Lake Malwai Cichlids

[whistlindix]

Hi All,

Im doing some initial research on starting up a Lake Malawi aquarium. I have sifted through plenty of material and understood most of the requiremnets for the initial set up. i have decided to start off with 1 male & 6 female Labiochromis Caeruleus but am a little confused as to what other mbuna to stock with this species. At this stage im leaning towards a few different options. The first being Psuedotrophes Demasoni, the second being Psuedotropheus Polit and third being Melanochromis Auratus.

The tank size will only be 1m in length and capacity will around 170L. I would really appreciate any advice on the matter.

Cheers,

Whistlindix.

 

[yhbae]

Hi All,

Im doing some initial research on starting up a Lake Malawi aquarium. I have sifted through plenty of material and understood most of the requiremnets for the initial set up. i have decided to start off with 1 male & 6 female Labiochromis Caeruleus but am a little confused as to what other mbuna to stock with this species. At this stage im leaning towards a few different options. The first being Psuedotrophes Demasoni, the second being Psuedotropheus Polit and third being Melanochromis Auratus.

The tank size will only be 1m in length and capacity will around 170L. I would really appreciate any advice on the matter.

Cheers,

Whistlindix.

Your first species selection is great - Yellow Labs are ultra peaceful for mbuna species. Unfortunately, your other selections are not suitable in the tank of your length.

Since you have some yellow already, why not add some blue by ading Pseudotropheus Acei? These guys are also peaceful, not territorial, and are one of the most active mbuna.

Pseudotropheus Saulosi also features blueness with black bars, but only the dominant males have this trait, so your tank overall will be very yellow dominant.

 

[G_Sharky]

I personally would try to put a demasoni and your first choices, I would keep a close eye on the auratus though cause they are one of the most agressive mbuna's out there(even though they don't look like it). As long as they are all the same size and they go on your tank the same time then I think it wood be okay. I just recently jump into mbuna and I pretty much have a pseudotropheus species tank(my sig) and an auratus and they are doing good right now, no casaulties yet, but with africans you always have to expect the worse. Just be ready to scoop out the agressor if he's doing some major damage.....Just my 2 cents....goodluck..

 

[semper fi]

demasoni's would wipe out the labs in a blink of the eye. auratus also. both of these species are way too aggressive with labs. demasoni are intolerable of tank mates, even their own kind. if you do like the coloring of the demasoni, go with p. minutus. they are often mistaken for demasoni and i have kept them in a community setup with labs and no problems

 

[modernhamlet]

The only malawis that would be appropriate for a 1m long tank are:

Lab. caeruleus (yellow labs)
Iodotropheus sprengerae ("Rusty" cichlids)
Pseudotropheus socolofi
Pseudotropheus sp "Acei"

I wouldn't normally keep Acei in such a short tank, as they do get to about 5" and like open swimming space. However, with peaceful inhabitants, they would probably do fine. It sounds like you have a fairly tall tank, is that correct?

As has been said, Demasoni and Auratus are among the worst possible choices for your tank.

Good luck with your new tank!

 

[TheeMon]

demonsi and yellow labs together are fine... ive had it like that in the past and its all been good

 

[modernhamlet]

Its not the combination, its the tank size.

This is a dwarf Mbuna, but don't be fooled into thinking you can keep more than one of these guys in less than 50 gallons.

source: http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_demasoni.php

I think you're asking for trouble, but if you really like Demasoni, how about adding a single specimen along with 3-4 rusties or acei? Something that can take a little abuse, but not cause too many problems. That might work.

 

[yhbae]

Demasoni breeders (those who do it for hobby) typically setup their tank by grossly overstocking their tank. They take typically a 55g+, then add about 20 of them. Only then, you can also introduce fishes that are totally different such as Yellow Labs - demasoni will leave them alone. They typically don't keep any rocks in there either so that demasoni won't claim any territories.

Visually, this is not going to be a very pleasant setup...

whistlindix/G_Sharky, Auratus should not be kept in this sized tank regardless of their tankmates. I've read sooo many stories where they were getting along fine for months, then all of a sudden, puff. You come back from work/school, and all fishes are dead except one.

 

[yhbae]

The only malawis that would be appropriate for a 1m long tank are:

Lab. caeruleus (yellow labs)
Iodotropheus sprengerae ("Rusty" cichlids)
Pseudotropheus socolofi
Pseudotropheus sp "Acei"

I wouldn't normally keep Acei in such a short tank, as they do get to about 5" and like open swimming space. However, with peaceful inhabitants, they would probably do fine. It sounds like you have a fairly tall tank, is that correct?

As has been said, Demasoni and Auratus are among the worst possible choices for your tank.

Good luck with your new tank!

Great selection - I'd be careful with Socolofi though - it appears that this species could be a hit or a miss. In some cases, the dominant male rules the tank that contains more aggressive species, while for others it works ok for them. Personally, I'd reserve this species for a larger tank, just to be safe...

 

[TheeMon]

sorry i didnt pay attention to tank size