferris]

See edit above re feeding etc.

 

[mark7616]

thats ok so ill just stick with the flake and pelet the flake i have is king british cichlid flake food hows this? mine seem to be herbivores and omnivores ill do a 25% water change every week then thats what i was aiming for i bought 2 more labs today i paid £2 each i might rehome the johanni maybe get the taiwan reef one?

 

[Ferris]

The important think is that the flake contains spirinula, it is pretty much essential for healthy mbuna. I'm not aware of King British having a product with spirinula in but i could be wrong. Tetramin and Nutrafin do and both are cheap and readily available, ther are also better more specialist brands like Hikari and Kent but these do cost more, i tend to mix things up a bit.

Just avoid meaty foods and standard fish based tropical flake.

 

[mamafish68]

WAY TO GO!!!



one ? though, why is the water so brown?? do you have a real piece of wood in there?

Astatotilapia Latifasciata might be rare over there but here in the US their not.

 

[mark7616]

Thanks mamma thats just the photo thats like that the water is crystal i do have real wood but it hasnt dyed it its a piece of mopani it was just the man i spoke to today said that Astatotilapia Latifasciata are almost extinct in the wild and are quiet rare in an aquarium and that i got him for a good price.

 

[mark7616]

the johannii seems to be very aggressive chases all the fish awy from the tree root bar the ice blue also the lombardoi always chases the aulonocara should i look at rehoming them or keep an eye on the ive noticed a bit of fin damage on a couple of fish but do not know if it was already there is this quiet common for them to have?

 

[Ferris]

A bit of fin-nipping is normal in a Mbuna tank. What you have to keep an eye on is persistent aggression. johanni's are pretty aggressive and Lombardoi are very aggressive and they will compete for territory etc. It may settle down but if not you may need to re-consider your stocking.

 

[mark7616]

Im definatly thinking of taking the johannii back as he is very aggresive i like the look of a something taiwan reef what would this be like in my tank?