moving to cichlids

[steeledarren]

hi i am totally new to cichlids and was wondering ehere i could go, i have a 55 gal cube tank. was hoping to go malawi if thats the correct spelling. any ideas on how i could start. my lfs only only order and do not stock them, but they are a trusted shop which i have dealt with for years. which means i have not seen many different types, so for a beginner i was wondering where i could start, any help will be appreciated thanks

 

[DragonFish71]

I'm also going with malawi once I sell of some firemouth fry that are growing out in the tank set up for them.

mfdrookie and Aquarium1 have been very helpful with my question regarding stocking and compatibility.

I know, like all cichlids they like to dig and need hidey places to set up their own territories. I went with pool filter sand and am slowly building up rock for a cichlid condo.

A few things, make sure you have plenty of filtration, more than needed really. I already have SA cichlids and know you can't over filter.

Malawi's are prone to bloating if they eat high protein foods. They are herbivorous (some species anyways) I plan to make my own food for them that has a higher vegetable content. Some here suggest New Life Spectrum cichlid food. I read the protein levels of a container of that and decided against it as a main food. As a once or twice a week treat, yep.

Some will leave plants alone, some will eat the plants, some will eat only certain types of plants. I have a friend who has malawis' with java ferns and anubias with no munching and I've heard others say their cichlids mowed through the same plants like a salad bar.

 

[mfdrookie516]

What are the dimensions of this cube? If its not a 4' tank, I would not put africans in it.

 

[HUKIT]

What are the dimensions of this cube? If its not a 4' tank, I would not put africans in it.

Agreed the footprint for a African tank is a minimum of 4 feet. There are some dwarf spieces like saulosi that may work as a spieces tank but rule out the vast majority of africans.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Just an after thought... you could do africans, just most of the malawi species would be ruled out... alot of tanganyikan fish would be perfectly fine in a cube tank... this is of course, assuming that the tank is not 4' long

 

[mattrox]

You could do Ps. salousi, Iodotropheus sprengerae, Lab. caeruleus.....

 

[Fishguy2727]

It is not just the high protein levels that are a problem, it is low quality proteins. That is why so many suggest NLS. The protein sources in NLS are very high quality and easily digested, this avoids the problems that other foods can cause. I feed NLS Therea+A exclusively for years now (including the 220 Lake Malawi display at the shop I was running) and I wouldn't consider anything else. The colors and health you get with this food is amazing.

People need to realize there are more than one type of cichlid from Lake Malawi. Most people refer to the mbunas, but I prefer the peacocks. They are more colorful, not nearly as aggressive, and about the same size. I think you could do either all male peococks in there or a single male and some females.

 

[steeledarren]

sorry for the late reply. my tank is 2' x 2' x 2'. my tank is 220 litres and my filter can run tanks up to 300 litres. i also considered an electric blue jack dempsey. i saw one and instantly thought it was cool. i know you cant pick and choose tank mates though. any ideas?

 

[mfdrookie516]

You're going to be limited in what you can have with a tank that size. You definitely wont be able to keep any malawis, you may be able to do some tanganyikans, depending on the fish. A jack dempsey is out of the question... those guys get pretty big and are pretty messy too. Any other ideas you have for stocking?