Please help im a beginner

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Congrats! With your tank size (80 gallons) you will have plenty of room for much-needed rockwork and for each fish to have his/her own territory. As others have said, Mbunas are some of the few fish you can actually slightly squish together in a tank. BUT start out with a few, try to get male and female pairs of all. The reason why I say start out with a few males and females is because they breed prolifically. They will quickly fill up your tank, you may get a few generations of fish which would be really cool.

Also if you want some inspiration for making your aquascape for your new tank (assuming you are doing an aquascape), check out these YouTubers: KGTropicals, Tazawa Tanks, and Cichlid Bros. They are all great sources for info on cichlids in general but especially African cichlids. Also, KGTropical's John did an EPIC rockscape for his colony of Yellow Lab Mbunas. His rockscape in his massive tank has been a source of inspiration for me ever since I saw it.

 

[Sinister-Kisses]

BUT start out with a few, try to get male and female pairs of all.

Hard no. Mbuna are HAREM breeders. They do not pair (unless you are aiming for a dead female). You need multiple females for one male of each species. How many, depends on the species. For a fairly low aggression species like yellow labs, you can often get away with just 1M:2F. For hyper aggressive species like kenyi, you're looking at more like 1M:5-6F.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hard no. Mbuna are HAREM breeders. They do not pair (unless you are aiming for a dead female). You need multiple females for one male of each species. How many, depends on the species. For a fairly low aggression species like yellow labs, you can often get away with just 1M:2F. For hyper aggressive species like kenyi, you're looking at more like 1M:5-6F.

Thank you for correcting my mistake there, I forgot about that

Sorry for the misadvice myyellowlab@.

 

[DJRansome]

So possibly you have 5 species and some might not be the best to be together in the same tank no matter how large the tank. Example is that ideally you would not keep two blue barred species in the same tank...you may have three: saulosi and kenyi and kingsizei.

Avoid random videos...if you don't know the credentials of the author (and just being a breeder or vendor or have years of experience does not make you an expert) then the info is worthless.

The labs and the socolofi and the saulosi would make a nice mix in a tank that is 48" x 12" or larger...I would swap the kenyi and kingsizei for females of the first 3...IMO they are too aggressive for even a 48" x 12" tank. What is the shape and what are the dimensions of your 300 liter tank? A lot of gallons with not enough length and any shape other than rectangle can hold less fish than one with a rectangle that is nice and long but less gallons.

They are kept in groups with one male and four or more females of each species...to maximize the safety of the females by spreading around male aggression. So get more females for each group.

I would do not recommend an all-male tank (no two fish that look anything alike, no females) for mbuna. I think all-male is marginal for haps and peacocks and mbuna are just enough more aggressive to make things too difficult.

 

[❤️ my yellow lab]

Hi guys I think I may have posted in a different section this morning..I just wanted to wish you all a happy new year..I hope that you all had a good Xmas....Some of you may remember I needed a it of help a couple months ago with my African cichlids...I was told that I needed to get a bigger tank...I did ask that I may need some help setting up a new one Ince I got it..well today a birthday present arrived from my daughter..a 300l aquarium..my birthday is tomorrow and to say I'm happy us an understatement so here some pics of it..of I can ask for advice whilst I'm setting it up,that really would help..I'm a little scared,I don't know if I'm able to do this...I think I can with some advice from yourselves...take care good night guysx

 

[❤️ my yellow lab]

So possibly you have 5 species and some might not be the best to be together in the same tank no matter how large the tank. Example is that ideally you would not keep two blue barred species in the same tank...you may have three: saulosi and kenyi and kingsizei.

Avoid random videos...if you don't know the credentials of the author (and just being a breeder or vendor or have years of experience does not make you an expert) then the info is worthless.

The labs and the socolofi and the saulosi would make a nice mix in a tank that is 48" x 12" or larger...I would swap the kenyi and kingsizei for females of the first 3...IMO they are too aggressive for even a 48" x 12" tank. What is the shape and what are the dimensions of your 300 liter tank? A lot of gallons with not enough length and any shape other than rectangle can hold less fish than one with a rectangle that is nice and long but less gallons.

