# anybody raise mbuna cichlids?



## jayc (May 23, 2010)

Just been looking up on some pictures of mbuna cichlids and they look pretty cool. Anybody have any experience keeping them and wondering how aggressive they were in your tanks. Thinking about stocking 55g with them. How many do you think should go in there. I read that if you got too few it's not good cuz they will start being more territorial? Is that right?


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

I will pm u some info


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## jayc (May 23, 2010)

thanks. i will read up on it. any other opinions will be much appreciated!


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## Krashy_Cichlids (Apr 22, 2010)

I raise a bunch of them, mbuna is a big group, and aggression depends on species as well as individual fish. An overstocked tank works better as a show tank, but if you are trying to breed, you don't want too many fish in the tank.


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## jayc (May 23, 2010)

i don't care much for breeding. i am going to put them in a 55g. how many do you think i can put in there if i use it as a show tank? what kind of mbuna should i put in there if i don't want too much aggression? Is there any other kind of smaller africans that you can recommend? I don't want the fish to grow too big cuz i want to have more than just a few fish. i'm new to this species so sorry for all the questions.


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

there r about 17 adults in this 48g.


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## JUICE (Jan 4, 2020)

yup for sure i used to , what do u want to know ??


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i still have some, i love these fish they have a lot of personality and come to greet you at the top of the tank whenever you enter the room, begging for food.

can see pics here: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?p=28704#post28704

my biggest tips would be 1: don't rush stocking it, take your time finding the one species you absolutely must have and then base the rest around it. and keep way more females than males (i try to only keep 1 male of each species with a few females for it)
2: try not to get ones that look to similiar, esp the blues like auratus, minutus, demasoni etc, for some reason the blue species seem really aggressive, esp towards each other.

however that said, if you do really like the blue's like demasoni 55g is a nice size tank for a species tank for them and you could get a pretty good size colony going
this website has pics of pretty much all the mbuna species and species articles, lots of good info, check it out, pm me with any questions.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2

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


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## thharris (Jun 29, 2010)

onefishtwofish said:


> there r about 17 adults in this 48g.


where and how much did that cost to stock?


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

various members. it took about 6 months to accumulate.averaged about 15 $ per fish.


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## jayc (May 23, 2010)

ok guys. i've been reading up on these africans and i'm kinda confused. it seems like there are a lot of lakes they are from. a few questions: in a tank, do all the fish have to be from the same lake? which lake have the smallest max size cichlids and can hold more fish without the aggression of wanting to beat all the fish up because i'd like to stalk the 55g with more fish. thanks guys.


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## Nanokid (May 18, 2010)

jayc said:


> ok guys. i've been reading up on these africans and i'm kinda confused. it seems like there are a lot of lakes they are from.*there are three main lakes. tanganyika, malawi, and victoria basin* a few questions: in a tank, do all the fish have to be from the same lake? *no, they can be mixed, but its not recomended, but i can be done.* which lake have the smallest max size cichlids*tanganyika. shell dwellers max at two inches, some max at 1"[/SIZE]* and can hold more fish without the aggression of wanting to beat all the fish up because i'd like to stalk the 55g with more fish.*hard to say. there are numerous factors that cause agression, and many ways to avoid it. Malawi is the cheaper, most colorful, small and agressive but in large number the agression is mimimal. over all they are the best choice to start, and to go with. * thanks guys.




hope that helps...


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

malawi and victoria are very similiar in water conditions so they can be mixed, its not recommended to mix tanganyikans with those but it has been done i have a friend with frontosa and yellow labs and acei.

you can overstock mbuna tanks a bit, it just requires more frequent water changing, and actually helps with aggression. the general rule of thumb is 1 inch per gallon, you might be able to push it 30% without many problems

i agree with malawi mbuna being the best to start with, theres some nice victorian rock cichlids that go well with them too.


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## jayc (May 23, 2010)

thanks that helped a lot. next, i was wondering how to start my tank. i read that they have to have quite a high ph. if i use lava rock, that is a way to raise it right. but just putting lava rock in there, what else do i have to do? if you were to start a brand new lake malawi cichlid tank, then how would you go about it. so far i have the 55g, black sand, rena canister, air pump


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

crushed coral substrate helps with hardness, as does aquarium salt or that african cichlid chemistry powder u can get in stores, its basically just mineral salts.
you can also get buffer's at the aquarium stores for ph. i use one made by KENT called malawi buffer. but tbqh cichlids are extremely hardy fish and aren't too finicky, the person i mentioned with the front's and mbuna has just been using straight tap water for years and his fish look great.

it sounds like your pretty much ready to go, fill it up and get it cycling. pick up some of the malawi buffer if you feel like it, but as it says on the bottle adjust the ph very slowly.


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## jayc (May 23, 2010)

what's the cheapest way to maintain correct water parameters for malawi cichlids?


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## jayc (May 23, 2010)

i'm gonna be running a rena canister. i will probably get a second filtration system. if i do, what kind should i get?


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## Brisch (May 13, 2010)

I like fluvals but if your looking for cheaper you may want to look at aquaclear filters


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i just run a single cannister on mine and i do a 25% water change every week, sometimes twice a week. its an eheim ecco cannister.
theres an air pump running an air stone too and an upside down catfish/big snail for a cleanup crew


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## JUICE (Jan 4, 2020)

Brisch said:


> I like fluvals but if your looking for cheaper you may want to look at aquaclear filters


fluvals have been known to leak and break down alot , exception maybe the fx5 !! imo


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

i would add an a/c110 to add oxygen


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