Mbuna Tank

[Nik00117]

I was on this forum about a yr ago...Long story short my life went upside down I got promoted and deployed to Kosovo for a yr and transfered to Korea 6 months ago. I've moved into an apartment that I'll be at for like the next 2~ yrs at least and now I want an aquarium and I want my Mbuna tank!!!

I have a $750 budget, the tank I have selected will be about $250, I figure the stand another $100 leaving me about $350 for the fish, gravel, and filters, supplies etc

First off is that doable? Or do I need to come up with more?

I want colorful fish, things like yellow labs, etc interset me.

So let me ask you this if you have a 85 gallon fish tank what would you put in it?

Also advice on the filters needed, heating, etc would be great!

 

[Squidward]

Nik,

I have had a Malawi (Mbuna) setup for 2 years. I have just packed it in for oddballs.

I am in the UK, so cannot comment on the costs.

A few pointers though.

Do a lot of research first.
Malawis are very aggressive. So you will need to have the right combination of fish. Your tank is quite big, so you have some leeway. But multiple males of the same or similar species could be trouble.
Yellow labs are relatively peaceful, but when mine were breeding, the male got a bit nasty.

You will need loads of rocks to make caves. The more the better. Lots of hidey holes for fish to escape to when they are picked on.

You will need to overstock your tank, so a powerful external will be a good idea.

Heating - Malawis like it at the warmish side. I kept mine at 25*C

What are your water stats?
Malawis need hard water with a high ph. If your water is soft, coral sand (I think it's called aragonite) is a good idea.

Hope this is of help, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks
Squidward

 

[Timmy_Bee]

good luck! i am hoping to set up a malawi tank in the future, so im gunna keep an eye on this one!

If you can, keep us updated with photos whilst you're in the process of setting it all up!

 

[Nik00117]

Here's what I was thinking per stocking

6 Yellow Labs
5 Mpanga Reds
5 Cobalt Zebras
6 Red Zebras

What kinda of heating do you guys suggest? How many W per gallon...

Also want kind of filtaration system do you recommend?

As per decor I'm thinking, Sand, Rocks, and garden pots.

It will be interseting, in a couple of weeks my friend (korean) is going go to a LFS. Hopefully they have insight.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Have you read the pinned topics in this sub-forum?

Recommendations include over-filtering. Personally i would go with a powerful external. IMO, i think its nicer than having a big box in one corner of the aq.
Heating - im no master im afraid
Decor - that sounds good. A point well made in the pinned topic is place the rock on the bare glass, then build up the sand around them. This way they won't dig under them and hurt themselves / your glass.

Also, with your stocking, make sure you keep the right mix of male:female. General rule is 1 male to at least 3 female but this varies between speciaes. Also, you want to over stock your fish tank to maintain aggression.

Have a good read of the pinned topics, they say everything i just have, and more

 

[Squidward]

Nik,

I am sure your LFS will be able to advise you what heater is best. Although I only have 1, apparently 2 small heaters is better than 1. If one fails, you still have the 2nd one to take the chill off the water. And if one gets jammed "on", it won't be likely to overheat the tank.

I never used it. But a lot of people put egg crate at the bottom of their tank, then the gravel, then the rock. At least if a piece of rock does fall, it won't land on the glass and potentially crack it.

A few thoughts on my own experience with Mbuna.
Firstly, I would say that whatever rock formation you go for try and set it up so that it's easy to move. In my tank, I had a "dry wall" type effect with brick shaped slate. It took me 3 hours to set up with an empty tank. I was never going to be able to take it down and then put it back together with water and fish in the tank. So I never did. But I was never able to catch any fish because of this.

The 1 male 2/3 female ratio is something that I found impossible to keep to.
Fish will die. It is unfortunately inevitable. So I sometimes found myself with either 2f,or 1m 1f. Also your fish will inevitably breed. And then you may end up with more males of one species as I did, which isn't ideal.
And when you go to the lfs, it is sometimes impossible to ask them to catch you 1m and 2f, as they are all uncoloured juveniles. So what may look like a female in their tank, turns out to be a male in yours a few weeks later.

A lot is said about adding new fish after your initial introductions which should be done in large groups. I found that as long as fish weren't similar looking (ie 2 species of the blue stripey types) it was ok to add fish later on. But if I added similar looking species, it caused a problem. In fact, I found that sometimes it was better to add a single male of a different species. Without the females they are less interested in breeding and therefore are less aggressive.

Hope all of the above hasn't put you off. Just wanted to share my experiences.

Thanks
Squidward

 

[bullit]

Here's what I was thinking per stocking

6 Yellow Labs
5 Mpanga Reds
5 Cobalt Zebras
6 Red Zebras

What kinda of heating do you guys suggest? How many W per gallon...

Also want kind of filtaration system do you recommend?

As per decor I'm thinking, Sand, Rocks, and garden pots.

It will be interseting, in a couple of weeks my friend (korean) is going go to a LFS. Hopefully they have insight.

im no expert either either but youll be able to stock a lot more fish than that. filters. in the uk the fx5 is a goodin