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malawi blues?


livebearer_breeder

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im looking at buying some malawi blue cichlids and wondering wat sort of set up i should have for them? also any tips on how to breed them would be cool? have resantly come across a rather large amount of money and have decided to go hard on the hobbie, instead of playing safe with livebearers:D, not to say there is anything wrong with livebearers cuz there still my favourite fish :wink:

cheers Shae

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Doesn't really look like a socolofi to me.

I would have said it is Maylandia (formerly Pseudotropheus) zebra (of which there are several colour variations). Photo says Pseudotropheus elongatus but this dosen't really look right either.

These types of African (ie Maylandia/ Pseudotropheus types) are always hard to tell apart. Also seems to be a few crosses around which doesn't make it any easier.

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Either way, for a tank setup, ideally you would have a fairly big tank (at least 4ft) with plenty of rocks (and hiding spaces amoungst the rocks). Also water should be alkaline (probably should at least be above pH 7.5, many people say higher at pH >8 ) and hard rather than soft (gh >100ppm CaCO3 - although many people say higher).

With stocking levels it is generally recommended to overcrowd slightly so that fish find it difficult to establish territories which helps reduce aggression - this type of fish can be quite aggro otherwise.

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If you can get a hold of an Aqualex cd, or something similar you will see that there are 50 plus different pseudotropheus. We have about 15 different types at the moment where I work.

When buying cichlids, get Genus, species & location, & if you arent sure I'd check out photos of them first before buying.

With Malawis most are mouth brooders, best in colonies(6 to 10) so dominant male won't be to "dominant". Nice sized tank 3 foot plus. or ypou can go 4 foot with 2 to 3 different species. Just make sure to mix & match with different genus, colours... this prevents to much in fighting & cross breeding.

Frenchy

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