Calling All African Cichlid Connaisseurs...

[madasafish]

Hi there,

I'm not new to aquariums, but I am new to the world of African Cichlids! One of my professors has asked me to help him put together a showy tank for the Environmental Science deparment, and I've suggested a Lake Malawi Biotope. He likes the idea, and though I know a fair amount about the cichlid species, I was wondering if there's anybody else out there (on AA) that I can PM if I have specific questions. My main questions will be about species compatibility...

Here are the tank specs...

Present:
100 Gallon Tenecor Bowfront tank (sooo nice...)

Future:
75 lbs of fine gravel, possibly crushed coral for pH
Many large Limestone rocks for pH and to establish territories
A few endemic plants if I can find them.

Fish:
15-30 peaceful to semi-aggressive M'Bunas. Esp.
Cynotilapia mbaba
Labidochromis caeruleus
Melanochromis johanni
Pseudotropheus elongatus
More research to be done...

Anyway, I'm just trying to get an idea of whether there are any AC owners/fans/breeders or store owners who might be able to help me out if I've got questions. Please let me know!

Thanks
Jonathan

 

[mollyluvr]

My husband has a cichlid tank and I've done a lot of reading and a lot of trial and error LOL. I can try to help. We also have several books, including Koning's Book of Cichlids and Other Fishes of Lake Malawi. I could probably find out something if you needed to know.

Laurie

 

[TankGirl]

Here is an excellent site for constructing biotopes http://www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope.htm
I don't know how much help I can be because I am just getting started on my own biotope, but I have done beaucoup research and have a lot of resources.

Sounds like a great project! I am jealous!

 

[shawmutt]

I'm just starting my biotope as well, but here is the most definitive site I have found regarding species of Lake Malawi: ( http://malawicichlids.com/ )

HTH!

 

[Terry]

Madasafish this is going to go on a bit i hope i dont bore you.

The rock-dwelling cichlids of lake Malawi are commonly known by there native African name of "mbuna" ( pronounced UM-BOON-UH ). These are highly coloured fishes which live in relative dence communities amoung the rock reefs of the lake. All of the mbuna are maternal mouthbrooders and the females carry the fertilized eggs in there mouth intil the fry are able to fend for themselves, and the males practice an extreme form of polygamy.
In nature there are many differant colour forms ( called "colour morphs") of some species. The relatively common Pseudotropheus zebra exists in it's normal blue with black bars, or BB form. there is also a zebra with orange-blotched OB form a red dorsel which is RT form and many more. Some of the morphs are now recognized as true, separate species.
Due to the fact that the mbuna are entirely rock-dwelling fishes it is safe to assume that they make livings totally in and around the rocks. A good portion of the mbuna are rock scrapers, that is they scrape at and consume the algae covering the rocks. Other mbuna are invertebrate pickers and they eat worms, snails, and insect larvae found living on the rocks.
Lake Malawi is not a salt water lake so adding sea salt to the aquarium water will do little to make the enviroment more comfortable for the mbuna, but there are rift valley mixes you can buy.
Spawning mbuna is as easy as falling of a log! The males are always setting up and defending territories in and amoung the rocks and can be seen to dig pits in the gravel and at the base of rocks. Into these pits they entice any willing female of there species, and they also do a good job fighting off any other males. The actual spawning act is quite interesting, the males patrol his gravel pit or rock cave comes out in his best colours and spreads his fins to advertise to potential females and to warn other rivals. Any female who is ready to spawn will almost always find the males displaying to be irrisistible and will enter his territory, there will be a frenzy of head and tail nipping, body slapping and chasing. Eventually the female will release one or two eggs into the spawning pit and the male will fertilize them and she will pick them up again, they will do this until the female cant get any more eggs into her mouth.
The eggs hatch in about a week, but the female continues to brrod the fry in her mouth. See will do this until the fry are old enough to fend for themselves.
I would also suggest that you keep at least two females for each male, three if possible because male will fight each other and will often be highly aggressive towards just one female. When it comes to feeding your mbuna i would feed them an algae rich (spirulina) flake and pellet food; do not feed them high protein foods since these tend to cause intestinal blockages. Occasional feeding with frozen brine shrimp is ok, but should not be a staple diet for these fishes.

Good luck with this project and keep me informed of your progress.

I hope this has been of some help.

 

[madasafish]

Hi all,

Sorry I've not been online much in the last day to repond to your responses. Thanks for posting, and I will certainly keep your names in mind when it comes to putting the tank together. Thanks, Terry, for your detailed message--the breeding ritual and hatching time is new to me, though I knew about the mouth brooding.

A couple of questions off the bat. If I am going to put these cichlids together in a tank, in which I will prop up many many stones, and a large sheet of rock as a backdrop, how should I distribute the species. Will I have to worry if I choose three to four different m'buna species, on the more peaceful side, and choose three females and one male of each? I know that certain species have very colorful females, so the issue of drab grayness is almost moot.

Is this a good general scheme for populating the tank, or are them some flaws I haven't taken into account? Also, I assume it's better to buy younger fish, so that they grow up together in a slightly more peaceful environment. Is this correct? I've done some more research, but it's hard to come accross pages which state compatibility categorically and which recommend stocking strategies...

And about the algae. I've noticed that, when stocking a tank, many Malawi enthusiasts leave out bottom feeding catfish/plecos, while many others include exotic species. As a large number of the Malawi cichlids are veggie (like me), it seems that these fish would be superfluous. Is this correct? I know that there are some native catfish, but should I think of leaving these out? Will the cichlids remove algae on the sides of the tank in addition to that which forms on the rocks?

The only thing I don't think I need any advice on is environment--I've researched that pretty extensively, and have seen some great pix of Lake Malawi. I also know about preferred pH, GH, KH. But I am certainly glad to see as many pictures as possible to give me a better idea of the natural habitat, and of how people have reproduced that in their tanks. So keep 'em coming!

Thanks,
Jonathan

 

[mollyluvr]

Well, in theory, if you are going with mbunas, stay with mbunas. Don't mix peacocks, they are much less aggressive. They are also beautifully colored, but the females are kind of drab and they prefer less rocks. The mbunas, in my personal experience, a matter of trial and error to find compatible species. I have found that no matter what the books say, each fish has a very different personality. But that is what makes them so interesting and so enthralling to watch. It is probably better to find younger ones and let them grow up together.

As far as the pleos and catfish, you will probably need a cat just to keep the bottom clean. We have peacocks and a striped raphael (platydoras costatus) and a mystus malabaricus. They are both very nocturnal and do a good job of cleaning up the substrate, but I guess it is a matter of preference. We had mbunas, but they never really ate algae off the rocks and never off the glass, but as I said, each fish is different.

Hope this helps, my experience is 40% books and 60% trial and error....lol.

 

[TankGirl]

I believe that some mbunas eat algae off of rocks, and others eat the tiny creatures that reside on the algae, scraping them off. I don't think any of them will be able to get it off the glass, and that will have to be a manual chore for the fishkeeper.