Mbuna help.

Hendre

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good morning guys. my lfs recently had a shipment of 1.5" mbuna cichlids and after some reading have decided i want to get some.

i need a bit of help with some things i am not quite sure on.

1- does coral sand need to be used?
2- how many for a 65 long?
3- feeding
4-decor and rocks, what is needed?
5- should i get all mbuna of one species or mix them?
6- will they eat algae?
7- do i need to buffer water if my tap is a ph of 8.1?
8- any tips and tricks
all help is appreciated guys ;)
 

joe jaskot

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Best bet would be to do a google search of mbuna aquariums. Lots of good articles and videos on setting up and keeping a mbuna tank.

To answer your questions in a nutshell:
1. Coral sand is not needed.
2. 15 - 20 would be fine. Better to pack them in to reduce aggression. Be sure to have adequate filtration.
3. Feed a quality cichlid flake or pellet. Add some spirulina or vegetable flakes to their diet.
4. You can have a bare tank or lots of rock work. That is up to you. Look on the internet for ideas on setting up a mbuna aquarium.
5. You can mix mbuna species or keep a single species tank. That is up to you.
6. Mbuna will eat algae.
7. No need to buffer your water if your pH is 8.1.
8. Tips and tricks. The more fish in the tank the better. All male tank is much easier. If you mix sexes, have more females than males. If you mix species, try to avoid hybridization. Mix up the colors. Fish with similar colors will always compete for dominance. Try to avoid very aggressive species. Prepare to lose fish, because it will happen.
 

WHITEBEAR26

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A tank full of Mbunas is a train wreck waiting to happen , imo. Been there done that. As soon as they get some size and mature you'll see who the tank thugs are and the rest will either die fighting or hide out and not get killed. Mix females in there and you'll also have fishmageddon,lol. I've tried all kinds of Mbunas and very few play nice with others,imo.
 
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Hendre

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Would 2 female jack dempseys work?
 

WHITEBEAR26

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It's either S/C or Africans? What do you want? I have Africans in a 125gal, And I have S/C in another 125 gal. I'm partial to my Africans , I've done S/C for like 30 yrs , so my Africans are a little newer endeavor. I like the different colors I'm able to mix in the African tank with the haps& peacocks that are out there and I mix in a couple of Mbunas that take care of themselves but don't create havoc. Just my 2 cents.
 
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Hendre

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I wanted 2 dempseys but a 60gal is to small apparently cause the males get huge.if 2 females can live together i would like to do that
 

Frank Castle

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good morning guys. my lfs recently had a shipment of 1.5" mbuna cichlids and after some reading have decided i want to get some.

i need a bit of help with some things i am not quite sure on.

1- does coral sand need to be used?
2- how many for a 65 long?
3- feeding
4-decor and rocks, what is needed?
5- should i get all mbuna of one species or mix them?
6- will they eat algae?
7- do i need to buffer water if my tap is a ph of 8.1?
8- any tips and tricks
all help is appreciated guys ;)
Best bet would be to do a google search of mbuna aquariums. Lots of good articles and videos on setting up and keeping a mbuna tank.

To answer your questions in a nutshell:
1. Coral sand is not needed.
2. 15 - 20 would be fine. Better to pack them in to reduce aggression. Be sure to have adequate filtration.
3. Feed a quality cichlid flake or pellet. Add some spirulina or vegetable flakes to their diet.
4. You can have a bare tank or lots of rock work. That is up to you. Look on the internet for ideas on setting up a mbuna aquarium.
5. You can mix mbuna species or keep a single species tank. That is up to you.
6. Mbuna will eat algae.
7. No need to buffer your water if your pH is 8.1.
8. Tips and tricks. The more fish in the tank the better. All male tank is much easier. If you mix sexes, have more females than males. If you mix species, try to avoid hybridization. Mix up the colors. Fish with similar colors will always compete for dominance. Try to avoid very aggressive species. Prepare to lose fish, because it will happen.
#3 and #6 - They will love you for rubberbanding a piece oof zucchini, cucumber, romaine/greens to a rock and sinking it to the bottom of the tank. Glass jars with lids full of rocks and water left in the sunlight will culture algae for them they will also love you for, and semi-aquatic plants that need the leaves above water like Pothos, Ivy, Arrowheads, bamboo, water lilly, duckweed, eelgrass, water hyacinth and Pineapple plant, etc will be equally appreciated, submerging only a few leaves at a time per plant. Other veggies like peas, lima beans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, squash, gourds and melons will be taken as well as appreciated by Plecos and algae-eaters also.

A tank full of Mbunas is a train wreck waiting to happen , imo. Been there done that. As soon as they get some size and mature you'll see who the tank thugs are and the rest will either die fighting or hide out and not get killed. Mix females in there and you'll also have fishmageddon,lol. I've tried all kinds of Mbunas and very few play nice with others,imo.
I had better luck w/ Africans than SA/CA when it came to territory/aggression. I always kept 1M; 3-5F per species.
Would 2 female jack dempseys work?
No. I wouldn't try it. You'd be better putting Jewels in a SA/CA tank than SA/CA in a Rift Lake tank.....or Jewels for that matter. Jewels work better with SA/CA than most other Africans.
It's either S/C or Africans? What do you want? I have Africans in a 125gal, And I have S/C in another 125 gal. I'm partial to my Africans , I've done S/C for like 30 yrs , so my Africans are a little newer endeavor. I like the different colors I'm able to mix in the African tank with the haps& peacocks that are out there and I mix in a couple of Mbunas that take care of themselves but don't create havoc. Just my 2 cents.
They can be either totally chill and complacent or they can be psychotic and kill everything not the same species. I got lucky w/ my African tanks. Aggression was minimal and they did in fact hybridize despite starting with the correct amount of M-to-F-ratio. I lost a few but if I replaced each one that died sooner it could have improved the situation or even replaced each dead by X2
 

Hendre

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Sigh.
I just dont know what to stock anymore
 
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