Malawis

[dinsdale]

There's a tank listed in the classifieds which seems to be a bit of bargain. I do have some doubts though which I'm hoping you nice people could help me resolve.

Firstly the tank is a Juwel Trigon 190 and it comes with a complete Malawi setup including 30 Malawi fish (doesn't say what kind). I'm no expert but that seems massively overstocked for that shape/size tank.

I like the appeal of a Cichlid tank to compliment my community tank in the living room but a lot of people have mentioned how aggressive these fish can be. This is a major concern as the primary purpose of being a fish-keeper for me is a nice relaxed environment to watch. If these fish are fighting all the time I'm going to be as stressed as they are.

So I suppose my question is, can they be harmonious and is this (corner) tank suitable for their dwelling?

Any of your opinions would be welcome, thanks.

-dins.

 

[stevek77]

im not an expert on here but i have kept malawis in the past and you HAVE to overstock these fish to keep the aggression down, they are amazing fish i had them in a 3 ft tank and every morning when i came down they had re-arranged the substrait (coral sand) one fish even used to suck up mouthfuls of the substrait and spit them at the glass when she was hungry the thing with malawis is they need hiding holes (ocean rock)and you need alot of them to distract the fish so as the let the victim hide in the crowd so to speak!!, im sure some-one on here will be more helpful but i intend one day to have a malawi tank again, personally i think they are the best fish out there

 

[dh058977]

I have a Trigon 190 Malawi Mbuna setup and it is one of my fav tanks, the corner works really well for getting interesting stacks of ocean rock for them to swim in and out of! Depending on the filtration, water change schedule and the exact type of fish it doesnt sound over stocked to me. I have over 30 in mine but admittedly I have another larger tank as well and a few are young.

Yes they can be harmonious, its just about picking your fish carefully and being prepared to do some swapping out until you find the right balance. You do get the odd chase now and then but nothing more than I have seen in my community tank.

 

[Malawi MaD]

That is a lot of fish for a 190L aquarium, you can overstock Malawi's to a certain extent yeah but there is a limit and it doesn't mean it will sort out the aggression, your always going to have the odd aggression issues but nothing major. If you choose your species correctly you can have less fish that are happier and have more room to swim freely instead of most malawi tanks that are packed like sardine tins.

 

[dinsdale]

I asked the seller for a pic of the Trigon to gauge the condition and they sent me a picture of a Vision 180. (?)
Not exactly the same thing. Never mind, the search continues...

 

[Squidward]

A corner tank isn't the ideal shape for Malawis.
When a persecuted fish is being chased it needs to flee out of the other fish's territory. In a standard shaped tank, it can swim down to the other end. In a corner tank, it can't.

When I resumed fish keeping 5 years ago I started with a Malawi tank. Spent hours at my lfs, talking to people, researching on the net. And decided that Malawis were for me. I got my fish from a reputable breeder and he advised on a combination of species that would reduce aggression. I overstocked as is suggested, and settled down to enjoy my fish. And all they did was fight. Besides that, there were the beat up fish, fish hiding in the rocks, fish I never saw. So although I had a good combination, and a lot of relatively less aggressive species, there was still a lot of fighting. My fish hadn't read the books!

Eventually, I got so annoyed by it all that I packed in the Malawis and went for general tropicals. And I much much prefer it.
With hindsight, I might have started with Tangs, as I am led to believe they are less agressive than Malawis.

 

[dinsdale]

Thank you for all your responses to this thread. Your experience and expertise is very valuable.

My cunning plan was, if I get a another 2nd hand tank and 'inherit' an alkaline fish setup, I wouldn't be able to transfer the fish from my existing community tank. Thus, giving me a legitimate excuse to have two tanks in the living room. Oh well...
A conventional tank would be more suitable for a Cichlid setup I know but I'm only allotted a corner space to work with. A corner tank does seem to lend itself to a rock/coral formation better than a planted one anyway I think.

For a small Trigon I guess Tangs would be the way to go but I understand their dosile nature is a trade-off with less vibrant colouring.
Leleupis seem to be a notable exception but are meant to be very teratorial. Are they aggressive with each other or just different species?

On the other hand, would a New World setup be better?

 

[Lufbramatt]

Tangs arn't as "in your face" vibrant as some fish, but their colour are much more subtle and in a way more beautiful imo. even my Brevis shellies, which are a notoriously "dull" fish colour-wise, actually have amazing purple and metallic green tones in their colouring, and under the right light look stunning. I have julies that have stark black and white colouring with neon blue fringes to their fins. Many tangs look rubbish in the shops but once they have been brought home and settled in for a week or so their colours really come out.

But what is most interesting is their behaviour. they can be slightly aggressive, but they seem to be quite intelligent as far as fish go. They way they are all adapted to their own niche within the aquascape is great. I've had visitors come round to my house that have no previous interest in fish be captivated for ages watching them defend their shells or rummaging around in the rocks looking for food morsels. They seem to be so much more deliberate in their actions, rather than general community fish that seem to swim around aimlessly all day.

 

[dinsdale]

That's brilliant Matt and thanks for the pics, I see what you mean about the subtle colouring, very nice. Definitely food for thought.