Malawi tank

[gazat]

Hi Folks,

I am in the process of setting my Juwel Rio 400 tank to take a selection of Malawi Cichlids. Can anybody give me some advice on what i have decided to stock the tank with. I.e are they compatable etc.

Well here goes the stocking list.

Labrichromis Caeruleus (5 Fish)
Labrichromis Hongi (10 Fish)
Pseudotropheus Zebra (7 Fish) (Blue Striped) i think this is the fish i have.
Pseudotropheus Zebra (2 Fish) (Yellow Striped)
Melanchromis Auratus (4 Fish)
Auloncara Sp. Rubins Red (2 or 4 Fish)

Any help or suggestions would be great.

Also as this tank is a 400 Litre what should be the stocking levels, as i have read that you should over stock to stop terrorities being formed.

Gaza

 

[cichlidmaster]

Guess I'll take a stab at this, but you may not like it...

First, ALL on you list will cross spawn except for the Aulonocara.

Stay away from the auratus as these are just plain assassins. They kill for the shear pleasure of it. The Pseudo. and Labidos will cross spawn, but if that is no issue for you may do alright.

If thinking about the zebra "yellow stripe" go with more than a pair. The male will have the female dead within a week.

Your tank being 400 li

When dealing with Mbuna (Pseudo, labidos and they like" it is alwasy wise to opt for 2-3M/4-6F.

My suggestion from your list would be the Labidochromis caeruleus and the Aulonocara. Possibly add a trio of Crytocara (Hap) morrii to top it off.

The statement to "overcrowd" is usually reserved for an all Mbuna tank. Aulonocara are quite peaceful for an African and don't do well IMO if crowded.

You may also want to think of adding a few Synodontis cats (Multipunctatus, petricola, brichardi) as these are somewhat peacefule by nature and although not Malawian will add a nice touch to the tank

your tank being 400 litres (about 50 us gallons I think) is good size, but if you give us the base dimensions this would be a better indicater as to stocking levels.

HTH

 

[gazat]

Hi CichlidMaster,

Thanks for the advice, the tank dims are as follows 152 cm (60inches)l x 51cm (20 inches) w x 61cm (24inches) d. Hope this helps in terms of stocking levels.

Gaza

 

[Davy Reynolds]

I'd love to add something, but know nothing about Africans :what:

 

[gadazobe]

Hi, first of all, 400 litres is about 100 uk gallon, i.e. about 120 us gallons. It's a big tank Secondly, I have a malawi tank - about half the size of yours and in it I have 3 yellow labis, 2 aulonocara reds, 3 aulonocara marble, 1 psuedo zebra blue (did have a female, but as the master said, she was murdered by her husband within a week or so ) 1 brisltlenose, 3 featherfin catfish and about 7 juli transcriptus juvies of different ages (long story as to how they got there ) The most aggresive one there is the blue psuedo - he thinks he's master of the tank, apart from that, everyone seems to be fine. I do have lots and lots of hidey holes, if fact when you see the tank with all the fish hiding away, you can't see any fish at all swimming around and it looks like a tank with no fish The main reason I chose malawi was the water conditions here, high ph and very hard water. The only thing I add is dechlorinator - I don't need salts or anything else. I'm sure that once your tank is set up, you'll really enjoy it I know I do with mine. Good luck with the tank.