Mbuna tank filteration

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Dey

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Oct 17, 2017
Messages
3
Hi,

I am a fish enthusiast who only have about 6-8 months experience in freshwater fish keeping. I started with a 20 gallon tank where I have 6 neon tetra, 6 red nose tetra, 2 variatus platies and 2 swordtails, running successfully.

Now I want to start an Mbuna cichlid tank as I always wanted to, because of their vibrant colors. I purchased a 40 gallon breeder for that few days ago. I would have loved to buy a bigger one but that's the max size I can keep in my apartment.

Now, I am confused about filteration that the tank might demand. I know cichlid tank demands very good filteration, specially when the tank is small like what I have.
I am thinking of the Marineland Penguin Power Filter 350 GPH, but will that be enough? I think I should add another filter; any suggestions? I don't want to spend much on this.

Also, can anybody suggest what mbuna cichlids should I keep with yellow labs?
 
Filtration: Aqua Clear 70
Tankmates for yellow labs: Yellow Tail Acei, Red Fin Borleyi, Red Top Hongi.
 
You are going to have a really hard time keeping those fish in a 40B. Most likely you are going to end up with only a single fish, as a dominant male from one species will kill off all the rest, as they are within his territory. With a tank that small, I would look into dwarf cichlids rather than mbuna, although there are a few dwarf mbuna species out there.
 
Ahhh.. okay.. You broke my heart.. :(
Thanks for the valuable information BTW.

Can yellow labs be considered as dwarf mbuna cichlid as they are about 4-5 inch only when fully grown (as per my limited knowledge, plz correct me if I am wrong)? I read 'Saulosi' is one dwarf but I have my eyes on Yellow labs.

Any suggestion on what species can do well in 40 breeder?
 
Ahhh.. okay.. You broke my heart.. :(
Thanks for the valuable information BTW.

Can yellow labs be considered as dwarf mbuna cichlid as they are about 4-5 inch only when fully grown (as per my limited knowledge, plz correct me if I am wrong)? I read 'Saulosi' is one dwarf but I have my eyes on Yellow labs.

Any suggestion on what species can do well in 40 breeder?

Yeah, sorry about that. While the Yellow labs are typically one of the least aggressive of the mbuna, they are definitely not a dwarf, nor would I recommend trying to keep them long term in a 40B. Saulosi is listed as a dwarf, but I've only ever had long term luck with them in a 6' tank, as they are very territorial for such a small fish. I would suggest looking into some of the other dwarfs like German blue rams (I believe there is a gold variety of these commonly available), be aware however that they require a well established aquarium. Another very colorful dwarf group would be the Apistogramma, several of which are considered to be pretty hardy. Several of the members on here have kept different species of these successfully and would be great resources for you.
 
A 4ft long 55g tank is considered the smallest tank size for successfully keeping mbunas. Having used that tank size for them, even that's pushing it.


You might be able to do peacocks in that size tank because they aren't as aggressive, but people with more experience with them will have to help you out there
 
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