Malawi Tank Setup

[goodie1977]

I am currently in the process of setting up my first Malawi tank. I have kept fish off and on since the age of 12. Up until now they have all been Asian or South American fish, so I am unfamiliar with some of the nuances of the Africans.

Tank Details:
55 gallon long (48in x 12in x ~18in tall)
Rena XP2 filter (2 mesh pads, activated carbon, bio-media, ammonia/nitrate media, final polishing pad)
In-line tank heater
Washed river gravel (I know, not ideal for most African tanks, but I like it!)
Large stack of rocks filling 2/3 to 3/4 of aquarium with small open area on one end
I just set it up, so chemistry is still whacked. Fish are still a couple weeks away...


Does anyone have input as to the recommended ~total inches of fish per gallon for these guys?
Also, I have a preliminary species list, but was hoping someone could confirm compatibility and recommended qtys of each:
Yellow Labs - Labidochromis caeruleus
Rusty - Iodotropheus sprengerae
Midnight Peackock - Aulonocara hueseri
Yellow Tail Acei - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) - also looking at Blue Acei and/or Ngara White Tail
Blue Neon - Aulonocara stuartgranti

Obviously not all of these will fit in my 55, its a bit on the small side for these guys. But any input as I start to work on my short list would be appreciated!

 

[Squidward]

Does anyone have input as to the recommended ~total inches of fish per gallon for these guys?
Also, I have a preliminary species list, but was hoping someone could confirm compatibility and recommended qtys of each:
Yellow Labs - Labidochromis caeruleus
Rusty - Iodotropheus sprengerae
Midnight Peackock - Aulonocara hueseri
Yellow Tail Acei - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) - also looking at Blue Acei and/or Ngara White Tail
Blue Neon - Aulonocara stuartgranti

Obviously not all of these will fit in my 55, its a bit on the small side for these guys. But any input as I start to work on my short list would be appreciated!

Hi,
Euipment sounds good.

My thoughts on your intended stocklist are as follows:
It is usually not recommended to mix Mbuna and Aulonocara. Mbuna are much too aggressive for the Aulo's. Althought the Mbuna you have chosen are considered to be the less aggressive species, you can still get nasty individuals.
I tried it in my tank, and it didn't work, but I also know of people who have been successful.

Also the Aulo's and the acei tend to spend most of their time swimming and less time in the rocks, so they need open spaces in the front of the tank.

Acei also get quite big. I had them in my 55 gal tank and they would have been happier in a bigger tank probably.

In my tank I had 35 - 40 (depending on what was breeding etc) Mbuna. A rock wall at the back with plenty of swimming space in the front

Hope this is of some help.
Squidward

 

[KittyKat]

In a similar sized talk, I had good success (including ridiculous amounts of babies) with the following stock:

* Trio Labidochromis caeruleus
* 12-15 Pseudotropheus demasoni
* Trio peacocks (Otos, not Aulonocaras altho Aulonocaras should not be much different)

IME, the peacocks are normally more open water swimmers, so it might be better to have very few in tank full of rock.

 

[goodie1977]

Thanks for the advice guys. I was wondering about mixing some fish from the different genus together. I know that some of the Africans have a pretty nasty disposition, especially towards like colors or when spawning.

My tank does have some rock free area on one end. Right now I have fake timber and some fake plants on that end. I know the plants won't make it when they get bigger, but the look pretty now. I might also remove the fake wood to make some open space later. Here is a pic of the setup. Still a little cloudy, but I just put it up last night!

 

[Timmy_Bee]

i love your set-up! cant be much help on the stocking - im keeping boring fish at the mo, but hope to get some Malawi in the future...

 

[KittyKat]

Ah ok! I imagines a lot more rock for some reason.. my new suggestion would be the following:

* 1m 2-3f Labidochromis caeruleus
* 2m 6f Pseudotropheus demasoni
* 2m 4f smaller spp of peacocks

What Squidward said is true about aggressiveness, you will have to watch the fish carefully if you go for this option and be prepared to remove one or more individuals who are too aggressive with a view to swap them for another of the same species or for a different species altogether.

Also the female Mbuna are normally less aggressive, so if you do not care about the fish breeding, having only females might be an option. Also part 2, normally, with peacocks, only the alpha male is exceptionally colourful, there are a couple of peacock species who are at least partially an exception to this.

 

[Squidward]

Hi,

Looking good.
Everyone does up their tank according to their tastes. Yours looks nice.

The stocklist suggested by Kitty Kat is ok.
Though you may have trouble with the damesoni. Apparently you should have them in groups of 10+. Really nasty b***ers. The males and females look almost identical (unusual for Mbuna), so you will have a job trying to get the ratios right.
Btw, I only had 1 in my tank, and never had any problems with it.

 

[goodie1977]

Updated plans for stocking:

3 in tank now - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) / Yellow Tail Acei (sex not known)
5 - Labidochromis caeruleus / Yellow Lab (sex not known)
1M & 3F - Metriaclima estherae (Red) / Red Zebra
3 to 5 - Iodotropheus sprengerae / Rusty (if I can find them anywhere)

Any thoughts on the proposed mix and qty for a 55 long? I think this may be a bit better than the mix I was planning with.

Thanks for the input thus far.