180l for Malawi Cichlids

[evanb]

Hello. I have a 180l juwel tank. I've had it for ages and want do do a bit of a change around. I've heard different opinions but is it too small for average size Malawi Cichlids?
It's much longer than it is high.
I've never had any form of cichlids before.

p.s please excuse the strange selection of fish in the tank at the time of the photo

 

[communityfluvalroma]

I’d say it is too small for Malawi cichlids.

If you have soft water, you could consider keeping dwarf cichlids. Or if you have hard water check out shell dwellers from Lake Tanganyika.

 

[evanb]

Ok. Water is pretty hard.
So is the decision of what fish to get

 

[communityfluvalroma]

Haha I hear you. Seriouslyfish is your best friend when deciding on the right fish.

 

[evanb]

Ok. I will check it out.
thanks.

 

[threecharacters]

What are the dimensions of the tank? This matters more than volume, especially the footprint.

I would look at Tanganyikan cichlids as I think they are typically better suited for that gallon range. Off the top of my head, I think you can keep shelldwellers and small rock dwellers like Juliochromis in that size tank. Sardine cichlids (Cyprichromis sp.) and sand dwellers might work, and they can be extremely colorful albeit rare.

Note that Tanganyikan cichlids can be confusing. A single species may have multiple morphs hailing from different parts of the lake that not only look different but have different max sizes. For example, Altolamprologus compressiceps has a shell-dweller morph with a smaller max size than standard A. compressiceps. It's actually quite fascinating.

 

[madmark285]

Long ago I had a 50 gallon (190L) Mbuna tank, the dimension of the tank were 36"x18"x19" (91cm x 45cm x 49cm).

I created a rock slope using PVC pipe, the entire bottom was covered with 4"-8" rocks. All the Mbuna in the tank could find a home in the rocks, they seem to do quite well.

Mark

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

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Cichlids aren't hard to keep. The main issue is to keep compatible species. Many are highly territorial and will fight and kill each other when mature if there is not enough room for them.