380L Malawi Setup

[c-dub]

Stunning setup. You have inspired me to go with a 6x2x2 Malawi Setup.

 

[elisew]

Cool vid. , congratulations on the fry (AGAIN)!!!! , you must be doing something with your water
How's the Tang tank coming along ? I got a few female cyps holding, the biggest has got ickle eyes under her chinny chin chin....

I have no idea what I`m doing but obviously it`s something right

Tang tank is doing well, the cyps are colouring up nicely but no sign of babies yet. I still don`t know if I even have any female cyps so I guess time will tell. Good news on yours though

I`ll try and get a quick vid of the tank later on, the cyps are going to look lovely when they`re fully coloured up

Stunning setup. You have inspired me to go with a 6x2x2 Malawi Setup.

Thank you
Good size for a Malawi Setup

 

[creg]

elise how are your mbuna towards the haps? i have my eye on a rio 300 and would like to mix like you have just worried my mbuna are too aggressive.

also which website did you get your fish from? cheers

 

[elisew]

elise how are your mbuna towards the haps? i have my eye on a rio 300 and would like to mix like you have just worried my mbuna are too aggressive.

also which website did you get your fish from? cheers

My Mbuna are fine with the haps, they`re completely blase' about them to be honest and never pay them any attention at all. The only aggression between any of the fish is mainly from the male Jacobfreibergi Peacock who has claimed a specific spot for spawning and he chases all the other fish away and he`ll occasionally have a go at the plecs. The dominant red top male would get a bit bullish with the sub-dominant male but unfortunately the sub-dom one died last week so no more aggression there now.

The Mpangas are pretty chilled and don`t seem to bother any of the other fish, same with the neon spots too really.......it`s actually a more peaceful tank than I was expecting at the start

As long as you move all of the rockwork around when you add more fish so that they all have to start claiming territories together, they should be ok.

I bought the Fish from a great guy called Tony, he`s a hobbyist/breeder who genuinely cares about his fish and not just the money like some people out there. His fish are absolutely gorgeous and I can honestly say I have no concerns whatsoever about the quality of them, they`re well worth the cost and the packaging is top notch too.
His shop website has a large list but he also has fish that aren`t listed on there so give him a ring and have a chat with him. He`s a really nice bloke but can talk for England though so be prepared

http/www.tonysafricancichlids.co.uk/page2.html

 

[creg]

thanks for all the info i may give it a go then if i manage to get the rio 300, not sure a rio 240 would be large enough for mbuna and haps. my tank too is pretty low on aggression and my mbuna were picked randomly i still dont know what ratio of males/females i have, its mainly just the one red zebra that can get defensive over his spot in the tank.

ive seen that site before thats the one markandhisfish used right? he does have a very good selection his haps look amazing

 

[elisew]

thanks for all the info i may give it a go then if i manage to get the rio 300, not sure a rio 240 would be large enough for mbuna and haps. my tank too is pretty low on aggression and my mbuna were picked randomly i still dont know what ratio of males/females i have, its mainly just the one red zebra that can get defensive over his spot in the tank.

ive seen that site before thats the one markandhisfish used right? he does have a very good selection his haps look amazing

The 300 would be much better if you can get it

I was told that the red zebras can be pretty aggressive so I opted out of getting any of them. Yes it`s the same guy that Mark got his fish from, really good quality fish and I highly recommend buying from Tony. I can`t tell you how chuffed hubby and me both are with our lot

 

[rifty]

how are you finding keeping a few different pairs of Aulonocara together?
are you concerned they might crossbreed and can you easilty id the females at the moment?

 

[elisew]

how are you finding keeping a few different pairs of Aulonocara together?
are you concerned they might crossbreed and can you easilty id the females at the moment?

It`s always going to be a concern but so far each female is sticking with their own male, the females are easily identifiable
As I`m always watching the fish I knew for definite that the fry that the Jacob female has just spat were proper Jacobs. I have 3 female Jacobs, a second is holding now and she spawned with the Jacob male too so I know they`ll be true Jacob fry as well
The only female that doesn`t really show any interest in her partner is the Sunset female, I`ll be keeping an eye on her because the 3 male OB Fires are like flies around her, she hasn`t shown any interest towards them either though

 

[elisew]

A quick update:

Unfortunately 1 of the fry has just disappeared but after finding another 4 fry in the sump and 1 in the weir whilst doing a water change on Monday, there are now 10 :happy-jumpeveryone:

They`re all growing really well, the daily water changes and regular feedings are obviously working. Not sure if it`s just me but I`ve noticed a big difference in them, they look slightly bigger and they`re markings are clearer now.

Anyway, I took another vid of the fry earlier:

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC4lEHOzwyk

 

[joelovesfish]

Thanks

The Tang tank was and is my best choice, but yes it`s nice to have Malawi as well. I sent hubby some photos off my phone and he`s absolutely itching to get home to see HIS new additions. Not bad for someone who had no real interest in fish when I first started keeping them

The Sunset female has picked up a fair bit now and she`s swimming alongside the male quite happily. The freibergi male has spent most of the day hiding, as has the malauna male

It`s nice being able to have so much colour in the tank without having to cross to the salty side

It`s not fantastic quality but I manged to get a pic of the Aulonocara JacobFreibergi male with his Mrs and the Aulonocara Sunset male:

Now that is an absolutely beautiful fish. Sunset? I'm going to have to look that up.

 

[elisew]

Unfortunately I`ve lost a few fish over the last couple of months including the big Malauna male and more recently one of my Mpanga females


As there are a few of my females currently holding, I`m assuming I`m doing something right though. There are currently 2 of my Jacob females, one of my ndumbi red top females, my remaining Mpanga female and one of the neon spot females holding, I have 3 or 4 fry in the weir of the tank at the moment who were spat yesterday, I`m waiting for hubby to come home later so that I can get the very heavy hood off the tank, net the fry and put them with the other 6 neon spot fry and the Jacobs who are all growing really well.
My Sunset female was holding but I had no idea who the Daddy was, luckily enough, instead of having to strip her due to not wanting her to produce cross bred fry she has actually either spat early or has eaten them and I think within a few days she was holding again after I actually saw her and the male Sunset spawning

On another good note, the 6 Baenschi bengas are doing very well, the one that I think is a definate male has coloured up lovely, looking at the finnage between this one and the others who are still a dull brown I`m pretty sure I have 1 male and 5 females. The coloured up male has begun displaying and flirting with a couple of the others so fingers crossed these gorgeous coloured fish will be knocking out some fry soon

Anyway, I thought I`d add a couple of recent photos of the male benga and the Mpanga female that is holding at the mo:

 

[creg]

hi elisew any chance of a full tank shot, pretty please?

 

[elisew]

hi elisew any chance of a full tank shot, pretty please?

Yeah no worries. I have to net a couple of fry that are in the weir and will give it a clean while the hood is off the tank, but I`ll get a full tank shot once all that`s done

 

[creg]

yay

 

[elisew]

Managed to net 6 new Jacobfreibergi fry so they`re now in the 35L with the older Jacob fry and the neon spot fry, gonna have wayyyyyy too many fry soon

Anyway, some recent pics of the Malawi tank:

Tang tank: