48x12x15 dwarf mbuna ?

[Herrwibi]

Hi all,

I recently wrote a thread asking about my water. Now I have potential to get a tank of the sizes quotes above .

Its around 38 gallons , is this acceptable for dwarf mbuna ?

I know they only reach around 3 inches and require more swimming space . I'm just wondering if this is ok.

 

[james99]

If the tank is 48" you could probably get a saulosi breeding colony.

 

[Herrwibi]

If the tank is 48" you could probably get a saulosi breeding colony.

I may look into this in the future. It's going to be the first time keeping Malawi cichlids so i just want to make sure there living environment is going to be big enough for them. i'm just unsure of the ratio now since the tank is bigger than i was planning for. Could i have 3m and 6 f or is that too much?

 

[james99]

I would do 3m/9f.

 

[Longmayitreign]

You could do yellow labs in a 38, I would do hongi or rustys.

 

[Herrwibi]

You could do yellow labs in a 38, I would do hongi or rustys.

Would hongi need to go in a species only tank or could I put them in with yellow labs ?

 

[Longmayitreign]

Would hongi need to go in a species only tank or could I put them in with yellow labs ?

Yellow labs can go with almost anything so yes you can keep them together. If you go with hongi you have to have many males for multiple to show colour or just have one male and a bunch of females.

Also hongi are somewhat common but make sure that they are good quality before buying because there are a lot of “drained” ones around.

 

[james99]

If you go with hongi and want multiple males, I would make it a species tank. More males means more females which you won't have room for with more than one species.

 

[DJRansome]

Agree. Know that hongi females are drab. Also IMO the Cynotilapia zebroides males are more attractive than the hongi males. Hongi are often on the aggressive side while Cynotilapia are more peaceful.

 

[RD.]

Agree 100% with the above - this would be best as a single species tank.