Well here's my new project :happy2: Just set it up yesterday.

I know its not particularly african but I plan on adding a bunch of rock formations etc. so it's still got awhile to go.

Sand drives me nuts so I've gone for a dark gravel and I still wanted some greenery so have popped in some val and swords left over from my other tanks.

Keen to see how it goes anyway :thup:

Planned stocking:

12 Electric Yellows

12 Demasoni

6 Clown loaches

(Are these alright? All will be quite young.)

Sounds really good - not sure how your greenery will last though, my yellows ate my swords, anubias and java fern quite happily

nice tank !

Looks good, I would add more rocks in the back though to make more territories for the dems and places to hide, the dems will love the plants they will probably eat them all when they get bigger..

Stocking list should be good too probably too many yellows given that they get bigger than the dems so you might end up with more yellow but they will still look good and get along if you like it that way. I have clowns with my africans too with no issues, like I said if you wanted to come out and have a look just let me know

Thanks guys

I'll probably sell 4 or so yellows when they get bigger.

I'll see how the plants go, if they eat them its no biggy :lol:

As for the rocks, like I said, gonna be adding some rock formations for hiding places, territories etc :thup:

I'd love to ryan but I have no car :tears: Forum pics will have to do for now.

Is there any other fish I could add as little extras? Would a pair of GBAs or longfin BN be okay in there?

I've got a normal bristlenose with mine, a long tailed one may get nipped a bit much.

I change around the rocks in mine every now and again, makes the tank a bit more interesting for them.

Red zebra cichlids would work too, say, if you were to swap a few with some yellows as they're pretty similar in colour

that stocking should be good but I am unsure how they will treat the plants.

i would also try an species of peacock, that will add another colour dimension.

I've got a normal bristlenose with mine, a long tailed one may get nipped a bit much.

I change around the rocks in mine every now and again, makes the tank a bit more interesting for them.

Red zebra cichlids would work too, say, if you were to swap a few with some yellows as they're pretty similar in colour

Yeah long fins will get their fins chewed off..

Rearranging the tank for no apparent reason can cause aggression issues and stress as the fish fight for territory etc, but it is usually ok.

Red zebras might be ok too but once they get to the 12cm+ mark they may be a big big and agro for it, the red zebras I have had have been alright but I have always had them in bigger tanks.

Yeah, aggression could be a problem in that case, I tend to do it as they dig out the gravel and fill in all the caves so I have to change things around to stop them fighting over the last one - So in this case I find it reduces any aggression. But I do find them out exploring more when I do it too. Just my experience.

Sounds like I'm best to just stick to my planned stocking then I wanna keep the colours quite simple in this tank.

If I could add my two cents...

I would recommend reconsidering your substrate. Gravel is not the best for Malawi's. I would look at aragonite chip or silica sand. The sand is cheaper but the aragonite chip helps buffer the PH. Gravel is too big for them to dig and move around HFF sells the chip for $50 for 25kg which is heaps for your tank. Considering the benefits to the fish and the water it would be money well spent!

Here's the webpage for the aragonite chip from HFF

http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/aragonite-1mm-25kg-sack/m/1217/

Thanks, I will look into it.

I love the look of white sand etc but find maintenance really hard. The gravel I've used is all 4mm and under, is that still to big?

Thanks, I will look into it.

I love the look of white sand etc but find maintenance really hard. The gravel I've used is all 4mm and under, is that still to big?

I wouldn't worry too much about the maintenance as they turn the sand over anyway, well my peacocks do.

If I could add my two cents...

I would recommend reconsidering your substrate. Gravel is not the best for Malawi's. I would look at aragonite chip or silica sand. The sand is cheaper but the aragonite chip helps buffer the PH. Gravel is too big for them to dig and move around HFF sells the chip for $50 for 25kg which is heaps for your tank. Considering the benefits to the fish and the water it would be money well spent!

Here's the webpage for the aragonite chip from HFF

http://www.hollywoodfishfarm.co.nz/detail/view/aragonite-1mm-25kg-sack/m/1217//quote:12whe32u

I have kept and bred malawis on all sorts for years now and seen plenty of other peoples setups they are fine on gravel or even bare bottomed.. Sure the sand is more natural and they find it easier to dig around in (yellows/dems are huge diggers anyway) so you will see more natural behaviours but there wont really be any benefit to the fish and they will move gravel as well.. The buffering ability is another biggie but there are other ways around that too (limestone rocks, crushed coral in filter adding buffering to water etc) so I wouldn't really recommend the mission of stripping your tank down to replace it all you wont really get any gain.

Thanks, that makes me feel better :happy2: I'm not too keen on dismantling the whole thing.

Went to stone and water world today and got some alpine rocks.

Here's the updated look

Very nice!

We had a rock formation like the one on the right of your tank, our clown loaches slept ontop of it

as if they where the lion king. Was very funny. They should love it!

Water's much clearer today :happy2:

update? :spop:

Will update today after a good clean :lol:

love the tank

Looks good, just keep in mind that those swords will try to break the surface.

Actually will be quite good with the Dems as less for them to eat but may shade tank.( assuming it is an open top tank)