125gallon stocking list malawi setup??

[newmalawifan84]

hey just gettin my fins wet with all this looking for all the help i can get to have my idea come alive, its gonna be a little while yet befor i get my tank and all but i been playing with some stock list ideas, wanna know what u all think of some of my stocking ideas and see if i can come up with something nice.

stock list one

metriaclima greshakei 1 m to 4 f

labetropheus trewvasae (mpanga) 1 m to 4 f

pseudotropheus sp."acei" (ngara) white tail-must have fish for me- 1 m to 4 f

melanoochromis sp. "northen blue" 1 to 4 ...is it true to stay away from this sp they dont mix well??

copadichromis borleyi (kadango) redfin 1m to 4f

stock list 2

cynotilapia sp."hara" 1 m to 4 f

labidochromis sp. "hongi" 1m to 4f doesent matter srt or not still a sexy fish imop lol

metriaclima callainos 1m to 4 f

pseudotrophus sp. "acei" (ngara) 1m to 4f

copadichromis borleyi (kadango) redfin 1m to 4f

stock list 3

metriaclima esterae (red) 1m to 4f

pseudotrophus sp. "acei" (ngara) 1m to 4f

copadichromis borleyi (kadango) redfin 1m to 4f

labidochromis sp. "hongi" 1m to 4f again doesent matter srt or not still a sexy fish imop lol

Aulonocara jacobfreibergi (Undu Reef) 1 m to 4 f


what lost looks the best where i dont have to worry about cross breeding no ybrid lol..i found it hard to stay away from blue seems to be the sea of blue lake malawi so i try my best to get all diff shapes and sizes and color . well thanks guys.. plzz let me know if i got the right idea at all

 

[newmalawifan84]

opps sorry also are these fish i name gonna be hard to find fish from lfs or online vender??

 

[malawidave]

opps sorry also are these fish i name gonna be hard to find fish from lfs or online vender??

The northern blue may be hard to find... I only know of a couple places that would carry one. Most well known IMO is Dave's Rare Fish in TX.

My opinion on your stock, My pick would be List #2 only swap the Callainos with the Lemon Jake from # 3... only reason is the Hara and Cobalt are similarly colored minus the stripes, the peacock would add that little extra variety.

Nice tank idea... pick up some Synodontis too, they'll keep the bottom cleaned up and dont make as much poo as the Plecos

 

[newmalawifan84]

hey thanks for your feed back tell u the truth stock list 2 was my fav too i like the use of the peacck too dident think of that first. are the Synodontis i must have? i can see prob a good idea. how many would u put in ? also if i do one male and 4 female with each fish in my list that will give me 25 fish, is that a good ratio m to f? is that to many or not enuf? plus how many Synodontis do i add on top of that?


thanks fish friends for your help

 

[ice blue]

Metriaclima mbenjii (OB). Go to Davesfish.com

 

[malawidave]

you can put 4 -5 synodontis if you like, I have a 125 and have only 3... Its really all up to you.

as for the ratios, you could do 1:4 with the hongi, and 1:3 with the others (Labidochromis' like a little more to their group) and that would give you room for one more species

If I may add 2 more cents... The Kadango, have you concidered the Mbenji as well?... The Mbenji or (yellow fin) male has the same coloring as the kadango but they get a beautifly long pelvic fin when full grown it hangs like streamers and looks very unique. 2nd, suggestion for a final species Protomelas Marginatus (turquoise) it adds a different color and another hap to the tank has shades of green, turquoise and blues... a very nice selection

 

[lunsforj]

I see a few issues with the above stocking lists. First, it seems like a lot of Aulonocara types don't mix well with the more rough and tumble mbuna types. Borleyi, being one of the larger Haps, tend to be a more assertive fish and may hold their own quite well but with some of the species mentioned such as the Melanochromis and Labeotropheus problems may arise. That being said, I have had several 6' tanks that housed many mbuna with some of the larger Haps such as Nimbichromis and Taenieolatus without any real issues. Peacocks were always hit or miss. I agree that some of the jacofreibergi types are good candidates because they tend to grow larger therefore giving them more of an upperhand in the day to day squirmishes. All in all with malawi cichlids, one can do all the planning and research in the world but that is not always a guarantee. One generalized piece of advise is to start out with all juvenile fish and raise them together and as always with these types of fish crowding seems to diminish agression, as it is harder for one fish to be singled out and picked on relentlessly.

 

[malawidave]

there are no labeotropheus on the lists...

L. Hongi, Ps. Acei, and the cynotilapia hara are all fairly docile compared to other Mbuna, as we mentioned list 2 substituting the callainos with the lemon jake would have no problems

 

[lunsforj]

there are no labeotropheus on the lists...

L. Hongi, Ps. Acei, and the cynotilapia hara are all fairly docile compared to other Mbuna, as we mentioned list 2 substituting the callainos with the lemon jake would have no problems

The first list mentions L. trewevasae "mpanga."

 

[why_spyder]

Are you adding juveniles or adults together? How many are you planning to add at once? Do you/will you have the filtration/waterchange regimen to handle heavy stocking?

stock list 2

cynotilapia sp."hara" 1 m to 4 f
labidochromis sp. "hongi" 1m to 4f
metriaclima callainos 1m to 4 f
pseudotrophus sp. "acei" (ngara) 1m to 4f
copadichromis borleyi (kadango) redfin 1m to 4f

This is my favorite mix of the three. The biggest change I can see is the mix of Cyno. sp. "Hara" and Met. callainos - these two won't play nice together because of the similar coloration. I would swap in another Cynotilapia species from the "Lion"-types or "Mbamba"-types.

Be forewarned that the Copadichromis may have a hard time competing for food until they are bigger in size. Mbuna are more aggressive feeders so peacocks have less of a chance than the open water haps from my experience. This is also why I asked what sizes you are adding. IMO I would make sure the Copadichromis are the biggest species you add to the tank to make sure they can get plenty of food - that or feed heavier (knowing you will need to be on top of the water quality/parameters).