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My LFS has a tank with a mix of malawis for five US dollars each. I'm not familiar with the names, but they are all small. Should I pick them by their color, to judge agressiveness or should I try to crowd them so they wont be so agressive. If so, how many will it take to crowd them in a 6 foot long 110 gallon tank. The tank has been cycled with 2 large plecos and sand substrate with rocky hiding places. Any advice will be appreciated!

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The calming qualities of a good aquarium are irrefutable

Sorry when you say malawi's and not give specifics like scienctific names, common names or weither they are mbunas, haps, or peacocks it is hard to give adequate advice. There are hundreds and hundreds of species of fish that are native to just Lake Malawi and the lake itself has more freshwater species than europe and north america combined.

It is good to have colors of fish that you want but you have to mix carefully and not just by color alone. Mbunas can be overcrowd, but most haps and peacocks shouldn't be. So without any information on the fish it is impossible to give PROPER advice.

Most of the "mix" and "assorted" tank are always a gamble. The LFS/LPS store employee usually don't have a clue to what they are. Sometimes they are hybrid trade-ins. They are sometimes cheaper, but I usually see poor quality fish that have deformities, genetic, nutrition problems and poor health. Sometimes there are some great finds in those tanks.

If you can't narrow the species of the fish, at least you should try to tell mbunas from haps and peacocks. IMO as well others, mbunas should not be mix with haps and peacocks except for a few species like the electric yellows. The diet and aggressive levels are different between haps and mbunas.

If you do choose cichlids, it is a good idea to have a hospital/quaratine tank to seperate overly aggressive fish or fish that are being nipped to death. You may have to return or shuffle cichlids around to find a good balance and harmony in the tank. See if someone can identified some of the species you are interested in.

I agree with Openwater

mbunas, haps, or peacocks

don't always mix well. I would choose which I wanted to go with.

Here are some tips/things to ponder;

* Look at adult fish to see what your chosen juvies will grow into

* Decide if you want Haps, peacocks or mbunas

* buy only fish you can identify so that you can ensure the best care for them

* research, research, research... will save you $s and heartache

* go to the lfs armed with a list/plan for stocking, saves you getting sidetracked and lets you buy with plan

* add cichlids a few at a time when introducing newies, stops bullying when the territories have been established

all the best and enjoy your african cichlids... they are awsome!!! I love my tank.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I would find an lfs that has the fish actually labeled. You would hate to end up with so many different species and most of them being incompatible or what not...

I know getting them, and knowing what they are at the lfs (ie, them being already seperated) can be a bit more expensive, but it is well worth it in the long run, trust me

I am contemplating redoing my Mbuna Cichlids, as I really loved my tank and miss them horribly, but for now it will have to wait, and I'll have to make up my mind if I want to do them in my 125 or again in the 55...if I do them in the 125, I'm going to have to move everyone around to different tanks

Take your time in choosing what you want, they will be with you for a long time, and you should enjoy them...

If it were me I'd definately get some Acei, Yellow Lab, and Rusties, those 3 are really nice and beautiful, then there are a few others as well, but those 3 go for it

heidi


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Come back and bring back my smile
Come and take these tears away
I need your arms to hold me now
The nights are so unkind
Bring back those nights when I held you beside me
Un-break my heart
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"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

Take your time in choosing what you want, they will be with you for a long time, and you should enjoy them...

Very sage advice Houston.

Tops!

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Thanks so much for the advice, it was mbuna that i was referring to.

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The calming qualities of a good aquarium are irrefutable

well even when dealing with "mbuna" not every sort mesh well. yellow labs and socolofi closely resemble each other and the socolofi is more agressive so they tend to beat on the more gentle yellow labs. there are alot of good and bad combinations and each combination is subject to tank size and number requirments.

a good beginner combination is yellow labs with yellow tailed aceis. this combination is a sure fit no matter the numbers or tank size. Aceis swim mid waters and sometimes even top when they are comfortable. you may even get them to school up in the right setting. gentle and colorfull. they perfer open waters and constently swimming.

the yellow labs on the other hand perfer rocks and tend to be a bit shy. this is curved alot by the Aceis hyperness and openwater swimming. the yellows figure they are in the open and still alive so nothing bigger is around hehhe. yellow labs also dont fight alot and wont go after the aceis. they share the same diet and i think the combination evens the tank out well giving movement top and mid while still have the fish darting in and out of the rocks.

im not saying this is the perfect setup for everyone but i think its a good way to get into mbunas. in the future you could add to this and adjust it or keep the 2 species and be perfectly happy. i tried crowding and honestly i regretted it and it really took away from the fish.

there are many ways to adjust agression and MOST mbuna keepers go with crowding but dont rule out other methods. single specie tank or like mentioned about species that work with each other rather then against to get a desired effect still work. if these dont work for ya then you can allways fall back on crowding but once crowding its hard to back track. no one likes to remove fish and start over but adding fish is simple.

this is just my 2 cents and my experiences. good luck with however you decide. welcome to mbuna in any case you wont be disapointed.