New lake Malawi tank advice

[Pippin]

I am decommissioning my tank and looking to set up a LM tank.

I have a Juwel 450l with no external filter so will need to guest one - any req?

Also what are some good Malawi fish that don't get to big?

Plus any other advice, website recommendations.

Will be using sand and rocks but also thinking of a couple of bits of coral is this a good idea?

Thanks for any advice

[bigfishhead]

Welcome Pippin

You got a really nice tank to start with there!

A CF2700 or a FX5 are good external filter for tank size at 450L. Coral sand plus some rocks is my favorite setup.

Malawi fish that doesnt get too big, generally you are looking at Mbuna cichlids. Electric yellows, demasoni, zebras cichlids, ice blue, some nice peacocks and more.

For your tank size I wouldnt worry too much if you start with young cichlids. You can put in some nice haps as well.

Depends whats available around in NZ and good luck on your new tank setup.

Some website for you. You can always google it

Mbuna cichlids

http://malawicichlids.com/mw07000.htm

Haps cichlids

http://malawicichlids.com/mw05000.htm

Cichlids complete list

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/african_cichlid_genus_gallery.php

[LYNDYLOO]

Hi Pippin,

I started of with the basic's, you can always get into something more fancy when you feel comfortable with what your cichlids.

I've got Electric Yellow's, Demasoni's, Brown Haplochromis, Red Top Ice Blues, Snow White's, Electric Blue's.

Changed over from having Discus, African's are such fun to watch, so active.

[smidey]

you have good sized tank to start with. I aim for 5 to 6 times the tank volume per hour of filtration for africans so your 450 should have 2250 to 2700lph and you will do fine heavily stocked, heavily fed with a 30% water change weekly.

Provide plenty of hiding places with things like rockwork as africans can be very aggressive at breeding or asserting dominance.

As a start off, i would recommend species like electric blue fryeri, electric yellow, peacocks, red empress and even had no trouble keeping red zebra and cobalt blues.

See what you like of what is available and reply on this thread for advice whether they are a good idea or not, i think you'll find there will be people that have good and bad experiences with the same species of fish so often it comes down to being lucky with the specific character of specific fish but there are ways to give yourself the best chance of success.

I would recommend starting with juvenile fish, i have found when they grow up as a group there are usually very few aggro issues. When you try to add an adult to an existing group more often than not it goes pretty bad pretty quickly.

[bigfishhead]

you have good sized tank to start with. I aim for 5 to 6 times the tank volume per hour of filtration for africans so your 450 should have 2250 to 2700lph and you will do fine heavily stocked, heavily fed with a 30% water change weekly.

Provide plenty of hiding places with things like rockwork as africans can be very aggressive at breeding or asserting dominance.

As a start off, i would recommend species like electric blue fryeri, electric yellow, peacocks, red empress and even had no trouble keeping red zebra and cobalt blues.

See what you like of what is available and reply on this thread for advice whether they are a good idea or not, i think you'll find there will be people that have good and bad experiences with the same species of fish so often it comes down to being lucky with the specific character of specific fish but there are ways to give yourself the best chance of success.

I would recommend starting with juvenile fish, i have found when they grow up as a group there are usually very few aggro issues. When you try to add an adult to an existing group more often than not it goes pretty bad pretty quickly.

Agree with smidey. Start with juvenile fish reduce aggro issue. I learned this in a hard way... :facepalm:

[Pippin]

Thanks for the great advice.

It is appreciated.

Is a mixture of mainly rocks with a couple of bits of coral ok?

[smidey]

it doesn't really matter what you use to create hiding places, as long as smaller or less dominant fish can seek refuge. I have seen PVC pipes and terracota pots used. Just think about what, if any effects they have on water quality or parameters.