Waste & Mbuna

[Squid]

I have been thinking about a Mbuna tank and i expect I will have plenty of questions... ;-)

To start with.. My community tank has a light coloured sand as the substrate. I like the look of sand, and it forces you to keep the tank nice and clean as it shows up waste quite easily. So, how messy are Mbuna when it comes to fish poop... One chap in a LFS told me that they do poop quite a bit as they eat a lot, but as they tend to dig around a fair bit, he said that the poop is often finds its way to the filter or collects in certain areas of the tank, making it easier to keep clean. is this true?

Do you find that crushed coral is a. good for the water for Mbuna, but also b. easier to keep clean than sand??

Cheers
Squid

 

[adambrum]

You can get crushed coral gravel or coral sand, There not that messy and they do dig a lot so alto does just gather in one place or go up the filter.

 

[skiltrip]

the stuff the LFS told you does hold true. they do poop a lot. and the poop does "tend" (though not always) to collect in certain areas of the tank depending on the current that your filter and other hardware may create. I have 13 juvie mbuna and they poop enough to make me feel compelled to vacuum the poop out every 2-3 days.

 

[nukeonekitty]

I honestly have never really noticed much poop in my tank and I have a huge bio-load for the tank. Filtration and circulation are key for stopping ANY build up in areas of the tank. Crushed coral works well to get the high alkalinity the cichlids need and it helps buffer the pH and kH of the tank.