Overstocking

[OsciTheOscar]

Im very unsure on everything about this yet ive heard its a decent idea as long as you do it the right way...

now my questions are:
Why does it work against aggression?
How many is too many: i have a 55gal and a 40gal(non breeder)?
Filtration: i have my tanks over filtered already but ive heard to be 6x over!?
Will there still be aggression/weeding out the bad ones?
Will this stop my breeders from breeding or will i have more?
Water changes im assuming are more frequent?

thats what i can think of for now. Also keep in mind im thinking about Malawi... and also a good question for me is what are smaller types of malawi that i can keep with mbuna? i know there are dwarf types and im really psyched about this idea cause im moving in a couple months and im thinking of completely overhauling my tanks!

 

[Lady_Alia]

Im very unsure on everything about this yet ive heard its a decent idea as long as you do it the right way...

now my questions are:
Why does it work against aggression?
How many is too many: i have a 55gal and a 40gal(non breeder)?
Filtration: i have my tanks over filtered already but ive heard to be 6x over!?
Will there still be aggression/weeding out the bad ones?
Will this stop my breeders from breeding or will i have more?
Water changes im assuming are more frequent?

thats what i can think of for now. Also keep in mind im thinking about Malawi... and also a good question for me is what are smaller types of malawi that i can keep with mbuna? i know there are dwarf types and im really psyched about this idea cause im moving in a couple months and im thinking of completely overhauling my tanks!

WHY: if the fish don't have a territory to defend they won't fight as much.
FILTRATION: 10x
WEEDING: there could still be aggression. Like people, sometimes you just end up with a jerk lol
BREEDING: no clue, sorry
WATER CHANGES: should be done on a weekly basis. Twice a week if you've gotten super stocked.

IMO

 

[steez]

You'll find lots of opinions on this.

I have an overstocked 40g breeder mbuna tank, 5 labs / 15 demasoni (plans on removing 3 before adulthood, extra males/aggressives/etc.) Final stock will be 5 labs/12 demasoni. They are all young right now so we will see how it all works out in the long run.

Filtration: I have a Topfin 60 HOB (cheap, but its established and I'll probably upgrade to an AQ later on) and a Fluval 304 running on it to get as much filtration as I can. The topfin does 300gph, the fluval does 260 GPH. 560 GPH / 40G = 14x filtration. I understand that most filters don't really live up to what they say they get, so let's drop that number to about 10-12x.

Weeding: yes, I would definitely get more than you plan on having so you can weed out extras. It's sometimes hard to sex when they are young.

Other fish: Mbuna's should really be kept with Mbuna's. I have heard of people mixing haps and peacocks with them, but in big tanks. You don't have really large tanks for Mbuna's to start with, so you should probably keep to them. Check out Saulosi, they are a dwarf mbuna and very colorful.

Back to opinions.. some say you should NOT put my fish in a 40g breeder at all, some say you should put 6, some say you should put 10, some say my #'s will be fine as long as I'm aware of my water conditions. I made this choice after careful consideration and returning the first cichlid bunch that I got.


EDIT: Other things I didn't address:


aggression: Like Alia said, it works on aggression because they won't establish territories as much, and it's harder to single out one and kill it. You'll still probably have a few jerks, that's what weeding out is for.

Breeding: sorry I'm not 100% sure on this, if they are comfortable, they will breed as far as I know. Also, sex them correctly. 1m/4f is usually good with mbunas.

water changes: yes, you'll have to keep on top of your nitrates. once or twice a week.

 

[OsciTheOscar]

cool, i do PWC's 2wice a week anyway!

overstocking makes sense with the territory and such, or lack there of. The Saulosi look real nice, just gotta find em...

About sexing, how is it done? Behavior, color, size? depending on the type of fish...

My filtration is right at about the 1 (<-haha i meant 10 x)mark with my filters rated to 450GPH so ill just say 400GPH to a 40gal...

 

[joel618]

cool, i do PWC's 2wice a week anyway!

overstocking makes sense with the territory and such, or lack there of. The Saulosi look real nice, just gotta find em...

About sexing, how is it done? Behavior, color, size? depending on the type of fish...

My filtration is right at about the 1 (<-haha i meant 10 x)mark with my filters rated to 450GPH so ill just say 400GPH to a 40gal...

It really just depends, some on color, some on dominant behavior. I may be wrong but I think display shaking is a behavior of males. That's a question im searching for the answer to myself.
What kind of filter you are you using?

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

fish like kenyi and auratus are dimorphic, but fish like red zebras take time and experience to learn. for example, a male RZ will have blue-er fins and black speccles on face and tail (in alot of cases). the female has more tiny orange spots on her top fin, her egg spots tend to be a darker orange. but at a glance, you cant tell the difference.
venting is great - the male (or never spawned female) has a thinner paler vent while the female has larger more circular/ brown vent. when she is ready to spawn her tube lowers as well.
behaviour can be good - but not always definite. i just removed a CBZ female because she chased everything, stressed the smaller fish and loved disrupting potentail spawnings. my old RZ was male but lazy, shy, ignorant and never shimmied til the other RZ came rght next to it.
its luck and chance in most cases.
what fish are you after? xx

 

[OsciTheOscar]

probbly after the dwarf cichlids (Saulosi) thatd probably be ideal for my size tank...

i have 3 filters running on my tank, i know it sounds strange but when its what i had and it was cheaper, i ran 3 HOB's, 2 Bio-Wheels and an Aquaclear... and i change the water 2wice a week