New Tank

[joej]

hi

i have kept tropical fish before, but this was quite a while ago now, so my knowledge maybe a little rusty..

so basically i am looking into starting a malawi cichlid tank and i am looking into advice for any particular tanks you guys would recommend and any specific types of malawi cichlid you would recommend!

i have looked at a few 60-90l tanks, is this size a good size for a cichlid tank?

many thanks

 

[Curiosity101]

I'm no malawi expert but I'm pretty sure they need 3ft min length.

Also once you've chosen a tank then you will need to think about how you want to cycle it. There is fish-in or fishless. I would recommend fishless as it's the least effort and the most 'ethical' way to cycle a tank as no fish will be exposed to any toxic chemicals.

You can read all about the methods of cycling in our beginners resource centre.

 

[Assaye]

I tend to work on 180 litres + being a good size for a malawi tank. I think it can be done with smaller tanks but you've got to remember that these are big fish and would need an absolute minimum of a 3 foot tank for the smaller varieties. 60-90 litres are far too small.

Check out the information on setting up a new tank and cycling in this link - even if you've kept fish before it's worth a read as there will be a lot of new stuff in there. We're learning new (and important!!) things about fishkeeping all the time.

 

[discus_lover]

this type of cichlid needs rock ,so you have to provide lots of ricks for proper hiding place...

 

[dthoffsett]

this type of cichlid needs rock ,so you have to provide lots of ricks for proper hiding place...

That's only really true for mbuna. Most haps need open swimming space so rocks are more of a decoration than anything.

What size tank you need is really going to depend on what group or species you are interested in, that said, for even the smaller Lake Malawi species a 4ft tank is the minimum I would recommend. I'd take a look at this article and see if it can help you narrow down your choice to at least a group of fish, then we can make some more suggestions on species and tank set up.