Setting Up A Malawi Tank

[aaronnorth]

1) I have a 180l/ 40g tank, at the moment it is planted but i want to change it into a malawai tank or biotope (not sure!) stick to malawis for now - is this big enough?

2) substrate, shall i use coral sand or would a normal gravel be ok, does coral sand raise the ph up to a certain level or does it make the ph rise by a certain amount e.g. up 1 on the scale.

3) I have heard of overstocking, what rough rule would you give as an 'inch per gallon'?

4) Do they like fast flowing water, would i need a powerhead and/ or an air pump?

5) decor, i was thinking of rocks and slate with a couple of hardy plants like anubias dotted around, is this ok?

6) diet, waht would you reccomend to feed them and not feed them.

7) Any additional supplements needed like salt or minerals etc.

8) anything else i have missed? I have read the pinned topic.


Thanks, all advice appreciated.

 

[dthoffsett]

1) I have a 180l/ 40g tank, at the moment it is planted but i want to change it into a malawai tank or biotope (not sure!) stick to malawis for now - is this big enough?
Is it a 4ft? If not, IMO it's not suitable for a mbuna community, for territory they really need the full 4-ft. However, I would consider this a good size for a pseudotropheus demasoni species tank. I thought about doing this myself, although they are pretty aggressive (conspecific anyways) they stay very small. Even if it is a 4-ft your going to be limited to probably just a species tank of the smaller less aggressive mbuna (such as pseudotropheus saulosi), there's just not enough room to mix species in 40gal.

2) substrate, shall i use coral sand or would a normal gravel be ok, does coral sand raise the ph up to a certain level or does it make the ph rise by a certain amount e.g. up 1 on the scale.
You can use regular gravel if you want, but since they spend alot of their time digging in sand, you'd miss out on the hilarity of miniature bulldozers redecorating your tank. If I remember right when I bought the aragonite sand for my tank it said it wouldn't raise the PH over 8.2. In my case my PH is already high (8.4 out of the tap), but my KH is low so the sand works well to buffer the PH I already have.

3) I have heard of overstocking, what rough rule would you give as an 'inch per gallon'?
There is no rough rule for mbuna, just experience and a lot of trial and error. The best "rules" I can give you are that because they are harem breeders it's best to keep a ratio of 1m/3f or more. They set up their territories in the lower half of the tank so floor space is a premium. Asking mbuna keepers is the best way to find out what your tank can hold, but remember the suggestions come from personal experience so it will vary from person to person. Do a lot of research, try not to mix highly aggressive species with lower aggressive.

4) Do they like fast flowing water, would i need a powerhead and/ or an air pump?
While mine enjoy riding the current the flow of the water isn't as important as the amount of filtration. Because they are overstocked it is generally recommend to have your filter/s turn over your tank at least 10x per hour.

5) decor, i was thinking of rocks and slate with a couple of hardy plants like anubias dotted around, is this ok?
Sounds perfect.

6) diet, waht would you reccomend to feed them and not feed them.
I'd recommend reading this: [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/African-Old-World-Cichlids/98179/Feeding-Mbuna/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/African-.../Feeding-Mbuna/[/URL]

7) Any additional supplements needed like salt or minerals etc.
That's a topic of debate, some keepers swear by them, others don't think they are really necessary. IMO as long as your PH is stable and above 7.6 it's not really necessary.

8) anything else i have missed? I have read the pinned topic.
I don't think you've missed anything, here's another good site to check out if you haven't already come across it.
[URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/[/URL]

 

[aaronnorth]

Hi, thanks for reply, i have a 3foot tank (92cm x 40cm(D) x 50cm (H)) what cichlids could i keep?

 

[dthoffsett]

The only mbuna I would suggest is pseudotropheus demasoni, you could have a pretty neat little colony in there. Otherwise I'd suggest going with a shelldweller tank and/or some of the smaller Lake Tanganikya cichlids.

I've never kept Tangs myself, but I'm sure someone else will chime in with suggestions.

Here are a few suggestions from cichlid-forum.com
Tanganyika Mini-Community

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


OR

Tanganyikan Sand-Sifter Setup:
• Xenotilapia papilio or flavipinnis - 6
• Paracyprichromis brieni or nigripinnis - 8
• Altolamprologus calvus or compressiceps pair
• Phyllonemus typus - 4


OR

• Altolamprologus calvus or compressiceps pair
• Neolamprologus buescheri
• Shell dweller pair of choice -
'Lamprologus' (Shellies) brevis,
multifasciatus (group), melegaris,
ornatipinnis, ocellatus, speciosus,
similis (group), Neolamprologus signatus

 

[aaronnorth]

Thanks for the replys, you have been very helpful, i like the choice of the sand sifter set up you gave, what does sand sifter mean? I will be having play sand as my substrate.

Do you think i could keep:

Red Zebra cichlid
Taiwan reef cichlid
Bumblebee cichlids

Do you think about 6 or 7 of each would be ok?

Thanks for all your help.

 

[kj23502]

As dthoffsett stated, it's not big enough to mix species. Bumblebees (Pseudotropheus crabro ) grow to be pretty big compared to the other mbuna. They can get 8 INCHES!!! Definitley NOT suitable.

The average that I've been following, which was suggested for my first tank, is about 3.5 to 4 fish per gallon of water(for mbuna only). The most you could have is 11. And that would need to be of the smaller species as well. What about a tank of 10 yellow labs(Labidochromis caeruleus )?

It's considered to be one of the less aggressive species, although they do still fight.

The best situation to be fair to the fish would be to follow dthoffsett's advice about Tang. cichlids.

 

[emmsy]

pseudotropheus demasoni IMO are not a good starter fish unless you maybe get a red zebra to keep order. Thing with pseudotropheus demasoni are that, as was said, you need a colony. One real dominant male and your tank is knackered for other stocking. Mind you, having said that, I am quite partial to the dominant male myself

Emma TB

 

[aaronnorth]

I would like to have a mix of blues and yellows, woudl the yellow lab be ok with a cobalt blue zebra cichlid seen here:

http/www.tropicalfish4u.co.uk/Fish/Fresh...lueZebraCichlid

Thanks

 

[dthoffsett]

Unfortunately as I said before, your tank at 3ft is not suitable for all but one species of mbuna. That includes all the species you listed. The only mbuna I would suggest is a species tank of p.demasoni, meaning that would be the only species in the tank.

The sand sifter group that you were interested in are from Lake Tanganikya, therefore not mbuna, and would be suitable for your tank. The reason they are called sand sifters is because they spend much of their day searching in the sand for food. Very fun to watch.

 

[aaronnorth]

Thanks, look s like it will be them then, i will ask again to make sure.

 

[aaronnorth]

What about new world cichlids, could i keep them? Rams, firemouth cichlid, salvini cichlid, keyhole cichlid? sorry for all the questions but i want to make sure everything is near perfect.

 

[dthoffsett]

What about new world cichlids, could i keep them? Rams, firemouth cichlid, salvini cichlid, keyhole cichlid? sorry for all the questions but i want to make sure everything is near perfect.

I'm sure there are several smaller New Worlds that would do well in your tank, I'd ask over in the New World section for suggestions.

 

[aaronnorth]

I have asked the same/ similar q's in the african section, it seems they like mmore planted tanks and i was hoping they would like the rocky hardscape aswell, so far it's the sandsifters still.