60gal. Malawi Mbuna. Updated 09/05/07

[WaterPond]

Oh, this is exciting. After much figuring i was able to distribute fish throughout some other tanks so i could have my 60gallon free for african cichlids (which i have always wanted to keep). I had to give away some fish to my aquarium society.

This tank is fairly tall, so that will affect how many fish i can put in it for sure. I have a ton! of rockwork in here so it should be all good. The tank is 3'long and 2' tall it is 16" from front to back. So it should prvde enough floorspace for my fishies.

I went out to my backyard and found some nice HUGE rocks, mostly flat which i thought the fish would like. Also so i could stack it easier. I didn't silicone the rocks together so i can make spaces bigger if need be as the fish grow. These rocks do buffer the water a little bit, i used to keep them in my south american community, but they buffered the water too much. I do plan to get more rock, when i can find more.

I have spent the afternoon stacking these rocks, it took me about three hours to finally get a nice steadly hold that nothing will bring down, well, i shouldent say nothing. I guess an earthquake can bring down anything. Good thing those arent that common here.

As for fish i plan on:
4x yellow labs
2x rusty cichlid
3x socofoli (most likely albino)
2x red zebra

That should give me a good mix, dont you think?

I want suggestions! make sure you give me all your tips and tricks, seeing as how i have never ever kept africans before, but i have always loved them.

Now for some pictures of the tank:
Full:

right side:

Left side:

I really hope this all works out for me. I im over excited about this, and i would just low it if i could get some tips and suggestions.

Thanks a bunch

P.S. you might se kribs in the pics... don't worry, they are outa there as of tomorrow.

 

[darrin34]

looks good i wish you luck in your new adventure ..... i know i added plastic plants and my zebras like to hang out in them

 

[JustOneMore20]

It looks good!

I wouldn't just keep a pair of any of them, go with atleast 3 IMO as they are best kept in groups.

I think in that tank you have room for:

4 Yellow Labs
4 Rusty cichlids
3 Socolofis
3 Red Zebras

The Labs and Rusties aren't as aggressive as the other 2, so thats why I suggest more to their groups. You could possibly have more than that, but I'll leave that decision up to you...and the others.

 

[WaterPond]

thanks! I am going to see if the LFS can order me in some afra cobue.... I am SOOOOO amazed by yours Kristin. I will see if i can get them ordered in, if not i will just got for the Red Zebras.

Funds are... erm... what am i talking about, i have about 50 bucks to my name right now so i dont think i can afford to have large groups of the more expensive fish. Labs run around 4 bucks, so i can have four of them easy. The rusties are 12 dollars a peice. And the socofolis are about 9 bucks a peice. Zebras are the cheapest... but i would much rather have the Afra Cobue or some other type of Afra.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Looks good so far WP. What kind of filtration do you have?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Funds are... erm... what am i talking about, i have about 50 bucks to my name right now so i dont think i can afford to have large groups of the more expensive fish. Labs run around 4 bucks, so i can have four of them easy. The rusties are 12 dollars a peice. And the socofolis are about 9 bucks a peice. Zebras are the cheapest... but i would much rather have the Afra Cobue or some other type of Afra.

You can always buy what you can now and then add later. My list was more for a final stocking....so if it takes a little while to stock it fully, then its fine.

Filtration is mucho important. I'd like to know what are your plans are for it also.

 

[maxwell1295]

What's the footprint (LxW) of that tank? It looks like it's almost as tall as it is wide. I'd be inclined to avaoid the Zebras and stick with the smaller species. Labs, Rusties, and Socolofi should be fine. Perhaps you can add some Saulosi or Maingano instead. Both of those species are smaler than the Zebras.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The footprint is 36x16.

 

[WaterPond]

As for you asking about filtration. I have an aquaclear 70 running right now. That will do for while the fish are yyoung i would think. I plan on adding a second (probably another aquaclear) filter in the furture.

I got my first fish, i will post pics later. They were sold to me as "blue Zebras" i got a trio. 1m 2f. I thought they were nicer than the red zebras which i had planned on. I know you can't trust the LFS's word very often, so i might have a totally different fish. Dont be mad, this is my first go with africans.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[Marc118]

Sweet, cant wait to see pics

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The 70 will do for a while but I'd upgrade that as they age. You already know why.

Congrats on the first fish selection! You may need to alter your ultimate stocking list but that's ok. That's what's great about fish keeping. Nothing is set in stone.

 

[WaterPond]

okie-doke. Pictures!!!!
but, now for the bad news. They are horrible pictures. Because the fish are SOOO fast. They dont stop moving. Flash helps to get rid of blurriness so i used it. Sorry.

Male and female i beleive

full tank

the other female (i think)

 

[Jchillin]

Sweet looking tank Jason, love the rockwork.

 

[chase33]

Tank looks nice. Good luck WP

 

[WaterPond]

Pics of the fish --- Nothing really else new. Sorry this is kindof a dead thread... But at least i have pics

Some of the pics suck... i appologize, but this fish are darn hard to photograph.

 

[Marc118]

Nice pics

 

[Marconis]

I'm jealous.... Nice Jason

 

[Big Ben]

nice tank, hope they breed for you. In that natural looking setup I'm sure theyll feel right at home in africa. Your rocks are some of the best i've seen, lots of spaces for caves. I wish my back yard had rocks like that!

 

[kay-bee19]

Probably not "blue zebras", but nice fish and nice pics!

 

[WaterPond]

FISH TRIP!!

We took a nice drive to london ontario to go to a few fish stores there. They have a big als there and petsmart... i go to those places every time i go to london. Big als has such a great selection of cichlids, but the prices are a little steep in my opinion, so i came out of there with two fish, a m/f pair of Pseudotropheus flavus They are still really small, and havn't coloured up aloot yet. The male in the sotre had some nice yellow, but when they put him in the bag he turned dark brown, and he has stayed that way. Hopefully that is just from stress, and he will colour up again soon. Since i can't get any good pictures of my fish, i have decided to take short video clips instead, here is the Ps Flavus male

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l117/WaterPond/?action=view&current=Picturesoftank068.flv

this is what he looked like in the store: http://burnel.club.fr/Mal/pseudotropheus_flavus.jpg
I really hope he will return to looking lake that once he settles in a bit better.


At petsmart, i stumbled upon a tank of "small mixed africans", right beside a tank of "small snow white socolofi" The small mixed tank's fish were $6.19. The small socolofi tank was marked $14.74. The socolofi in the 14dollar tank were very small, then i spotted some 3" socofoli in the small mixed african tank, so i bought two! Good deal, no?

These fish are a little more shy than i wanted, but are doing great, and are definately my favorite fish. I have never been a fan of albino fish, but these fish changed my thinking. Here is the video of them:

http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l117/WaterPond/?action=view&current=Picturesoftank067.flv

ENJOY!