simfish Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 Hi I have an existing 90 litre tank and want to movie the existing Lake Malawi fish into the new tank. I can't say for certain what Lake Malawi fish I have but all I can say I have 5 types / 2 of each. Patrick from Goldfish Pagoda in Pakuranga said they will grow to between 5 to 7 cm. The Aqua one Ar620 is also 90 litres and the dimensions are 62wx52hx39d. The old tank was 90x30x30 (90litres). any advice or help would be highly appreciated. I have another aqua one AR850 but saving it for a heavily planted community tank. thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 can you post a pic of what you have? as they become adults they will try to dominate each other for territory & mates & then you will have issues as there is no where for the victim to run. I had one of these tanks, a 620T as a grow out tank & i had around 40 juvies in it but they were around 4 to 5cm but i had a CF1000 filtering it to. it shouldn't be used for a long term tank unless you keep their sizes small & sell of once they get to 5cm or larger or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 Hi here are the species of fish I have. http://gallery.me.com/shimans#100180/pic1&bgcolor=black I would really love to know there names so I can read up on them as well as how big they would grow and is there anything wrong with this mix. I am owed 2 more which would take it up to twelve. any suggestions if I had to choose 2 more which they should be? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 the silver fish with horizontal black lines is a red empress (Protomelas taeniolatus) the yellow africans are known as electric yellows (Labido careuleus) the bottom middle fish looks like a Dragon blood which is a line bred hybrid i don't know what the blue zebra looking ones are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 21, 2009 Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 the red empress will eventually get big, i have a 20cm male but it will take a few years. all of these fish will get too large for that tank so you need to either move them on or get a bigger tank. i would use this as an excuse to get a bigger tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2009 How Many years will I be able to keep them in the Ar620 (90litre) tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 A 90L tank is too small, it may do for the short time but the empresses should be in a 200L+ tank as they are big haps your 2 blue zebras and what looks like a red zebra at the bottom (looks like wrong shape for a peacock to me?) are zebras as they will grow and get nasty as well especially if they are males your 2 splotchy ones look like ob peacocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Can someone please tell me how much longer the AR620 would be god enough for them? I don't want to upgrade If I am good for 2 years as its expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzoom1 Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 I don't think that tank would hold all of them for two more years. You could try selling them now and restocking it with fish that will be able to live the entirety of their lives in that tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 i'd say you would need to upgrade in 3 months or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Can someone please tell me how much longer the AR620 would be god enough for them? I don't want to upgrade If I am good for 2 years as its expensive. Your tank is too small for them, it definitely won't be suitable for another 2 years.. Also the advice you were given on the sizes these fish will reach is incorrect most of them will easily reach 12-15cm long and empress maybe bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Also only having 2 of each kind of fish usually isn't that good, if you end up with a pair the male hassles the female usually stressing her so much she dies. If you have 2 males the dominant one beats up the sub dominant one, the only good situation is getting 2 females which may get along but they won't be very colourful.. Of course there are exceptions to this but it is what I have found, you are more likely to get away with smaller numbers of each type in crowded tanks or in larger tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Will the tank be good for a year, then I can upgrade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Will the tank be good for a year, then I can upgrade? i'd say you would need to upgrade in 3 months or so. and i would agree with smidey. 5-6 months MAX depending on how and what you feed them and the water conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morcs Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 Agree with all the above. 90L is very small... Id be suprised if the standard filter unit wasnt struggling even now too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 why would the filtre struggle? I am still learning the hole Malai tank thing, so tricks and tip or a point that direction would be awesome. I have figured out the water requirements, the environment. What plants can I put in this tank? If I keep this small tank which fish do I have to remove. If I have decided to put them in my AR850. It is 165litres. How many of these fish can I have in there? I have looked everywhere for a size versus quantity etc. no luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 22, 2009 Report Share Posted November 22, 2009 why would the filtre struggle? I am still learning the hole Malai tank thing, so tricks and tip or a point that direction would be awesome. I have figured out the water requirements, the environment. What plants can I put in this tank? If I keep this small tank which fish do I have to remove. If I have decided to put them in my AR850. It is 165litres. How many of these fish can I have in there? I have looked everywhere for a size versus quantity etc. no luck. the standard filter pumps how many litres an hour? the thing with have fish to large for their tank is you will need more filtration to cope with it, i aim for 10 times the tank volume per hour so 900LPH in this case. i am pretty sure thats around what the AR980 comes with & i expect your will be 500LPH or so. Africans are very hard on plants. i use plastic ones as they can't destroy them, they also dig them up. SOme have had success with some plants but i gave up after a month or so of them getting smashed. Pheonix44 has had success with his. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 Yep you close, 550LPH. If I wanted to use the Ar620 for malawis. How many can I have? Which ones would I need to sell off? Thanks for the plant info, will try and get in touch with Pheonix44. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 The filter will be fine, I run most of my african tanks at relatively high stocking levels and only have 3-4 times an hour filtration plus 30-40% water changes a week and I have had no problems. I think some people get really carried away with the whole number of times per hour is actually needed in tanks, yes more is good but is it enough to advise people to run out and buy canister filters for 90L tanks? The 165L tank would be good, I would sell off the zebras they generally get too nasty and bossy for a tank that small, you may have luck with them but probably not, plus they are probably hybrids or at least unidentified if you have no idea what they are. The yellows and OB peacocks should be fine in a 165L tank but I would advise building upto 6-8 of each so you will get good numbers of males and females and then maybe add some dems (at least 12). The dems/yellows/peacocks should all breed true in that tank and if there were crosses it would be dead obvious so it would be a good stocking for breeding a couple of fish if that is the plan in the future. I have managed to keep plants in a few african tanks but most of mine eat them, some have success with anubais and java fern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 Thanks for the shopping list of fish for the big tank if I go there. BTW I have no idea cause I have never had malawi fish in my life... I have been all about Takashi Amano. LOL . That is how my 300 Litre tank is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 once you try africans you will forget all about plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simfish Posted November 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 Haha :lol: With the 10 I have, I would love to have a list of total fish I should have in my 165litre tank. i.e. the must haves and how many. I have been reading and noticing loaches etc. getting mixed in with them, surprised as I thought it can be malawi and only malawi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 once you try africans you will forget all about plants I am having serious withdrawal symptoms! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 Haha :lol: With the 10 I have, I would love to have a list of total fish I should have in my 165litre tank. i.e. the must haves and how many. I have been reading and noticing loaches etc. getting mixed in with them, surprised as I thought it can be malawi and only malawi. Was the list I gave you above not good enough? There are probably plenty of other options but the yellow/dem/peacock route is the best for a smaller tank and gets a good mix of colours and lots of fish in a small tank.. You can keep bristlenoses or loaches in with your africans if you wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted November 23, 2009 Report Share Posted November 23, 2009 i have clown loaches & golden algae eaters wiith mine & they do very well as a clean up crew. I actually bought another GAE today, they are very cool. Both the GAE & clowns are aggressive enough to hold their own & they aren't bothered by the africans at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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