three, questions

[vantgE]

1. I added some buffering gravel into my filter and now the ph is 9.0 that's too high i think for malawi right?
2. I still don't understand how to clean under my rock piles there is alot more rocks in my tank thaan most but they aren't big ones?
3. how many fishes do i buy to get my male female ratios? and any calgarinans reading this what do i do with the extras who will take them?

Well thanks for any answers

EDIT ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------okay more questionadded an aquaclear 200 to my temporary 10 gallon and i don't think the mbuna like the flow so a shoved some more stuff in but there is still quite a bit of flow, and it is extra noisy
Is it likely they don't like the new filter?
Is stuffing the extra media in going to hurt the filter in any way?
And will the noise bother the fish agitate them?

 

[TheeMon]

fish stores are supposed to buy them back (my petsmart wont)(i have a few other ones i havent tried though) id guess buy 3-5 more then what you want, ie 1m 3f buy 7-10 + that way you might get more females

as to the important stuff, i dunno mang

 

[semper fi]

the ph is too high for the africans. you want to be about 7.2-7.8. if your tap water is at those levels, i would not mess with your water.

vaccuum whatever you can off the rocks and about every three months or so you can pull out any ornamentation, including rockwork and clean it under tank water. you do not want to stick the vaccuum into the gravel, but skim the top of the bed. how often are you doing water changes?

what type of fish are you talking about for male/female ratio?

see if there is a way to adjust the flow on the filter. the flow of water should not scare off the fish. mbuna tend to like flowing water while the deeper water fish tend to prefer the slower running waters

 

[vantgE]

My tap water is at about 7.0-7.5 so i just wasted my money on this gravel?

Hopeing for elongatus, kenyi, and melanchromis johanni or maingano,

Not doing water changes yet cycleing right now, uhh i have sand and if i take out anyrocks all 35 or so would have to come out and then would have to set them back on the sand and the fish might undermine them right?

Thanks semper-fi and TheeMon

 

[semper fi]

sorry, but first of all sand in a malawi tank can be a real pain. they are diggers and are always stirring up sand which can get caught in the filter and damage it. there is a malawi sand that is sand so to speak, but chunkier like gravel.

with your tap water, there is not much that you need to do to it. i keep mine at a ph of 7.2. if you do have a problem with a fluctuation in the ph you could go with some crushed coral as a substrate or as media in the filter to help stabilize it.

i would only pick one strain of the johanni, either the chisimula or maingano strain. what size is your tank?

if the rocks are piled up in piles i would watch that the digging does not cause the rockwork to tumble and crush your fish. like i said they are notorious for digging. the male will dig a shallow pit in the substrate, called a birthing pit. the female will lay the eggs inthe birthing pit, the male will swim over them and fertilize them and then she will scoop them into her mouth. i would silicone the entire pile together, not so they cannot swim into it, hide in it or make caves in it. that way it won't crush the fish. or replace the rocks with holey rock or lace rock. has alot of opening in one peice and makes for great hiding places.

 

[vantgE]

i would only pick one strain of the johanni, either the chisimula or maingano strain. what size is your tank?

I didn't know there were two strains, do you know the difference? i was onlly planning on getting one

The rocks were placed in before the sand so the digging shoudn't topple them and anything sorta loose was siliconed
I also thought the bred on flat rocks so i suck one in a bigger cave but i'll put extra sand in I don't think it's deep enough for much of a pit right now
Thanks for all that info

 

[freshmike]

Dennis at Gold's will buy them back. Especially if you are selling back males. Just call him first...or he will get cranky.

Maingano is the second picture in my signature btw. Pretty hard to find here...but I might be able to breed you some. Ope, forgot to say that mine are wild....or so I have been told. F1 at least.

 

[vantgE]

must be two inches in about two weeks but yes if so? actually the one is what made me want one

Is that buying them back or will he buy them I thought i'd give fishboy my buseness if he had anything and wpuld want it gotta pick up synos from him anyways iof i do that will golds still take them

 

[freshmike]

As for the ac200, I have one on my tenner as well, no cichlids...just girl fish and a MAN betta. They don't mind the current AT ALL, so I don't see why cichlids, especially mbuna would mind it at all.

Pretty sure fishboy only wants "stock" of fish for shipping, not singles. Synos not included. I almost have another hundred dems for him.

 

[semper fi]

chismula is the island where the johanni is typically found. here is another variation of the johanni.

http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquar...l_maingano.html

the maingano strain has the broken bars while the typical johanni is the unbroken bar.

they have sorted the two starains into two different species of fish even theough they are both johanni

 

[vantgE]

Maybe he's just nervous the tens getting a little small for him the other fish are happier as he's the mean one

 

[freshmike]

Um, semper....I think it is the other way around. Maingano=unbroken bars. Or so I have read.

 

[vantgE]

Yeah i noticed your had unbroken bars

but thanks for all the help, both

 

[semper fi]

maingano has been renamed melanochromis cyaneorhabdos. the bars are broken not solid, like in the link.

 

[vantgE]

http/cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_cyaneorhabdos.phpYou sure, i just stumbled across another site and it showed pics the other way around but can't ind the link now so i checked this site and the bar is also solid