vegemite

Just google "diy 3d aquarium background" - there are quite a few to choose from. Probably the best looking one was done on this site (diy section) by Andrew129. I didn't see that one til after I finished mine :oops: . Give it a go - it's not hard and heaps of fun. :bounce:

I took the wood out, added some Val and MORE rocks :roll: and some sand from Bayleys Beach which I mixed with the coral sand. Also added three yellow labs but they didn't want their photo taken. See if this works.. not a great pic, water still a liitle cloudy (I guess cos it's still cycling?)

my thoughts... more fish you could easily cope with more than 5 in a 270l tank. change the pecking order enjoy the scrap

There you go then - it really pays to study up on any new additions, in all the reading I'd done I never noticed that the bumblebee grows to 20cm:oops: :oops:. I guess how much aggression you have also depends on how much rockwork you have and like ryanjury said - your m/f ratio and your total number of fish. Red zebras are cool even if they aren't a true red, they'd make a nice contrast to your other species.

Wow - I'm setting up a malawi tank at the moment and that's almost identical to my wish list. Personally, after spending a lot of time browsing sites, I found www.malawicichlidhomepage.com - a theme that kept coming through with those guys is to have fewer species, but more of them. Otherwise you end up with what they call a bubblegum tank (too many colours and you don't know where to look. Theres an extreme example below - it's pretty full on. Anyway, it's all about what you want, but you've got a nice mix of colours in my opinion. Yellow, blue and a flash of red. What about bumblebees or red zebras although auratus or borleyi would be cool too. http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/hobbyist_gallery/hobbyist_gallery_toronto.html

Oops, meant this link - http://cichlidae.com/gallery.php?genus=Melanochromis :oops: :oops: :oops:

Thanks for clearing that up - Labidochromis Joanjohnsonae Melanochromis Joanjohnsonae Melanochromis Exasperatus All one and the same fish http://cichlidae.com/gallery.php?genus=Melanochromisa mainly due to the teeth... Who knew :lol: Anyway - nice fish and good to know they're around

Brilliant - thanks for that every one. Two to choose from, I guess I'll go with Joanjohnsonae. Or is it Exasperatus...

I have seen these fish mentioned on the odd fish list but can't find much info on them anywhere. Can anyone tell me anything about them ie. proper name and more importantly if you have one please post a pic. Thanks

The back left and right corners have big caves that lead thru a grate to the filter intake and heater. There seems to be plenty of water flow there although as yet the heater hasn't been turned on. There's a few weeks of emptying and refilling to go yet. :-?

Thanks hff, for that reason I'm only going to go with 3 or 4 species of Mbuna - as I said above - Demasoni, Yellow Labs and 1 other. There doesn't seem to be a huge choice (in NZ at least). I guess my other choices are Red Zebras, Socolofi or Red Tops. Any of these seem different enough to avoid the dreaded orgy. As you said - Yellows first in, Demasoni last. Looking forward to it. :bounce:

Pics are up now (in the cichlid section) titled the anxious fill. Thanks Chaz

Thanks for that Chaz, I'm thinking of maybe putting Val in each corner. I didn't cover the back or sides of the p/s with the cement thinking that would give a better bond to the glass but when I filled it the water and glass reflect the edges like a mirror. Bugger. It's not a major but the Val should hide it nicely. All filtration and heating are behind the background so you can't see any of it. Also waiting on an underwater blue light to sit under the rock pile and shine up under the ledge. Should be sweet when it's finished (lol like it'll ever be finished there's always something else to do. :roll:

First attempt at attaching a pic - no idea if that worked.

I had nightmares of polystyrene, cement, coral sand, rocks and hundreds of litres of water throughout my dining room - but touch wood - it all went smoothly. It's an awful photo, I'll try again at night when theres less reflection. They reckon 6 weeks submerged and the cement is fully cured and completely inert. My noodles are currently sitting in my lfs african tank sump.

If it's not too off-topic, what do Smidey and Chazza think about adding a fire eel to a Malawi setup. Thinking they'll be the first occupants of my new tank.

I have a 35cm fire eel who's new tank mate is a peacock eel about 20cm in a 4ft 300l tank - they became best buddies in no time at all. Maybe I was just lucky.

I've had both - a discus tank for the past three years and african cichlids years ago. Ive just broken down my tank in readiness for a mbuna setup. Theres no doubt that discus are stunning to look at but you can watch africans all day long. Absolute extroverts with personality plus and probably a little less prone to ailments than discus plus just as much colour. Discus can be timid and flighty (each one seems different). Plus everyone likes a little bloodsport once in a while don't they? Watching them sort out the pecking order is great entertainment. Search the web for info on the Lake Malawi flock and look for some of the 'did you know' pieces - it's mind blowing. But that's just one guys opinion.

Thanks Frenchy I really appreciate that. Pics coming Wednesday (fingers crossed) along with the water. Everything I read says don't mix mbuna with haps or peacocks due to diet and agro levels - but it sounds (and looks) like most malawi freaks in here do so without too much trouble. Malawicichlidhomepage make it sound like the equivalent of devil worship. Then again the discus afficianados would have you believe that adding gravel to a tank will make the 'kings' go belly up but I created an awesome planted discus community that I kept for three years without a problem (til I caught on to this idea). I reckon the mbuna have as much personality of any fish behind glass - unlike discus that look awesome but... waiting for a furious response from discus keepers :evil:

Stunning fish that I would love to raise in my new setup. Does anyone know of a breeder or supplier who has access to them. www.bigskycichlids.com/gallery_mpanga.htm

Thanks Ryanjury this probably does belong on the cichlid section (noobs huh - what are you going to do?) :oops:

Good ideas - I want to stay away from the Peacocks and Haps though (diets not really compatible). Hopefully there is enough rock to placate the fun little killing machines. I'll take the tip and go for 10 demasoni as the main feature gang. I'll try to get some pics up this week. Keep the suggestions coming...

I've just finished setting up my 120cm 300L tank for Malawi Mbuna. I've built a polystyrene 3D background with caves and added a small mountain of rock almost reaching to the surface. Coral sand substrate. AquaOne 1200lph and 750lph canisters. 2 x 30w fluoro lights - Philips Aqua Sky daylight and Sera Blue Actinic. Really happy with the way it looks. Currently waiting till Wednesday for the big fill as I want to make sure the background has bonded properly (wouldn't want to imagine the damage if it popped). Question - I want 4 species only (5-6 of each). MUST HAVE Demasoni. MUST HAVE Yellow Labs but I want suggestions for the other two. Thinking of the colour combinations available - Would like Red and Light Blue. What have you seen in NZ that would fit the bill ??(The less common the better)

Tank looks sweet, I think 24 is a bit cool for the discus - I had a discus community setup for a few years and it was awesome. Ran it at 26-27 and other fish were fine. Rummy nose are a great choice ( when they're bright red it's all good and they love the warmth too). I took my big clowns out after a while - the discus didn't like them much. The greatest challenge with a discus community is feeding time, they are very timid eaters and anything with a big appetite will always get to the food first. I was gutted to lose the clowns but couln't have both.