New To Malawis

[Cooper2085]

Hello! So i finally went to fetch the 3ft x 3ft x 3ft monster tank with all the Malawis and rock. Turns out that the tank is actually 36"L x 20"D x 28"H! Thats fine though its still 300 odd litres which is plenty, i went to maidenhead and purchased coral sand, and £35 worth of ocean rock. I have spent all day cleaning said tank, rearranging everything in the tank and hooking it all back up (pics will follow when they decide to upload >.>).

Now onto the serious stuff. Im new to Malawis, i mean really new. They are the largest fish i have ever kept as i usually stick to small egg layer like corys, and their are alot of them. I think i counted 27 in total including one huge catfish called jack. After everything was set up and done (used all the old water from the tank and used gravel in tights!) the fish seemed happy, score 1 for me! The more i watched them the more i noticed displays of aggression, no big deal i know they are aggressive fish. Then i noticed that pairs of the same fish were binding together, similar to how bettas do when mating. I have a video that i will upload later that might show what i mean.

The main pair i noticed doing this seemed very very tired afterwards and i am still a little worried that they were fighting and have injured each other. I also need to re-home the catfish as he seems far to large for the tank (pics of "Jack" will follow if anyone can house him). I could use some advice on how to layout the tank aswell, at the moment all the rock is central in the tank creating a catacomb of caves throughout. Somepeople seem to suggest setting it out different to create clear territories, does anyone have any pics of this?

Cheers all

Aaron

 

[mag123]

you are better creating seperate territories that will cut down on aggression a bit .were they locking lips or going round in circle very fast as thats usually two males fighting/or sorting out dominance . slower circles and the male doing a sort of shimmy is more like mating behavior.

 

[rifty]

if you have reset a tank the fish will have to sort out the pecking order again so i would not worry too much keep any eye for fish hanging high near the top of the tank and any obvious signs of damaged fish from fighting.
fingers crossed they should all be fine
now stop messing about and get some photos up

 

[Cooper2085]

 

[Cooper2085]

So then thats all for now, full fish IDs from the experts please

 

[Squidward]

I would add more rock. The general rule is about 1/3 of the tank volume.

Also, I would have some sort of backing to the tank.

 

[Cooper2085]

I would add more rock. The general rule is about 1/3 of the tank volume.

Also, I would have some sort of backing to the tank.

Thanks for that I wasn't aware I can get another 25kg bag tomorrow, how do you go about adding it to the tank with the fish in it?

 

[rifty]

A fair few of your fish are Haps so more rock isnt as important imo never heard the 1 3rd rule? backing is down to personal preference too
photo 5 livingstonii top these grow big! bottom a line bred Aulonocara
photo 7 Morri these grow big too!
photo 10 is another man made Aulonocara

 

[Squidward]

A fair few of your fish are Haps so more rock isnt as important imo never heard the 1 3rd rule? backing is down to personal preference too
photo 5 livingstonii top these grow big! bottom a line bred Aulonocara
photo 7 Morri these grow big too!
photo 10 is another man made Aulonocara

1/3 rock not really a rule. More of a guideline. I have seen it frequently spoken of on a specialist Malawi Forum I am on.

 

[Cooper2085]

Do you have a link to that forum please, im quite interested in trying to breed these fish.


http/youtu.be/0Xk_goaOYZ8

 

[Cooper2085]

Hi squid, i got your email thank you! Every time i try and register it says that my email was banned >.> Any reason why?

 

[rifty]

Why join another forum?
ask on here i breed tons of different malawis with no assitance of forums the fish do all the work!!! lol

Cooper most of your fish look ok for the tank but i can see many males and females of the same fish and a few do look like hybred fish so not good to breed these but will look real good in a mixed tank. All malawis will breed fairly easy but try to get some good groups of fish to start go for f1 which means first generation from a wild parents pair this will garantee pure fish! do some research on what fish you like the best and go from there!most fish are easy to get in the UK if you know who to get them from
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/index.php
this is a good reference site
let me know what you like and ill try and hook you up with a few good uk breeders

 

[Squidward]

Why join another forum?
ask on here i breed tons of different malawis with no assitance of forums the fish do all the work!!! lol

Cooper most of your fish look ok for the tank but i can see many males and females of the same fish and a few do look like hybred fish so not good to breed these but will look real good in a mixed tank. All malawis will breed fairly easy but try to get some good groups of fish to start go for f1 which means first generation from a wild parents pair this will garantee pure fish! do some research on what fish you like the best and go from there!most fish are easy to get in the UK if you know who to get them from
http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/index.php
this is a good reference site
let me know what you like and ill try and hook you up with a few good uk breeders

Nothing wrong with joining a specialist forum.
I am a member of all sorts of tropical fish specialist forums. One has access to info on specific groups from people who are experts in the field. Can only benifit one's knowledge.

 

[rifty]

i find malawi forums most people think the are experts lol
this is probably the most unbias malawi uk forum
http/www.lakemalawicichlids.co.uk/phpBB3/

 

[Cooper2085]

Thanks for all the links, im looking through the different species slowly! There are so many to chose from its unreal But fun ^^