Thinking Of Trying An African Setup

[ChilliPepper]

Please excuse my newbie-ness, I haven't done much reading so far and aren't familiar with many names of fish! Just popping in to ask for some advice really.

I have hard water, around pH7.5, so think they'd love my water. Especially as I was thinking of adding coral sand to raise the pH even more.

I am not sure whether Malawis or Tangs would be better. However I'm sure I just read that Tangs and Rainbowfish can go together? Is that right?

I am wanting to get a 4ft tank for my Rainbows and we were considering converting our 3ft/50g to African, but if Tangs and Rainbows can go together, I may use the 4ft for them and the 3ft for my other dwarf cichlids.

So, is Malawi or a Tang setup possible in a 3ft?

I'll have a look at some fish and see what I like, that may may help. I like Yellow Labs... They're Malawi, right?

 

[ChilliPepper]

Ok had a little look at the sticky topics and like: Labidochromis Caeruleus (electric yellow lab), Pseudotropheus Acei (yellow tail acei) and Pseudotropheus demasoni. Could I keep 1m, 2f of the first two and just one of the demasoni?

Was thinking blue, yellow and green or red colours.

 

[fishguy2727]

I wouldn't do Malawian cichlids in less than a 4' tank, ideally at least a 6'.

Yes, I have seen rainbows do well with Tanganyikan cichlids.

 

[elisew]

Hi Chilli

As fishguy says, the 3ft isn`t a good size really for malawi, even mbuna need a bigger tank than a 3ft I`m afraid. The yellow labs are lovely fish but the demasoni are really aggressive and definitely not the right fish for someone who is unexperienced with mbuna The acei are generally peaceful but with the mbuna you need to look at stocking quite heavily to reduce aggression, hence a 4ft+ sized tank.
I`d personally say a minimum of 4ft for a carefully stocked mbuna setup and 5ft+ for bigger Malawis, especially if you`re considering the aulonocara peacocks as they do get pretty big.

Tangs would be ok with rainbows yes. A 3ft would be ok, it would also depend on which tangs you`d like to look at stocking as some of the tangs such as the ventralis can get quite big and need plenty of what I call 'zipping space'.
You`ll need to take on board that with Tangs you don`t get a huge amount of colour from them compared to the Malawi/mbuna but their behaviour is incredibly interesting.

Hope this helps

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks for your help

That's a real shame I couldn't keep Malawis in the 3ft. I want the 4ft for my Rainbows, and I've had a little look at some Tangs and they don't really appeal to me, even though I could have some in there. Think OH prefers the Malawis as well.

Back to the drawing board

 

[elisew]

Yeah, the Tangs are definitely a taste that you either have or you don`t. They`re not for everyone.

Can you not keep the rainbows in whichever tank they`re in at the moment and get a 4ft for a mbuna setup?

 

[myrtle]

Hi, I keep Rainbows with my Tangs and the 'bows are doing better in there than they were in a 'general' community. In fact they've decided it's actually worth breeding now! I reckon you could do the Tang/rainbow tank as you'd get the colour from the bows and if you set aside a purely sand area with some shells you could have some shell dwellers too. Leave about an 8" gap between the shells and the plants/rocks and you can do both in the 4 foot. My bows and shell dwellers have the occasional stand-off but they are both more than capable of standing up to each other.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks both

elise - I want a bigger tank for my 'bows as they are only in a 3ft at the moment and I have some of the larger species so need a bit longer tank really. My Lacustris are growing faster than I thought so they need the extra space soon really.

I'll have a look at some Tangs next time I'm in the LFS - may fall in love with some! (or may use the 50g for a reef )

myrtle - have you got any pics of your tank, it sounds lovely

 

[rifty]

what is the foot print of the tank?
ie length width height?

i reckon you could get a species tank if you went for dwarf mbuna i keep malawis in 3foot tank no issues?

 

[kiriyama]

Hi, if you are after colour then Malawi/Mbuna is for you, if you like to watch interesting behaviour and interaction between the species then Tanganyikan is the way to go. As long as you give each Tanganyikan species it's own adequate space to hold a small territory or environment close to it's natural needs/habitat you are on the right track for a chance at success with these interesting cichlids. ( I know , I know, I am baissed ) ...
I have also kept dwarf neon rainbow with Tanganyikan, water very similiar and they helped as good "dithers" for the very shy species I was keeping at the time . . .
Let us know what you decide on and keep us posted as you go

Cheers, Sean

 

[ChilliPepper]

what is the foot print of the tank?
ie length width height?

i reckon you could get a species tank if you went for dwarf mbuna i keep malawis in 3foot tank no issues?

Hi, the tank is 100 x 40 x 55cm high. Would be good if there are any Malawis we could keep.

Hi, if you are after colour then Malawi/Mbuna is for you, if you like to watch interesting behaviour and interaction between the species then Tanganyikan is the way to go. As long as you give each Tanganyikan species it's own adequate space to hold a small territory or environment close to it's natural needs/habitat you are on the right track for a chance at success with these interesting cichlids. ( I know , I know, I am baissed ) ...
I have also kept dwarf neon rainbow with Tanganyikan, water very similiar and they helped as good "dithers" for the very shy species I was keeping at the time . . .
Let us know what you decide on and keep us posted as you go

Cheers, Sean

Hold on, is the fish is your sig a Tang? It's beautiful!

I've been having another look and found some Tangs I do really like, though I guess you will all tell me my tank is too small I'll jot down some names for some ideas

Neolamprologus cylindricus
Neolamprologus leleupi
Neolamprologus brichardi (I have seen these in the shops and think they are gorgeous)
Neolamprologus pulcher "daffodil"
Neolamprologus helianthus
Black Calvus Altolamprologus calvus "black" (though these look a bit mean so do they need to go on their own? I've seen them for sale in my lfs)
Neolamprologus multifasciatus
Callochromis pleurospilus
Lepidolamprologus(Lamprologus) nkambae

So yeah, mostly lamps

 

[rifty]

size would be fine for malawis is almost the same size as my fluval profile 1000 just bear in mind filters i run an fx3 and 3 plus and for extra movement a powerhead

i took this earleir just after a waterchange so the water isnt settled

 

[myrtle]

This is my tank, bearing in mind that I also have sand dwellers so there is a large bare sand area for them. You can see the shell bed for the Neolamprologus multifasciata on the left and you could do something similar if you had the shell bed with about an 8" area of bare sand before the plants, wood, rocks etc. and had the rest of the tank planted for the bows.

These are some of my multies (N multifasciata)

 

[LilyRose Tank]

Lovely, I am about to embark on this project myself. I am going to allow my tank to build up to an alkaline pH and whilst waiting for that to happen I am going to try to source backgrounds rocks and shells.