Malawis !!- I may have discovered the ultimate FH tankmates !!!

[hamfist]

Almost on a whim yesterday I went out and bought 4 cheap malawi cichlids to try out in my smaller FH's tank. I had read of some folks having some success with malawis and FH's and I really wanted to find some other fish to go with the FH in this particular tank. So anyway, I came home with 4 x 2 inch malawis. I took Murphy (my smaller 5" FH) out of the tank and stuck him in a bucket for an hour or so, whilst introducing the new fish to the tank and re-arranging the decor.

Once Murphy went back in, he instantly tried to murder all the malawis, and continued with his efforts for the next 3 hours or so. Thankfully, these malawis are tough little critters and were simply too fast and too tough for him to do any real damage to. I also made sure that they had a number of hiding places that were safe from the FH.
Anyway, after about 3 hours of murderous intentions Murphy decided that these newcomers were no longer worthy of his attention and has simply ignored them since then. The malawis have also decided that life is now good, and are feeding ravenously, having forgiven Murphy for his psychopathic episode.
In fact, all seems to be going stupendously well. I am very hopeful indeed that this may well work out ! Even if Murphy does "flip" I think these malawis have enough speed and toughness to cope.
I'll keep people informed of how it goes !

 

[Chrisplosion]

Nice find, will have to keep that in mind. You should upload a pic.

 

[RD.]

What species of Malawi cichlids? There's several hundred.

 

[hamfist]

What species of Malawi cichlids? There's several hundred.

Sold to me as "yellow zebras" and "blue red top zebras".

 

[fishfanatic46]

what kind i would also like to ad something to live with my FH, he is a ravenous beast tho

 

[Water]

Give your fh some time, when he gets bigger

 

[RD.]

With LFS names like that they could be almost anything, including hybrids, but at least we know they are mbuna. Mbuna can be tough fish, no question about that, but ultimately how they make out is going to depend on your FH. IME & IMO I certainly wouldn't consider them the ultimate tank mate for a FH, anymore than I would consider them the ultimate tank mate for a red devil. As with most large aggro fish, smaller fish could potentially become victims. I can say with almost 100% certainty that my larger FH & Amphilophus would kill anything that was added to their tank. My labiatus made his first kill when he was only 3".

 

[Rawrzer]

whats the lowest ph you can probably keep malawis at and they survive and can live in?

 

[Water]

whats the lowest ph you can probably keep malawis at and they survive and can live in?

Fish can adapt to any lvl ph, it really depends on how you acclimate them. I know people that have kept Africans in ph of 6.0 and they have spawned countless times.

 

[BIG_ONE]

No they can't, well not flowerhorns at least. They don't do very well under low pH. I'd prefer 8.0 than 6.0 for my flowerhorn. Well, my pH is 8.0 anyways, Kamfa and Kamalau thrives better in higher pH. Especially Kamfa...
As far as African cichlids goes, just give him time and you'll get the idea why no tank mates that can fit in its mouth. Once it hits 8-10"+, its mouth work like a vacuum and bye bye to your Africans.
If you want ultimate, put in a five star general. Or even better...a Hemichromis Fasciatus. I literally watched a 6" Hemichromis Fasciatus kick the guts out of a 12" male dovii. Don't do it...flowerhorn is going to get murder. They are not up in the Hemichromis family fighting ability.