Is this an ok Malawi setup?

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mukundam123

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 6, 2008
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Sunderland
Hi guys,
I've decided to convert my 50g to a malawi setup, but am not sure if I've done a great job. Here's what it looks like now (i think it's attached, but if not, let me know and Ill try again) , but I get the feeling that there aren't enough hideout's - I'm hoping to be able to breed some in here so figured that there should be lots of 'dens' so might get a few more plant pots to scatter randomly. Any other ways I could possibly do it? I'm new to cichlids, and so am not sure which cichlids to go for yet....any and all suggestions are welcome!
I think the water conditions are correct: alkaline and hard (the LFS says thats what comes out of the tap around here, so it's perfect for Malawi's).

Thanks!

DSC00139.JPG
 
Heres some closer shots.

I forgot to ask before, what sort of lighting would make it look good? It seems to have a strange pink tint to it....

Cheers

DSC00140.JPG

DSC00141.JPG
 
thats not a bad start at all!!! the pink light is for growing plants...anything on the bluer side of the spectrum really highlights fish colors. if you have a regular strip light check out the aqua glo bulbs from hagen 18000k...as for the fish how many do you plan on? malawi ranges in all different sizes of fish. if stocking with something like dwarf mbuna you can stock more because of their smaller size, but the mbuna tend to be very aggressive. what kind of filtration are you using? to keep the ph stable add some crushed coral in a filter back so the water flows through it, and when doing water changes add a teaspoon of baking soda per 5 gallons to keep the KH up. that should give you a ph of 8.2 to 8.4 and a KH reading of about 16
 
dodge4x4man68;1752802; said:
thats not a bad start at all!!! the pink light is for growing plants...anything on the bluer side of the spectrum really highlights fish colors. if you have a regular strip light check out the aqua glo bulbs from hagen 18000k...as for the fish how many do you plan on? malawi ranges in all different sizes of fish. if stocking with something like dwarf mbuna you can stock more because of their smaller size, but the mbuna tend to be very aggressive. what kind of filtration are you using? to keep the ph stable add some crushed coral in a filter back so the water flows through it, and when doing water changes add a teaspoon of baking soda per 5 gallons to keep the KH up. that should give you a ph of 8.2 to 8.4 and a KH reading of about 16
Click to expand...

Ah Excellent! Didn't know the pink was for growing plants! I'll see if I can get hold of one of the hagen 18000k once I get the fish. I'm guessing that the dwarfs would be better for a beginner (right?) so I'll probably stick with mbuna. I've got an external canister Aqua pro 2 (ceramic rings, sponge, carbon, and some filter floss) and a small internal which I use to keep the water agitated (How can I run just a powerhead with out the filter part with out an UGF to hold the powerhead?, since i have sand?). Ill put some crushed coral in the canister, and use the baking soda! cleared up a load of things!
Has the setup aquascaping got what it takes to make the malawi's want to breed? If not, what do i need to do?

Cheers
 
you can start with that and add rocks as you go as mbuna are rock dwellers...one of the more popular mbuna is the p. demasoni, has beautiful blue and black vertical striping. there are many to choose from if you do a search for malawi mbuna you can see full listings with pics of all. its not hard to breed malawis just have to keep everything stable for them...as far as the powerhead there should be some attachment that allows it to hang from the top rim or suction cups to stick directly to the glass. malawis arent difficult to keep just keep everythign consitent with regular weekly water changes (depending on stocking level) lighter stocked tanks can go a few weeks. you are off to a good start, just remember when adding new fish always add in groups as this will ease the aggression towards the newly added fish and move things around in the tank so the fish will set up new territories
 
Good start, ditch the angels.
 
Aye, I've been trying to sell everything I've got in there (2 angels, 2 plecos, 4 corys, 2 upside down catfish, and a red tail black shark) for 3 months, but noone seems to want them. The LFS said that they'd take back the ones which I bought from them (i.e. the corys and catfish). Theyre pretty up tight up here in Sunderland, UK about that sorta stuff. Any suggestions (even though most of you are from the USA)?

Cheers
 
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