mbuna tanks

[martym]

Does any one have a mbuna tank set up? If yes what are the specs of your tank? I'm looking to set up a 108-135g tank full of them. Can't decide if I want to go planted or not. I know that is not their natural habitat, but plants do help with nitrate. What are you using for rock, and where did you get it?

[Invigor]

well...i'm not sure if you want to duplicate what I have, but for my mbuna, 2-3" abs pipe connectors are awesome for making cheap easy caves, t's, elbows, 45s, 90s, straight pipe..they're not that "natural" looking, but the fish don't seem to mind...
I find my fish uproot plants too much so I use the fake silk ones that hagen (exo-terra) make for terraniums. they provide lots of cover and don't cost -that- much..., and they stick to the side of the tank so the fish never tear them off.
I use just regular aquarium gravel, about 3mm gravel. the tap water in regina is 7.6-7.8 so it's perfect for africans...i've also got a few brischardis in there too..they seem to hold their own

they're in a 48x12x18 tank and i have about 9 fully grown mbunas and 1 6" pleco

[Cap'n]

http://www.s6.invisionfree.com/AlbertaAquatica

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/index.php

You should get more suggestions from here.

Personally, I think Malawi cichlids and plants (real) will not mix.

Natural Malawi rock is typically multiple sized, rounded river rock. Just go to your local waterway and pick and choose.

[OCDP]

CptCleverer,

You have a PM!

[Richer]

I have had a 66 gallon Malawi setup for several years. Cover is provided by a bunch of river rocks, some slate pieces and a couple of artifical logs/caves that a friend gave me (looks like it was most likely purchased from a LFS). All my rocks I got from a local landscaping supply place. Compared to the lfs, the rocks were really cheap there. My substrate consists of plain old aquarium gravel I had sitting around. I have some plastic plants buried in the gravel. Every now and then I find that they've been uprooted and need to be re-"planted". I used to have floating plants in the tank for nitrate reduction, but over time they seemed to have reduced in population. I'm not sure if they were dying, or being eaten. So I removed them all, and stuck with my weekly 30-40% water change.
I have had my cichlids breed on occassion, but the fry were usually eaten before they could get big enough, although I have two that have survived for at least 6 months now. I've found that my cichlids are quite shy and run for cover everytime someone is in the room. Since my house doesn't have a lot of traffic, I don't know if they aren't used to people, or if they're just naturally shy. Tap water in Edmonton is hard as rocks, so its perfect for these cichlids. My tank consists of 4 adult mbunas and 2 smaller ones.

When you're aquascaping your tank, make sure the rocks are placed firmly on the bottom of your tank before you put in substrate. I've found that my malawi cichlids do dig, and I've had my share of landslides... thankfully with no injuries. Lots of filtration is nice too. I have 2 AC300s and a Fluval404 running on my tank... some people have called me nuts, but if I could add more filtration I would, except my hood won't allow it :razz:

HTH
-Richer

[Old Guy]

I have kept, breed and sold Africans for many years. There used to be money in it a few years back. I found the only plant that will do really well is Java Fern. I've never seen anything that eats Java fern :lol: .








Jeff

[martym]

Thanks everyone. You folks in Alberta are lucky to have good tap water.
Very soft here.
I never got the PM???

[Old Guy]

Just use crushed coral for your substrate. Water will stay at a ph of 8.2 and will harden naturally.

[Cap'n]

Crushed coral is not a very good substrate, IMO. It's too rough and lots of cichlids like to dig in the sand.

If you want to use the CC for hardening purposes alone just put it in a canister filter. That way it will receive far more water flow and will serve as a biological filter as well.

[Invigor]

http://www.canadianmarineaquariumsupply.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=16323&cat=0&page=

[Richer]

I would be careful if I use sand in a mbuna tank. I had a relatively shallow sand bed in one of my smaller tanks (about 1-2inches deep) and it developed anaerobic spots. Seeing how cichlids will dig into the substrate, that would be potentially bad if they accidently distrub an anaerobic spot, or create one.

-Richer

[martym]

I would stay away from sand as well, for mbuna's anyway. Peacocks wouldn't matter. I tried CC in a old cichlid tank of mine, I found it never did anything to the PH. Had a heck of a time getting the PH to 8.2. I like the filter idea, I can see the constant ciculation helping dissolve the calcium in the corals. Has anyone read the article by Marc _____ can't remember his name or where I saw it about using 1 tbs of baking soda. 1/2 tps of empson salt and 1 tsp of marine salt for 10g of water for Africans? Just wondering if anyone ever tried it. It sounds like a good mix to me after my reef experience. Anyway, thanks for the input. Please keep it coming.

[Richer]

Most mbunas are tank raised. So just make sure your water isn't too different from the LFS, and you should be fine. Mbunas are a pretty hardy fish to begin with. I've only ever lost one because one got into a fight with the dominant one and lost pretty badly.

FW tanks don't need perfect levels in most cases. I've raised tetras in my hardwater and even had them spawn. With my mbunas, I never did any kind of adjusting with the water, and they've already spawned multiple times. Something must be right if they're doing that on a regular basis :mrgreen: . If you're worried about your soft water, just chuck a small bag of CC into a filter like was suggested before.

-Richer