60 Gallon Malawi Build

[T-man02]

I have Mts snails, my local fish store has them for about 5 bucks each. They keep them in all their cichlid tanks to help keep clean.

Does mts stand for mountain

 

[Koikid88]

Does mts stand for mountain

Isn't it Malaysian? or am I just stoned

 

[Koikid88]

I would not mix Haps, Mbuna and peacocks, I believe each is best suited to species only tank.
.

I've also heard a lot of success stories as long as there is plenty of rocks/caves for the mbuna, and plenty of open area for the peacocks. Which is the case in my set up, mbuna and peacocks, but is still fairly new and only 2 peacocks are fully grown, while the mbuna are all about 1/2 grown.

 

[Mogurako]

I've also heard a lot of success stories as long as there is plenty of rocks/caves for the mbuna, and plenty of open area for the peacocks. Which is the case in my set up, mbuna and peacocks, but is still fairly new and only 2 peacocks are fully grown, while the mbuna are all about 1/2 grown.

Yes but how long have these tanks in the stories been set up, a year or two?! You are talking about fish that can live 8-12 years if properly cared for. Just because you've heard of someone else doing it and they have had "success" doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. Mbuna and peacocks aggression levels are nothing alike and should be stocked differently.

Haps are a whole different story most of them are aggressive open water predators that grow 10-18" and will eat any fish that can fit in their mouths. Take a close look at their mouth most of their mouths are designed to cover the openings of all these caves you have created as suck the habitants out of. This is how they hunt in nature and how they will hunt in an aquarium.

 

[FishyPhil]

I'm tending to agree with you (not that I ever doubted you!) in regards to mixing. I do like to get a lot of opinions before making my own, and after doing more research the general consensus is that it's much more difficult to mix the different species. Appears to be lots of dead fish along the way, with the odd few getting lucky with temperaments. I'm going to stick with just mbuna.

What are your thoughts on the Bumblebee (Pseudotrohpeus Crabro)? Would it be possible to keep a single male or female? Any thoughts of a mbuna that would be slightly bigger than the acei and labs, but wouldn't want to kill them lol

 

[T-man02]

Isn't it Malaysian? or am I just stoned

i have no clue lol

 

[FishyPhil]

Isn't it Malaysian? or am I just stoned

Malaysian Trumpet Snail?

 

[Mogurako]

Carabo can be pretty nasty and are best kept in species tanks or in groups with other more aggressive Mbuna. It's best to keep Mbuna in groups not 1 or 2 of each . I would shoot for 2 or 3 species for your tank. Two would be easiest to help keep aggression lower and lessen the chance of hybridization.

 

[FishyPhil]

Carabo can be pretty nasty and are best kept in species tanks or in groups with other more aggressive Mbuna. It's best to keep Mbuna in groups not 1 or 2 of each . I would shoot for 2 or 3 species for your tank. Two would be easiest to help keep aggression lower and lessen the chance of hybridization.

I think i'll stick with just the two and the cuckoo cats then. Do my numbers of 8 of each species of mbuna and 4 cats seem ok? Any opinion of male to female ratios? Should I possibly add more than 8 as juvies and then remove others to get a good balance?

Appreciate the help!

 

[T-man02]

generally a good male to female ratio is 1:4

 

[Mogurako]

I would shoot for 8-10 of each Mbuna depending on what species you end up picking with a 1 male to 4 female ratio. Start with more fish than you actually end up with and rehome any hyper aggressive fish and others as needed to reach desired ratios. Another way to go is to buy fish that are already sexed, www.davesfish.com is a great scource for African cichlids and sells juvies as well as male and females of each species for a little more.

 

[FishyPhil]

Unfortunately i'm in the UK, so davesfish isn't an option, which is a shame as they seem to have everything!

How long does it generally take for malawi fry to grow to maturity? And how small of a tank could someone use to grow out say, 20-30 fry to an inch or so? Is there much aggression with juveniles? I'm thinking of setting up a smaller tank to grow out some fry I can probably get hold of cheap. Then I could transfer them across to the 60 gal when I have it running.

 

[Mogurako]

I would get all your fry ad put then into the 60 at the same time once its cycled and just keep eyes on your water parameters.