Setting up a tank

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dougefresh

dougefresh

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 8, 2006
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I have been collecting fish for a while now and no one else in my family really likes it but me..........My little brother (13) has suddenly found an intrest in fish keeping......he really wants some african cichlids(lake malawi probaly)........my dad picked him up a 29gal. tank to start with.......im in charge of helping him set up, decorate, and stock it and i'll probaly be doing most of the work in taking care of the tank.........i was wondering what cichlids(if any) i could even keep in there.....i've never done african cichlids before only SA/CA.........any suggestions on what to put in there would be great............
 
Unfortunately, a 29gal is too small for Malawis. The only thing I would hesitantly suggest, is maybe a trio of Yellow Labs, with lots and lots of rockwork and caves. Have you thought about Lake Tang fish? There are quite a few smaller Tangs that would work well in a 29gal, and they're very interesting fish with lots of personality.
 
i honestly didnt know.........i wasnt doing any research yet on the cichlids except for now.....i told my bro to do it and he told me lake malawi......but yea if lake Tanganyikan cichlids are better then PLEASE any advice would be great.........thanks for the advice.........
 
Have your brother do some research on Tang cichlids. They really are an awesome little group, and there's a lot more selection of what you can keep in a 29gal. There's shellies or multis...small, but don't underestimate them! Very interesting fish if you get a breeding pair, with lots of personality. Brichardi are awesome fish, would be cool to have a group of them in there. Julies or Leleupi would be good in that tank as well...:D
 
You can keep malawi's in a 29 gallon. You need to over filter the tank because for the fish to be happy you need to over stock the tank. In the natural environment they have a very high population density and that should be reflected in the tank. The reason you should do this is because they pick on each other pretty regularly. The more fish you have, the less one particular fish gets picked on and stressed. I would reccomend 15 fish in a tank that size. You could do more if you wanted, but you need to do regular water changes to keep decent water quality. Tanganyikan cichlids are my absolute favorite and would reccomend them to anyone. But if your brother wants Malawi's then you should do that. They're cheaper and much easier to find. And most of them grow like weeds! And you get a lot better colors for the most part.
 
29 gallon is a good sized tank to start dude.

african cichlids are usually sold as, "assorted", so just randomly pick a couple that you/your brother likes and enjoy the fun.

I'd say, 10 fish max.

;)
 
Oh my god...I have 15 mbuna in my 55gal, and that's pretty much stocked to the max. Please don't put mbuna or peacocks/haps in that tank, it really is too small for them long term. They will be fine as juveniles, but once they start getting some size on them, they're going to get too aggressive to exist peacefully...and you'll probably start seeing deaths. And ESPECIALLY do not just 'randomly pick from the assorted african tank' - pretty much everything any LFS stocks a mixed african tank with are gross hybrids and the most aggressive mbuna you can find, such as Kenyi, Auratus, etc. Its not just about filtration, so over-filtering won't solve the future problems. These fish, on average, get to be about 6" or bigger, and are aggressive and territorial. Its a space issue, and there simply won't be enough space in a 29gal tank for Malawis once they get some size on them.
 
I like to use the control crowding method to minimize aggression.

29g is by no means "long term", sorry I didn't point this out.

But if this is too much trouble, I suggest you start your baby brother off with community fishes. ;)
 
SinisterKisses said:
Oh my god...I have 15 mbuna in my 55gal, and that's pretty much stocked to the max. Please don't put mbuna or peacocks/haps in that tank, it really is too small for them long term. They will be fine as juveniles, but once they start getting some size on them, they're going to get too aggressive to exist peacefully...and you'll probably start seeing deaths. And ESPECIALLY do not just 'randomly pick from the assorted african tank' - pretty much everything any LFS stocks a mixed african tank with are gross hybrids and the most aggressive mbuna you can find, such as Kenyi, Auratus, etc. Its not just about filtration, so over-filtering won't solve the future problems. These fish, on average, get to be about 6" or bigger, and are aggressive and territorial. Its a space issue, and there simply won't be enough space in a 29gal tank for Malawis once they get some size on them.
Click to expand...

I agree completely. I have 9 almost-full-grown mbuna in a 72, and I wouldn't add more than about 3 more to this tank.
Like Sinister said, stick to either a trio of a less-aggressive mbuna species or go with Tangs.
 
thanks for the advice everyone.........hes started his research he likes the Leleupi cichlid.....i stopped by the lfs and saw if the had any and they did and like you guys said they had them in a tank as assorted african cichlids........i dunno how many im going to start him off with though........i was thinking around four or five just to get him started........i tried to get him to do a community tank but hes not into it(go figure).........so i dunno i guess i'll see how everything turns out.......
 
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