Tank Size for Malawi Stock (Haps)?

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Sidrock

Candiru
MFK Member
Nov 20, 2009
579
3
48
Bombay, India
Hello guys,

I have the following Malawi fish in a grow-out and I am planning to move them to a nice "show-tank"..

Can you please guide me to the appropriate tank size for the fish mentioned below and the space constraints.

Current Stock:

  1. 2x Giraffe Cichlids (Nimbochromis venustus) (females)
  2. 3x Dolphins (Cyrtocara moorii)
  3. 3x Yellow Labs (Labidochromis caeruleus)
I also hope to add a couple of more C. moorii, a couple
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Aulonocara sp. (baenschi and sp "German Red") and a few Yellow Labs.

Space Constraints: The length will have to be 4ft and not more..I have a 48"x18"x18" tank which I hope will be enough for them.. If not, I can get a a 48-long X 24-High X 18 wide tank..and I will prefer to not make it a 48"X24"X24"

Please advise.

Thank you,
Sid
 
Depending on their size now, you could probably pull it off the smaller tank for a while.

I think 48x18x18 is something like 65 gallons. As adults though, this will not big be enough for a breeding group of moori and two venustus in my opinion.

If you don't get any male venustus, they would be fine for a while in a 75/90. The moori grow slow and are not that aggressive for large haps, but they get a pretty decent size (I have a male about 9" now and he's not done yet). If you only have 4', then you may eventually want to move over to a 4' 150 (24" front to back).

Biggest thing is don't try to keep a trio of venustus (or any Nimbochromis) in a 4'x18" tank. The male will wreck everyone else, including the females.
 
Mokujin22;4878522; said:
Depending on their size now, you could probably pull it off the smaller tank for a while.

I think 48x18x18 is something like 65 gallons. As adults though, this will not big be enough for a breeding group of moori and two venustus in my opinion.

If you don't get any male venustus, they would be fine for a while in a 75/90. The moori grow slow and are not that aggressive for large haps, but they get a pretty decent size (I have a male about 9" now and he's not done yet). If you only have 4', then you may eventually want to move over to a 4' 150 (24" front to back).

Biggest thing is don't try to keep a trio of venustus (or any Nimbochromis) in a 4'x18" tank. The male will wreck everyone else, including the females.
Click to expand...

Thank you!

1. Size of these fish currently is about 4.5"" for the Haps. 3.5"-4" for the Yellow Labs.

2. I will not add any Nimbochromis to this set-up in addition to the 2 existing females.

3. I will try to see if I can get a 4'x2'x2' set-up. (2' front-to-back might be a challenge. I will see if I can re-arrange the furniture a little bit :)

Cheers,
Sid
 
Sid - If they're only 4"+/-, they should fit in a 4'x18" footprint for another 6 months or so before you would need a larger tank.

4'x2'x2' is a sick tank size, just not all too common. Be patient and look around and you could probably find a used one. Another uncommon, but more common tank size than that would be a 5' 120. That would work just as well imo.
 
venustus are best kept in a 6 foot tank. They can swim very fast and will hurt themselves in a 4 foot tank.
 
Mokujin22;4879260; said:
Sid - If they're only 4"+/-, they should fit in a 4'x18" footprint for another 6 months or so before you would need a larger tank.

4'x2'x2' is a sick tank size, just not all too common. Be patient and look around and you could probably find a used one. Another uncommon, but more common tank size than that would be a 5' 120. That would work just as well imo.
Click to expand...

I am in Mumbai (Bombay) India.."Custom-built" tanks are the default options here and it's going to be a custom-built tank no matter what the size is..

I will try to get as large a tank as possible which will fit in the space I have..

Thanks guys

Sid
 
I believe that haps should not be kept in a 4ft tank. I would recommend at least a 6ft. tank. C. Moorii are open water swimmers & usually sized at 7" for females & 9" for males . Venustus usually at 10+ inches. It won't take long for you to have aggression problems in a 4ft tank. lol :)
 
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