MarkLB

Hi all, My M. Johanni spat yesterday and I have somewhere around 15 fry. :bounce: :bounce: Can someone please fill me in on inter breeding between siblings. I've been told it should be avoided but it seems to me that when you get fish from a LFS or a breeder its normally 3 or more fish and they are almost surely siblings so inter breeding is inevitable. Are the fry from inter breeding OK? Can they be given away or sold or should they be culled?

8) As always...valid advice. I'm patient so I'm only going to stock 12 - 15 and watch them grow. The tank is still maturing and as soon as thats done I'm in the market for fish. I've found a couple of LFSs that have Mbuna and at reasonable prices.

Thanks to all for your input. The 55g Cookie cutter on cichlid-forum.com suggests 10-12 fish for a 4' Malawi tank. I'm planning on sticking to my stock list as mentioned earlier. If theres too much aggression I'll add or subtract fish as necessary. Thanks again ppl. Happy fishkeeping.

Fair comment. Maybe another group of 5 or 6 fish? That'd make a total of 17- 19 fish.Suggestions are welcome. I guess it comes down to whats available in ChCh in the next week or two. The Electric Yellows and the Zebras are easy enough to find.

Hi all. Thanks for your input. I'm buying an internal filter this weekend to help with mechanical filtration. I'm planning on ....three Melanochromis Johanni , six Labidochromis Caeruleus and three or four Pseudotropheus Zebra. What do you think?? :lol: Are you coming to ChCh any time soon?? :lol: :lol:

Hi all. I'm setting up a 4' / 200l tank that I want to stock with Malawis. At the moment it is cycling. I have 1M & 2F Melanochromis Johanni which will go in soon. My questions are...#1..how many fish will be best for this tank ? I won't be putting in large fish. 4 - 6 inch adult size max. I have 1000l/hr filtration. I have read alot of literature and have surfed the web and I know about over stocking etc to curb aggression but I've found that advice from experienced fishkeepers is better. #2...species selection. I want to put in some Electric Yellows. Any other ideas welcome.

I was given mine by friends from the West Coast , South Island. I think you use meat for bait and pull then from streams.

Caryl posted a link at the beginning of this thread which is informative. I have mine in 100 litres (200 l tank half full) of un heated water with a simple air filter. He gets a 10 - 20% water change weekly , especially around his cave entrance because he's a messy eater. I use tap water which is 7.2 pH in ChCh. I've found this critter pretty easy to keep. (Touch wood).

He did have a hidey hole under a hunk of wood but he could see out of it and swam out every time a Tiger went past....which is always. With the terracota pipe he can get in and not see anyone swimming past so he'll just settle in there....thats the idea anyway :lol:

FYI this is what I've done so far..... I've put in a few more plants to give the Tigers more cover and I've got a terracota pipe for the Shark. Things seem to be calmer. Thanks all for any advice given.

:bounce: So on the money Blue&Kim.....another clutch of eggs was layed overnight....three weeks after the first.....pretty much to the day.

I have an tank of African Cichlids.....they'd sort him out

MarkLB what size is your tank? Its a 3 footer. 165 litres. The Shark is still fairly small......75mm excl' tail

:bounce: :bounce: Yee-hah This looks like an excuse for a new tank. I WISH. I think I'll be looking for a home for the Shark. I'll try a few more flowerpots and if that fails....he's packing his bags.

Hi K&D, I lost some cichlid eggs to snails a few months ago. I'd get as many snails out of the tank as possible...a couple is cool but too many is too many.

Hi all. I've had a Redtailed Black Shark for about 6 months. He was only a youngster when I got him. At the same time I got a school -10 - baby Tiger Barbs. All was well until about a month ago. The Shark started hassling the Barbs relentlessly. He killed one two days ago. :evil: Is this normal behaviour for a Black Shark to attack Tigers or is he just a stroppy individual? I have to get him out of the tank before he hurts anything else but I don't want to pass on a nasty fish. Would he be OK in a tank without Barbs?? The tank has Neons , Serpaes , Corys , Guppys , BNs , Danios. He bothers the Corys a little but they aren't too bothered by him.

Hi Spider. By the sounds of it you caught it pretty quick so I reckon you'll be OK but I'd do another 20% water change. A mate of mine had a similar thing happen but the foam was going into the tank for 4 hours. He did a 50% water change and another 50% 2 days later. All his fish survived.

:bounce: Hi all. Of the 20 eggs I started with I have 16 fry. 4 of the wrigglers didn't absorb the egg sac and died. I guess its normal to lose a couple. ?? Dad BN had three fry in his cave but he stopped looking after them last night. This morning there were none in the cave. Wish them luck...I reckon the Tiger Barbs will get 'em.

So far ,so good. All the babies have survived this far. Their yolk sacks are mostly gone. Its so cool...little mini-me BNs. They congregate in the corner right next to the airstone. Is this normal or is it a sign that I need more airflow? I have put in a bit of lettuce which has been dipped in boiling water and a spirulina disc, which I will replace daily.

This brings me to my next question....food preferences. I've read that these guys are herbivores but I've seen them scoff blood worm with no hesitation.

Theres just the one female , and only one male. Luckily the cave is in the perfect position. The current from the filter lets some food flow directly into the cave so he doesn't even need to leave home Thanks for the advice re: water changes etc.

The idea of a barrier would have worked...if I'd done a better job of it. :oops: I have 20 wrigglers in the hospital tank and Dad is looking after 2 in the Comm tank

Forgot.....theres also some limestone rock in there. I'm thinking of removing the wood and having more rock , depending on what the pH does.

I'm think I can see a bigger tank on the horizon. At the moment they are in a 'Waterhome 25'. Thats 96litres. 800mm long. There is only the three M. Johanni and a bunch of baby guppies. The tank is planted , has a good hunk of wood and two flower pot caves.