They are kept in groups with one male and four or more females of each species...to maximize the safety of the females by spreading around male aggression. So get more females for each group.

I would do not recommend an all-male tank (no two fish that look anything alike, no females) for mbuna. I think all-male is marginal for haps and peacocks and mbuna are just enough more aggressive to make things too difficult.

Hi there.the tank is rectangle so it sounds like your saying that's a good thing..I'd like to ask how do I really sex them?I've seen the videos saying about their holes underneath them or about the fin shapes??its just vonfusung..am I right in thinking my yellow lab is male because it has a dark marking along the bottom fin??..so first thing really is to find there sex for sure ...thank for your advice..much appreciated

 

[DJRansome]

What are the dimensions of the new tank?

Examination of the openings on the bottom is the only way to truly sex them...catch the fish and take a closeup pic of the underside and post for others to help. I am not good at sexing...I just go with behavior and who is holding.

Yellow lab males and females should look basically identical, all should have black bottom fins.

BUT...and this is a big but...even if you have all females, I would not stock the fish you have together in the same tank. So maybe gender is not relevant.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hi guys I think I may have posted in a different section this morning..I just wanted to wish you all a happy new year..I hope that you all had a good Xmas....Some of you may remember I needed a it of help a couple months ago with my African cichlids...I was told that I needed to get a bigger tank...I did ask that I may need some help setting up a new one Ince I got it..well today a birthday present arrived from my daughter..a 300l aquarium..my birthday is tomorrow and to say I'm happy us an understatement so here some pics of it..of I can ask for advice whilst I'm setting it up,that really would help..I'm a little scared,I don't know if I'm able to do this...I think I can with some advice from yourselves...take care good night guysxView attachment 1532936View attachment 1532937View attachment 1532938View attachment 1532939

I've found that Fluval HOB (hang-on back) filters work very well. I have two of them on the back of my 55-gallon, and they keep my water crystal clear. The only downside to HOBs is that they aren't very aesthetic, so if you are going for a designer tank look, a hidden sump or canister filter would be better. Make sure to cycle your tank before putting any fish in; some methods take longer than others. If you take some filter material from an established tank or even the entire filter, you can cycle much faster than if you started from complete scratch. I did my cycling within a week; some methods can be shorter or much longer (like months).

For decor as mentioned before, rocks are the ideal Mbuna cichlid decor; they help harden the water to the ideal conditions for Mbunas and also provide the much-desired caves and crevices that Mbunas thrive in. Personally, I think that Texas Holey Rock or large smooth gray or tan cobbles look the best, but of course, the decor is your choice. If you don't want actual rock, there are highly realistic fake rocks out there that also look great. I also find that sand is the best substrate. I have it in my 55-gallon; it's easy to clean and looks great. Since you have such beautiful fish, I would keep the decor neutral to get the fish's colors to shine as the main attraction. Finally, a black background would make your fish's colors pop.

You can do this! You will be well rewarded once all the setup work is done. Good luck with your new tank!

 

[❤️ my yellow lab]

Hi people..I just want to ask when I do a 10% water changes in the 300l tank how much water conditioner do I put back into the tank ?? Imbso unsure of this because with a 75l it was easier to do..pls help with this asap..hope your all good&well(your fish too) lol..thanks in advancex

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hi people..I just want to ask when I do a 10% water changes in the 300l tank how much water conditioner do I put back into the tank ?? Imbso unsure of this because with a 75l it was easier to do..pls help with this asap..hope your all good&well(your fish too) lol..thanks in advancex

The directions on the bottle should tell you; it should say something like 5 ml per 10 gallons or something like that. I personally overdose on that stuff to make dang sure my water is safe. I think it's one of the few aquarium chemicals you can actually overdose on and be fine (I've been doing it for the past year, lol).