Mbuna tank

cichlidluver

New Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2005
Messages
51
Reaction score
0
I have a 55 gallon tank that has 3 Kribensis, 2 yellow labs, 2 tinfoil barbs, and a pleco, and I wanted to turn it into a Mbuna tank. Does anyone have a sugg. on what I should get?

Cichlidluver
 
The question isn't so much what you want to get as much as what you want to mix. The best thing is to do some research (Here is a good place to start - choose 'Malawi' and then choose 'Mbuna' and take a look around and see what you like. It also helps to see what is available to you to buy. When you have a list of fish you like, post a list and people can help you sort out what is and isn't compatable, because many of them aren't.
 
Are you thinking of keeping what you have in there? If so, a full mbuna tank isn't realy an option. Requirements as far as food, pH, territoriality etc are concerned clash. If you stick to the more peaceful mbuna you may be able to manage it. You probably already know that the labs would work and the tinfoils should also be ok due to their size and speed (though, realy, they should be in a school in a bigger tank). If the plec is a common it'll eventualy need a larger tank but is otherwise compatible. The kribs mean you need to stick with the more peaceful species. Most mbuna are very aggressive fish and will not make life easy for the generaly smaller and less aggressive kribs (which are not even a rift lake species). TBH, if you want an mbuna tank you should get rid of everything you have now - except the labs (and possibly the plec though, like I said, that'll out-grow the tank anyway) - then I'd suggest iodotropheus sprengerae and pseudotropheus acei as good choices for tankmates. P. acei would also work if you did not remove those extra fish - it's one of the more peaceful mbuna. Besides these two species, I also reccomend p. saulosi and p. socolofi but these are a little more aggressive.
 
55 gal = +-240liter tank

Stay with the smaller 2.5/3in type mbuna I just up grade from 380l (-+77gal) to 1000l tank because they out grew the 77gal within 6 months.

If you keep male only you should be able to have -+25 of the smaller type.

The greater the differance between the type (specie) the less agresion they will show.

If you keep pairs when they start breeding you will run out of space quikly.

But malawi is the most satisfying fish to keep
 

Most reactions

Back
Top