Malawi Stock Suggestions

Hey folks,

Im setting up 240ltr tank for my brother and he has decided to go with Malawi mbunas. The substrate and rockwork is sorted and now we are deciding what to stock it with. He is new to fishkeeping and as I have limited experience with African Cichlids we could use some advice here. There will definately be yellow labs in the setup so any advice regard to compatable species and male/female ratios would be great. Also, I know they should be overstocked to minimise aggression so if I could get some advice on the overall number of fish for a tank this size, that too would be a great help. Cheers lads,

Jay

I was thinking mabey some Acei and Red Zebras?

Jay

Thanks a million John, yeah the title was a rush job .

Jay

Give me a buzz with a list when ur ready, might be able to help.

Kev.

Hi Jay,

I'll try & help you out, I've kept lots of Malawis & still have a large Hap tank & a few mbuna in a smaller tank.

The ratio is generally 1 male to 3 females, having less females can result in the male continuously harrassing the female(s).

This is only if you want to breed them, if you don't then an all male tank is a good option as it will cut down on aggro & provide plenty of diversity and colour.

People starting with Malawis always make the same mistake.
They go to the petshop, pick some colourful fish, lump them together & then go off & find out what they have. This is a really bad idea & its important to pass this message onto your pal...

Generally they end up with headbanger species like Auratus and Kenyi resulting in there being just one fish in the tank a few months later having become hyperdominant and killed everything else.

So research before buying is key! This is obviously what you are doing so its great that he's getting off to a good start!

Species wise, I think these would mix nicely:

Ps. Acei - Yellow tail or White tail
L. Careleous
Ps. Demasoni - need to be kept in a good sized group
Ps. Estherea
Ps. Neon spot

All of the above have colourful males and females.

These fish are very territorial & will bash newcomers so best to add the fish in groups - I find 3 at a time works well, more if possible & keep an eye on new arrivals.

New Life Spectrum cichlid pellets will cater for their diet

As for numbers, I would put about 30 fish in 240 litres.
Plenty of aeration, plenty of filtration & a big weekly water change.

Hope that helps,
Patrick

Patrick your a gent, thanks a million. I have seen all male tanks and mentioned to him and he liked the idea. Just a matter of sourcing them I guess. Just one more question, if he does go with an all male setup, how many males of each species would he get away with? Cheers,

Jay

No problem Jay.

Re: The all male tank, males of different species mix especially well once they don't have similar colour/patterns so you can keep a huge amount of species.
This is what I did to start off with, its a bit of a Noahs ark but gives great exposure to different species & you can find out which you really like.

If keeping same species groups of males they should be kept in odd number groups of at least 3.

The dominance in cichlid tanks can be rough to watch, especially between groups of males.
I had to remove a big male yellow lab from my tank recently, a real Don Juan, father of countless as he got a serious beating from what would be his great great grandson.

They can be ruthless in their aggression & you need to be prepared to act fast or you end up with dead fish.

In saying that, the activity, colour, character more than makes up for it.
Totally different from those shy, flat yokes - what are they called - discus?

Nice one Patrick, thanks for taking the time to help me out. More than enough info there to make an informed decision. Will be sure to get him to post a vid when this is up an running. Thanks again,

Jay

You're very welcome Jay.