MarkLB Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 I have LOTS of electric yellow fry if you want some More is better with the Malawis as it does cut down serious fights Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoandWilly Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 yeah more fish is better but that comes with extra filtration and water changes, if you are using a 1000Lph cannister fitler i would recommend also getting a powerful internal, just to give the tank more circulation and that way the internal picks up most of the gunk which leaves the cannister for manily the bio filtration. Also plenty of hiding places is good to let weaker fish have somewhere to hide from the stronger ones. I've heard the johanni can be prety aggressive but not sure myself never had them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 27, 2006 Report Share Posted August 27, 2006 Yeah go for all of the above, lots of yellow looks good as for number of fish provided you have really good filtration and do regular water changes its definately recommended to overstock with africans. We have Johanni in our tank and they can be a bit nasty, I think our male is a bit softer than most because we only have one female and shes fine shes even holding atm and not being wasted by him. Also try and avoid fish that can cross breed given the chance (if you plan to keep any babies out of the tank). And also watch out for fish that get too nasty for your tank when grown, just do your research or buy them young so you can rehome them as soon as they start becoming a problem. I hear a rumour theres one of the best african breeders down there but have no idea how to contact him and dont even know if he sells to the public? heres a site http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/q ... e_list.php Have a look through here (and the cookie cutter for the 55gal) to get some idea maybe the profiles and forum on there is of some help to you.. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 try and buy the fish you plan to put in the tank as babys and add them in one go, as this will make them more compatible with each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted August 28, 2006 Report Share Posted August 28, 2006 Just be careful when adding fish to tanks in multiple hits, makes you more prone to water spikes. I use 2 internals in my 4 footers that have malawis. One tank is at 1600lt/h the other 2200lt/h. I do run bio material & have a couple of tricks. One tank has 18 mbuna. The other has 30 odd easy. Now these fish are all 4 to 7cm. But I do take out excess males, ones that aren't so great.... Because of my stock load its one small feed a day & weekly water changes. The heavier stocked tank is getting a good sort out soon as I am sure that tank is due to be a problem Back to your tank, add an internal filter. I would look to get 15 yellows, so over time you would want 2M & 5-8F. & yes Johanni can be rough buggers. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2006 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?? I have LOTS of electric yellow fry if you want some :lol: Are you coming to ChCh any time soon?? :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 Quite possible, or will know someone travelling down I need plants for my ponds but need to wait until spring stock comes in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 Anyone else think his stocking list is a little light for a 4ft tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 Anyone else think his stocking list is a little light for a 4ft tank? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoandWilly Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 i dunno i wouldnt realyl want to go over 10-12 fully grown fish in a 4 foot, we have about 20 in our 5 foot and it already looks a little crowded, and we have no problems with aggression and everything in there is breeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 30, 2006 Report Share Posted August 30, 2006 Yeah I just know ive seen 20 full grown africans in a 4ft... Hard to picture because we have a big 5ft too and have probably 30-40 fish in it (alot are younger smaller ones to thin out as they get bigger and if we hit any problems).. Im sure someone with a 4ft will reply and let you know what they recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiden Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 Redwoods have a good selection of africans at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted August 31, 2006 Report Share Posted August 31, 2006 Sounds good, if your buying them small you could always just chuck in more and thin them out as they grow because if you only stick 10-12 2-3cm fish in a 4ft you will be waiting a long long time for it to look good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johannes Visser Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 I have a 200 Ltr tank with a 540ltr per hr internal filter and a 300ltr per hr external filter. I also have 8 electric yellows and 4 zebras. 5 small albino malawi's, 4 bristlenose in the tank al sizes from 3cm to 12cm. I do a 30% Water change once every two weeks. My nitrite, nitrate, pH, gh, kh is always OK. and my fish are all OK and breeding OK. My Q is, do we need all these filters or am I just on the lucky side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 Id always go with you can never have too much filtration, IMO your getting away with it if your only doing water changes every 2 weeks so its a pretty low maintenance system id be happy if you change stuff you will probably have to do more water changes and keep an eye on stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRSkz Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 In my malawi tank (has been the 3 footer as they seemed to be more compfortable in there but now have made them adapt to the 4 footer) I have had 6 blue zebras (one just died so now it's 5) 6 electric yellows, 3 adult B/N's and have had everyone happily breeding and doing there thing. I have lots of hiding places and an internal filter of 1000lt ph. I have since added my 4 albino kribs to this mix, removed the B/N's (but they are going back as the glass has started to get a lovely greenish color sitting in front of the window) as the kribs have gotten to agro for my comunity tank. I am thinking about changing it though, not the numbers just a different Ps (instead of the zebras) I don't like them interbreed. I have only added the kribs yesterday but it does seem to have drawn out the other one's, kept them from being quite so shy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted September 2, 2006 Report Share Posted September 2, 2006 In response to the numbers being on the low side, at the start the tank will look a little on the light side. When follow grown it will look great, each dom male should be able to hold enough ground to breed....that is why at the start I said to go a little on the heavier side, that way when they grow, get rid of excess males, dull females & the like. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted September 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Good on ya Mark. Malawis are so colourful. Glad I didn't go for Discus 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted September 4, 2006 Report Share Posted September 4, 2006 Judging by some comments/pics lately, make sure you get what you pay for. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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