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I have some recent close-up pictures of my Malawi cichlids. The Cobue and Eurekas are getting more colorful each week.

Here are some pics:

male cobue

female cobue

male cobue that hasn't colored up yet (I have 4 males)


male eureka...he's gonna be gorgeous

smaller eureka...maybe female

socolofi albino

yellow lab

And the tank hasn't changed:


I'll have to part with some of these guys soon, as they are getting bigger and I can more easily sex them (the cobue and eurekas). I'll be decreasing the numbers soon to what I'm going to keep.

Thanks for looking! I love keeping these guys and am so glad I decided to make this tank a Malawi tank.

*Kristin*

Ouuuuuuu some gorgeous fish! Makes me want to get a cichlid tank! But nope! Maybe a Ram tank some day......... that's about as aggressive as I want to get!

But glad you're enjoying yours! Thanks for sharing!

Man, Kristen, I LOVE your Malawi's!!! If I didn't have heart set on a shellie tank, I might seriousl consider a Malawi tank. Maybe after the shellie tank. hmmm...I hear MTS striking up the band.

---

~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Maybe after the shellie tank. hmmm...I hear MTS striking up the band.

Haha! MTS is calling your name! I'm the same way...I'm like, after my 38g planted is setup, then I want one more tank, a Shellie tank....yeah right! I have to stop sometime...but I don't wanna. I'm going to have to find me a huge house for all my tanks eventually.

I'm sure you can fit one more 4ft tank in your house, right? *cough* make room *cough*

Maybe a Ram tank some day......... that's about as aggressive as I want to get

These guys and girls aren't that aggressive really. My Cobue males will chase other fish away from their spaces in the rocks, but no harm is done. I have to remove all the males but one, so that should cut down on aggression. I will be giving them a 6ft tank eventually, hopefully in a couple years, so they'll have more room to spread out when they get full grown. They are very interesting fish to watch.

*Kristin*

Great pics of your Malawi's GirlieGirl! I especially like the coloring on pic#1, the male cobue. He is a very good looking fish. The Yellow on his forehead makes him look like he has eyebrows, thus giving him a human like character. My youngest son saw these pics and is very impressed as well.

"Talk is cheap. Action can be almost as affordable"

Great pictures GirlieGirl

Do these pics show each of the variety in your malawi tank?

BTW, hope you don't mind the question - do you use egg crate under your rocks? Is there a need to do so?

Cheers
TW

Thanks you two!

Robyn, the pictures do show the variety in my tank. I have 4 groups of fish: Cobue, Socolofi albinos, Yellow labs, and the Eurekas. I have alot more now than I want to keep, but I'll be sending some to a friend soon, since the fish are getting bigger.

I do use eggcrate under my sand. Its not necessary I don't think. Alot of people don't use it. But I wanted to have peace of mind about my big rock stack, so I used it. I didn't want to silicone my rocks together, so the eggcrate provides some stability. Africans are diggers, so making the rocks stable somehow is a must.

*Kristin*

Thanks GirlieGirl

Your tank looks really nice. Your yellow lab (over here, everyone calls them electric yellows) show up so well & your coloured up male cobue is stunning (although he does seem to be giving the photographer a dirty look).

I think I do want to use the egg crate for stability, but does it make gravel vac less effective?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers
TW

I have sand in my tank and its pretty light, so I don't do deep gravel vacs. I vac up the stuff on top of the sand, and the eggcrate doesn't have an effect on that. My sand layer is about 1-1 1/4 inches high, so even when I disturb the sand on top, you can't see the eggcrate below it.

(although he does seem to be giving the photographer a dirty look).

Yes, I think its one of those "quit taking pictures of me" looks. I have to take alot to get some good ones, so I'm sure they get tired of looking at me with my camera. The male Cobue (I have 4) do seem to pose sometimes though. They are very pretty little fish, my favorite African.

*Kristin*

I love his cranky look. It makes him cute (probably not the effect he was after) I haven't seen him here, but when I get closer to starting, I will definitely search for him.

I'll start my own thread, when I get my African tank, for my many questions. Sorry to side track your picture thread. I did really enjoy them. They make me want your cobue something bad.

I can't wait - but I have to wait for 10 baby kribs to be big enough to sell (or at least be big enough not to be eaten when added to the community tank) before I can start my planned tank shuffle & purchases. The wait is KILLING me

Cheers
TW

Great Malawi setup. I wish there was more malawi action on this site. They are great.

I have a 4ft malawi... but I hear crazy red on the
shellies. Only two tanks for me
malawi at home, 4ft
and
work tank in the process of setting up as multis (shellies).

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

Sorry to side track your picture thread

Its ok....I like talking about them.

I wish there was more malawi action on this site.

I do too. I love mine and wish I had room for other types. I hope to someday (after college and I have a house) be able to upgrade them to atleast a 125g (6 ft tank) and maybe add one more group. Other people need to get Malawis. They are cool fish.

I keep trying to get more pictures...but they are hard to get when they won't stop swimming. Don't they know I want more pictures of them? Haha.

*Kristin*

Hi GirlieGirl

Looks like when I am ready, I will have to see if I can get an LFS to order a cobue specially. Does the fish in this link like the right one?

http://www.african-cichlid.com/AfraCobue.htm

Some of the pics show more yellow, but even so, it looks a nice fish.

Cheers
TW

Thats the one. There are some different colorations...and they develop different colorations as they mature too. Mine are "orangebacks" (still afra cobue though) so have the yellow on their heads (which may turn orange-ish?).

*Kristin*

Thanks for such a quick reply. I hope one of my LFS here in Aus can get this fish for me. It's an absolutely gorgeous looking fish.

Glad you shared your pics (and good choice as your avatar)

Cheers
TW