New thread as requested with more 'appropriate' title I'm afraid forums are new to me, I appreciate any tips that come my way.
So, Multiple Tank Syndrome is now officially contagious.
The husband has been talking about getting a tank of his own! He was looking over my shoulder at Lake Malawi Cichlid pics and he is hooked on the idea.
He wanted to know abit more about how you would stock them i.e. tank mates, how many etc. But he also wanted to know if he can keep them with a rainbow shark ?(he liked that pic too)
So I said i would come here and ask, being as you guys really do seem to know your stuff and have given me great replies so far.
Also..what would be the minimum tank size? I normally go with the adage 'as big as you can afford' but a minimum target would be helpful..For all I know they might need 400l + I understand they all prefer hard water aswell?
Questions are not urgent, this tank won't be feasible til the beginning of next year at least (crosses fingers against the denial of MTS).
Trea.
Rena Aqualife 120 x 40- 250l :
Plants: Vallisneria spiralis ''Tiger'', Bacopa monnieri, Limnophila sessiliflora, Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis', Echinodorus 'rubin', Anubias barteri var. nana, Java Fern, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green', Limnobium laevigatum
Fish:- 14 x Harlequin Rasboras, 3 x Bristlenose Plecs
I suffer with MTS too - good luck with this.
Hi Trea,
Yep the dreaded MTS. It strikes us all, LOL.
I'm in the process of returning to Malawis over the coming months. Just in the process of shutting down my Marine set-up.
I'd recommend a lot of reading up on the fish, Ad Konings book are highly recommended.
You need to be careful what fish you mix due to aggression and dietary issues. And no, a RTS will not be going in with these fish.
Starting size for a tank will be no less than 4 foot, you could be asking for a lot of trouble doing it smaller. 5ft and 6ft tanks give you plenty of options. 4ft is a bit more confined but would easily get away with it. Depth isn't too much of a worry as they are middle to bottom fish. Width would be quite good for aquascaping, loads of rocks needed for hidey holes.
Next up is the fish you actually intend to keep. They are Haplochromis and Mbuna which are most popular. The Hap species also include fish called Peacocks or Auloncara (sp? - been a while). The Haps are bigger and obviously restrict your numbers, the Mbuna are smaller and need to be stocked heavily. Haps are more meat eaters, whilst Mbuna are mostly vegetarian with a few omnivores threw in. So I'd personally not suggest mixing. Also aggression can play a part too, you need to be careful about the types that you mix as there can be plenty of feuds.
There can be issues with Hybrid fish being raised, also you have to take into account mainteanance on these tanks. You could be talking a lot of water changes over a short space of time that your not maybe used to. If you can dedicate the time then great.
Water parameters, as mentioned they do like Hard Water, but I have to admit I never checked my grade of water, I just concentrated on the usual tests and kept my eye on PH, however my Malawis bred and lived happily in Neutral waters. They'd prefer to be around 8 mark.
I would go with your big is better method if you can afford, personally I'm actually wanting my tank to go in the living room and due to the Hagen tanks that have a light oak/mocha colour scheme then the best I can only get is a Roma version which is 4 foot. I'll be happy with that.
Any questions, just ask away, but I seriously do advise reading up on books, the net and identifying what you want to keep and then looking at reading up on the mixing of varying fish and asking likewise on here.
FD
Oh and I hope you don't mind if I delete the other thread. :)
fd1972uk: Oh and I hope you don't mind if I delete the other thread. :) FD
Not at all, thank you
Husband reckons he is more keen on the Rainbow Shark and all that extra work does not appeal to him so its back to the drawing board for him.
Thank you very much for all that info though, could be a project for me in the future (ducks the wave of MTS)
LOL...............well that's that one sorted.