Malawi / Mbuna

[Steven A]

Hi, I am thinking about turning one of my 36, 12, 18 inch tanks into a Lake Malawi / mbuna tank. I would really appreciatte it if some one offered some information / advice on what I should do. Pictures of the tank set-up will be mostly appreciatted. I wish to breed these fish in there tank so which one would you suggest .... i.e. which is the most easiest to breed and how.

Thank you every one

S.Askham 8) 8)

 

[greenmaji]

The 30 High doesnt have a very big footprint.. better than some though.. Im assuming you want to keep just one type of mumba with hopes of breeding them am I correct?
Like one that is reported easy to breed?

*edit*I realize now after checking out what type of tank you have that its a 30 gallon breader.. much better then I though... its 18 inches wide not 18 inches tall right..*edit

 

[greenmaji]

It being a breeder tank wouldnt you want just the breeding fish in it..? you will need several females per male for breeding purposes? It sounds like your wanting a muba tank, like a comunity tank that just happens to have breeding sets in it, I personaly would want at least 75 gallons most likely more for that 125+ideal.. I would just keep a breading set in the 30gallon if I were you.. some need a longer aquarium.. ones that should do fine in a 36" tank..
Fuelleborn's Cichlid-Labeotropheus fuelleborni
Yellow Lab. -Labidochromis caeruleus
Malawi Golden Cichlid-Melanochromis auratus
Johannii-Melanochromis johannii
Parallel-striped Mbuna-Melanochromis parallelus
Bumblebee Mbuna-Pseudotropheus crabro
Shell-dwelling Mbuna-Pseudotropheus lanisticola
Site that should help with good info on needs and some info on difficulty of breeding, it says that none of them are particularly hard to breed as long as you can get your water peramiters right.. http://www.mongabay.com/fish/mbuna.htm

 

[shawmutt]

You'll run into problems as they mature in that tank. I had yellow labs and zebras in a 30 that blew up after 8 months. The fish systematically died from weakest to strongest. I have one single yellow lab left over in a 10-gallon. Pictures of my setup and the remaining lab are in my gallery.

 

[greenmaji]

I was refiring to having just the yellow labs.. just a breeding set.. in a 30 breeder..NOT a regular 30 gallon long.. If the tank is 18 inches tall then disregard my previous advise.. if its 18 inches wide then I think you can do a breeding set of one of the above mentioned mumba..
I thought it was a breeder because a 18 inch tall is not a standard size tank a 30 long is only 17 inches tall.. So I assumed you meant it was the with of the tank.. and the highth was 12 inches..

 

[thanew]

be very, very, very careful at what you put in the tank. i'd stay with just one lake, because all of these little guys are aggressive as heck.. and ime its best to stay away from the johaniis, had a problem with them killing two of my yellow labs and hurting a third.

if you want some fish to breed, i'd suggest getting yellow labs... mine have not had a break in the last 4 months, they keep mating, they seem to be the easiest to breed

-thane

 

[greenmaji]

are you people reading my advise.. is a 30 gallon tank.. he's not going to be able to have two differnt types of muba's in it.. it just isnt big enough..
He could have johaniis if thats all he has one male and several females..NO other fish.. a breeding tank..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The yellow labs would be your best bet. If you could post the actual gal sizes it might make this a bit easier. The inches kind of throws things off beacuse depending on the make of the tank, it could be several different sizes. Ie: My 150 gal All-Glas tank has the same length as my 55 gal Perfecto tank.

 

[greenmaji]

This tank is a borderline tank for what your wanting to use it for... So Im going to try and make a clear cut question..
is it a 30 gallon long........ 36"long X 12"wide X 17"tall
or is it a 30 gal breeder... 36"long X 18"wide X 12"tall
??? :? :? :? ???

