Stock Up For A 180 Gallon Mbuna Aquarium

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jgray152

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Im thinking I could do about 30-40 fish in the 180?

So far I have 4 species picked out and if I go with 1 male to 3 females that would be about 32 fish. Here is the list so far.

Cynotilapia afra (Lumbila)
Aggression - Mildly Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat - Cave Dweller / rocky
PH - 7.5 - 9
Water - Hard
Temp – 73 – 81
Size – 3”

Metriaclima estherae (Blue)
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Co specific Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat – Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 5”

Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat –Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 4”

Labidochromis caeruleus
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat –Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 5”

Metriaclima estherae (Red)
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Co specific Aggression - Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat –Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 5”

Metriaclima sp. "Membe Deep"
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Co specific Aggression - Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat –Sediment rich / Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 4”

Pseudotropheus cyaneus
Aggression – Aggressive
Co specific Aggression - Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat –Sediment rich / Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 4”


Pseudotropheus sp. "Elongatus Mdoka"
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Co specific Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Diet - Omnivore
Habitat –Sediment rich / Rocky
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 4”

Pseudotropheus socolofi (Albino)
Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Co specific Aggression – Mildly Aggressive
Diet - Herbivore
Habitat – Intermediate Zone
PH - 7.8 – 8.6
Water - Hard
Temp – 78 – 82
Size – 6”
 
I just noticed my bumble bee was missing. Come to think of it, I havn't seen it for weeks! Maybe a month or more!. While checking for species of fish, I thought I would include my bumble bee in the list and thats when it clicked, I havn't seen him. So rmeoved a bunch of large rocks and there he was, sideways, stuck, cloudy eye, and wouldn't swim straight. Still moving his fins and breating strong, a little rapid but still strong. I moved him to my 29 gallon for recovery so we will see how it goes.

Poor guy, I like him the best out of everyone.
 
I really love my p.crabro too, though mine is a female.


Your list sounds good so far, though you may have some hybridization with m.estherae blue & red. Actually the "blue" are usually males in the wild, but for some reason we see mostly "red" in the hobby. Most fish sold as m.estherae blue are infact m.callainos, and you still may get hybrids with the two. However, if you really like them go with it, there is always a possibility of hybrids when keeping multiple species. I have a female l.caeruleus that will only breed with a male m.callainos, despite having a couple of male labs. Go figure. :fun:
 
I updated the list on paper so I will post up the updated list. Might be around 40 fish now.

My Johanni and my male aratus made a bunch of hybrids a few months ago, look more like an aratus but with shades of the Jahanni, pretty neat. The Aratus I gave away so I don't have him no more. If the hybrids live and are well, so be it. We have hybrid dogs and cats, why not fish?

My bumblebee seems to be doing a tiny bit better already, through some Fungus Gaurd in the tank from jungle labs, he is swimming around, now and then he tries to eat. Most of the time he is sitting upright on the bottom of the tank.
 
Hey guys, I'm very sorry for hijacking this thread but I was wondering about big Malawian tanks too.

Could these fishes be kept together in a 6 foot 120~125 gallon tank?

Fossorochromis rostratus
Labidochromis caeruleus
Pseudotropheus sp. Acei
Metriaclima estherae

Abut 8 of the fossies and 10 each of the mbuna? Or more/less?
 
i have 3 pseudotropheus elongatus mphanga (1m 2f) and 6 melanochromis cyaneorhabdos (1m 3f, 2unknown) in a 130 L 3 foot tank, all breeding well if thats any help, will add some more elongatus females as they get big enough.
 
Hey guys, I'm very sorry for hijacking this thread but I was wondering about big Malawian tanks too.

Could these fishes be kept together in a 6 foot 120~125 gallon tank?

Fossorochromis rostratus
Labidochromis caeruleus
Pseudotropheus sp. Acei
Metriaclima estherae

Abut 8 of the fossies and 10 each of the mbuna? Or more/less?

The mbuna sound fine, however I have some concerns about the f.rostratus, first would be the depth of the tank. The length is fine, however, since these fish can get up to 16", and if I recall correctly the recommended depth for larger fish is 1 1/2 times their length, so you'll want your tank's depth to be as close to 24" as you can get.

Next would be predation, they are carnivores and as such any smaller mbuna would be at risk of being eaten. The fossies might also attempt to take a chunk out of the larger mbuna if they think they can.

Then there's feeding, they are carnivores and the mbuna are herbivores (with the except of l.caeruleus which primarily feeds on small crustaceans and insects). With this mix you'll have to be careful providing the fossies with enough meaty foods but not too much for the mbuna. It can be done, but carefully.

Finally you have different temperments, despite the fossies being much larger, the mbuna are far more aggressive, and until the haps are large enough to take care of themselves, they'll likely be bullied by the mbuna.

So, all in all, I'd suggest either stocking with mbuna or haps, but not mixing the two. Though it can be done successfully it takes very careful stocking, and a willingness to return any problem fish. If you wish to go forward, I'd suggest asking Ferris for more help as he has a mixed tank. -Dawn
 
Sorry again for hijacking.

I thought feeding could be done with NLS, the food for all types of cichilds. But perhaps not.

How about this?(Haps aren't very easy to find here and the list is very limited)

Fossorochromis rostratus
Dimidochromis compresseps
Cryptocara moorei
Copadichromis borleyi
Milomo
1 Paratilapia polleni

This time only a few of each, as to have plenty of room, also so there aren't too many silver females among the brightly colored males.
 
I noticed with my Mbunas, I have Omnivors and Herbivors right now in my 55 gallon and I bought "African cichlid flake food" once and a few did not like it at all. The difference was that this food had salmon meal and a bunch of other "fish meal ingrediants" in it that some did not like. Tropical flake food the LOVE though. TetraMin flake food. Never go wrong. I do want to mix it up eventually with my larger tank.
 

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