Need Advice On Malawi Cichlids

[nuttyJD]

bump

 

[Fleck]

oh im wishing i bought a longer tank now

lol I hear you. I had a few platys and swordtails in a planted 30 gallon but due to fry and plant growth upgraded to 75 gallon and thought I could go with Malawis comfortably in a 30 gallon long tank but see now its not realistic and would be cruel .

Some keep yellow labs with ease while others have bad experiences in 30 gallon tanks .

I am still looking but might lean towards julies.

 

[nuttyJD]

Still need help and advice
Thanx
Leanne

 

[kj23502]

ok, how many gallons is that?

 

[nuttyJD]

According to my chart it's about 28.2 imperial gallons

Leanne

 

[kj23502]

im no cichlid expert! (african anyway) but i asked tha same thing last week i didnt get told any specific species

I'm not sure where everyone else is??? Dawn, Darell??? Ferris isn't even here much...or so it seems. Maybe he just doesn't post cause he's taking care of all the spamming going on?


Nutty:

nm, it's a tad less than 40 usg.

This is frustrating for me b/c you have the length, but the heights short. Thing is, where do we really draw the line?

I'll say yes, proceed with caution. Watch what you put in very carefully. You're looking at 10 total fish. I wouldn't have any that get very big either.


Say Labs(Labidochromis caeruleus), Rusties (Iodotropheus sprengerae), Pseudotropheus socolofi, Cynotilapia afra (Chewere), Metriaclima callainos. Just a few for you to look at/research.

I would do 5 socolofi w/5 labs and see how it goes. Try to get only 2 males (1 soc. and 1 lab) albeit it's hard to sex them.

 

[SharonCC]

I totally agree with the above post. I did a 30 gal Malawi tank on the advice that it would be fine. It's actually fine now, because it's mosly Labs...I've still got one Red Zebra, but I've had to rehome some fish. The more aggressive mbuna NEED room, and they will not learn to get along...

 

[nuttyJD]

Hi,

Thanx for trying to help me

I've had a quick look at the fish you have recommended and I like all of them.

In your honest opinion would it be fairer to the fish if I had a bigger tank? I would really love to have Cichlids but if it's not going to be the best enviroment for the fish I'd rather try and find something else for my tank......I'd be bloody disappointed but the fishes welfare come first.

Leanne

 

[kj23502]

I totally agree with the above post. I did a 30 gal Malawi tank on the advice that it would be fine. It's actually fine now, because it's mosly Labs...I've still got one Red Zebra, but I've had to rehome some fish. The more aggressive mbuna NEED room, and they will not learn to get along...

well gotta tell us what you started with, what happened and what you ened up with. So you only have 1 fish other than labs?


Nutty:

It's always fairer to all fish the bigger the tank they get to live in. NO fish live in a BOX in the wild.

IMO, this 75 gallon 48" x 18" x 21" is the ideal size for mbuna. It's a great size that opens many doors to the fish keeper while allowing more room for fish to swim.

One of these 55 gallon 48" x 13" x 21" could go in your current tank's spot too! Could look for a cheap second hand. Great way to get them.

Yes you could have these fish in your tank. I would do what I suggested to you. Socolfi are rated at 6", but I don't know that they usually get that big. They are supposed to be fairly passive as well.

 

[nuttyJD]

I've only recently got the tank that I'm now try to get some fish for

Could I have one of the types of fish you mentioned with some other type of fish? or should I re-think what to put in my tank?

Leanne

 

[kj23502]

what other type are you thinking of?

they are commonly kept with synodontis catfish and plecos

Are you cycling the tank w/ammonia as we speak? Or how are you going to cycle it?

 

[nuttyJD]

I'm not sure to be honest......I wanted to keep plecos in the tank anyway as I knew that they were comaptable with Cichlids. What else could I keep with Cichlids that aren't bottom feeders?

Leanne

 

[Truck]

malawi cichlids should be kept in a species setup, excluding plecos etc

 

[nuttyJD]

To be honest I think I'm going to have a serious re-think about what fish I'm going to keep in my tank.

Thanx for all the help and advice that you've given.
Leanne

 

[kj23502]

How about looking at Lake Tanganyika fish? It's another african lake and they are some good fish as well!!

These are for a 55gallon (cookie cutter from CF) (48x13x20 in / 122x33x51 cm)
• Cyprichromis leptosoma - 12

Select 1 pair from each group (max of 2 pairs):
• Altolamprologus calvus or compressiceps
• Neolamprologus leleupi or cylindricus
• Julidochromis or Chalinochromis
• Telmatochromis vittatus, bifrenatus or brichardi

OR

• Neolamprologus brichardi complex - pair
• Cyprichromis leptosoma - 12
• Synodontis petricola - 3-6
OR


• Cyprichromis leptosoma - 12 (non-jumbos)
• Altolamprologus calvus or compressiceps
• Neolamprologus buescheri - 12
• Shell dweller pair of choice -
'Lamprologus' (Shellies) brevis,
multifasciatus (group), meleagris,
ornatipinnis, ocellatus, speciosus,
similis (group), Neolamprologus signatus

Search some of those fish and see what you think. Personally, I like the Julidochromis genus and Altolamprologus calvus. Search for compatability for your tank