 

[Steven A]

36"long X 18"wide X 12"tall 8)

Also thanx for the advise but I have been speaking to my local shop and viewed there section and they have many mixed ones in a tank a bit smaller than this, and they bred succsessfully. Now all I need is a picture of the tank set-up 8O The worst part of getting new fish ..... changing the tank lol

So please post picutures of tanks. Thank You

 

[greenmaji]

Check http://www.mongabay.com/fish/mbuna.htm it depends on wich one you pick as to how to lay out the tank..
alot of rockwork would be nice and sand.. the females will need places to hide from the male if he gets a little to RANDY! ROFL!...
I kinda doubt anyone has a 30 gal breeder set up for mumba's around here..
I personaly have never seen a 30 breeder.. Ive seen 40 breeders..
this link Should help..
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/lake_malawi_setup.php
Mumbas (rock dwellers) need alot of rock and accordingly need eggcrate on the bottom glass to protect the aquarium
from rocks that get dug out.. alot of people order texas holey rock (limestone that has lots of holes in it)

 

[Menagerie]

Please go to my gallery to see the set up for my 80 gallon Mbuna tank. These fish like rock substrate to make territories. The thing with LFS keeping smaller breeding tanks, is the turnover rate of the fish. I would think the young are not growing to matuation and people are buying these fish, which mixes up the territories and ranking system of the fish. IMO, the best site for fish profiles is: http://www.mongabay.com/fish/cichlids.htm Do your homework and you will find some wonderful Mbuna for your tank.

 

[Menagerie]

Here is a pic of the 80 gal. The pics in my gallery are older and are helpful in seeing different types of rock/formations.
*edit, I attched a pic, but cannot see it :? Here is the same pic, only larger

 

[greenmaji]

Menagerie...
I see both pics..

 

[Menagerie]

It's my computer, once again, I cannot see attachments, or moving emoticons

 

[tetrin]

i believe the footprint of the tank is big enough to keep lab. caeruleus and ps. saulosi together, even slip in ps. lanisticola with a few shells in there.
the tank has the same footprint as a 40g breeder and that's what matters.

 

[greenmaji]

i believe the footprint of the tank is big enough to keep lab. caeruleus and ps. saulosi together, even slip in ps. lanisticola with a few shells in there.
the tank has the same footprint as a 40g breeder and that's what matters.

I understand what your saying but he wishes to breed the fish.. since that is his intention in my oppinion
just the breeding fish would be best.. Do you really think you could have all those types of mumba's +
shelldwellers (shelldwellers will likely be killed by the mumbas by the way) and have a breeding set of any of them..
even if you did get a spawn in there your spawning fish would most likely get aggressive and start killing off the other fish..
Id play it safe and keep a male and a group of females of one of the mumba's I mentioned earlier..

 

[shawmutt]

There are two problems with that thought:

1. Juvie cichlids are hard to sex, and

2. Once a breeding set is established, what do you do with the other fish? Perhaps you could make a deal with the lfs, but a lot of places won't take live fish back, especially larger specimens.

I've tried this in the same exact tank (again, pics of the setup in my gallery) and had disastrous results after about 8 months. It didn't matter whether they were male or female (the remaining "champ" after 8 months is a female). I had about 50# of rockwork with plenty of hiding spaces. I did all my homework, and spent a lot of time rearranging territories. I was left with a stressful tank, dying fish, and now have one remaining lab in solitary confinement.

Mixing shellies and mbuna will have equally disastrous results. Dietary and behavior differences make these two species incompatible, especially in such a small tank.

 

[greenmaji]

Every LFS Ive been to has mid sized mumbas in a tank (if they carry lake cichlids at
all).. if you can id them you could id the males and females at this age.. there almost
full grown (close to 4").. for about $12 a fish..
In other words only buy the breeding set...

 

[greenmaji]

If you have one male and 4-5 females of only one type of mumba.. and yes you can tell
wich ones are wich when they are the medium size stage ( they only get around 5" full
grown so there almost there in the meduim stage at the store ) It does matter what sex
the fish is and the type they are as far as aggresion is conserned..period... the male will
be aggresive and having alot of females will spread out the aggression alot.. the fish
will need clear areas in the tank to establish territories but it would work..