30g Malawi, possible?

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scratanut

scratanut

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 9, 2007
270
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India
www.flickr.com
Hi,

My 30g tank will go vacant in a months time, was considering a few options for it...
One, I have Asian biotope in mind with loads of small barbs/gouramis, two, a tank with a bunch of bolivian rams and smaller tetras/cories and three, a low-tech planted...
BUT...All three above lack the thrill/action of keeping a malawi setup :( so I was exploring into this dimension..

Tank size - 30x16x16.

The fishes I consider for this Malawi setup.
6-8 demasoni
6-8 yellow labs

I have plenty of filtration(either a 5-10g sump or a canister) and a big pile of rocks to handle overcrowding problems. So its not a concern.

Earlier I tried larger malawi cichlids in a different 30g tank and that hardly lasted over a year as I had to give away all of them one by one(when they hit 4-5" mark) as I couldt upgrade to a larger setup.
Same is the story now, I dont have space for larger setups and my other 50g is already occupied. Thats why thinking for these two smaller and relatively not so aggressive mbunas for this lil tank. The idea seems quite tempting...

Just wanted to confirm with practically experienced folks.

Looking forward to your replies...
 
Thanks for replies...
Tanganyikan cichlids seem quite boring. I just like a very few of them, even they'll outgrow this tank

So I guess I'll quit thinking about cichlids for a couple of years.
 
Do what I do... get a really BIG tank, and use the 30 as a little fry/growout tank. Once they outgrow it, put them in the big one and get some more babies :), and if any of your large ones breed you also have somewhere for the fry to go. (my .02)
 
demasoni are ok IMO but with this setup it would help you to have only one male. they are the ones that can potentially cause problems. female dominance is mild in comparison. spread the rock caves to the opposite sides of the tank to give them some personal space to claim. and use the bigger sump to maximize water volume, 40 gallons of water is okay but frequent cleaning will probably be helpful as well.
 
A single group of dwarf peacocks (maylandi or Kande Island) or smaller lethrinops (Albus, Red Caps, etc) should work fine for a good while. Ratio should be 1M/4+F. Provide plenty of rock caves and sight breaks.

I agree that demasoni will not work in that tank, regardless of starting group size. I have lost many of them in a 40B, which has a significantly larger footprint. 55 is the min I recommend for them.
 
Pseudotropheus saulosi species tank. 1m (you MIGHT be able to get away with more, but if you do, go for 3, not 2, if you have plenty of rocks) and 8-9f. Got the colors of the labs and demasoni and they'll work. Nothing else in the tank, though.
 
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