whats this tank like? Whats this fish?

[mukundam123]

Hi guys,
I bought 3 fish for my new (and first) Malawi tank, but I have no idea what they are (the guy at the LFS wasn't too sure either! lol!).

Can anyone help me?

Also, does the tank (4ft) look ok as a Malawi Setup? Any tips? Any recommendations on first fish (bit late I know....)?

Cheers

 

[theroque55]

tank looks great for them, dunno about which type they are tho sorry

 

[cichlidgirl]

Your tank looks great for a malawi setup. Its set up good for rock dwelling ones, if your fish turns out to be a hap you can always pull out some of the rocks to open up more free swimming areas as needed. Not sure either on the fish, when it gets a bit bigger i might be able to look it up in some fish profiles and let you know. I have not kept one of them before. Often with africans the fish change appearance, even color when growing so it might be easier for me to tell when it gets big enough to have its adult coloration. It looks interesting though.

 

[evojoey]

Nice tank setup. Not a clue on the fish. If I were to venture a guess I would say some kind of peacock.

 

[blatch]

nah its a Zebra obliquidens, Astatotilapia latifasciata heres a link to an article on them on the pfk site http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=282

 

[mukundam123]

Cheers! Think you've got it there Blatch. Now that I know, I might be giving them back - The LFS had them kept in a tank for mixed Malawi's, and told me they were from Lake Victoria.

Any recommendations on what I could get for starter Malawi (Mbuna probably)? I'd like to be able to breed something too! Im thinking Labs, but I've not seen them in the LFS before, and the specialist shop is pretty far...!

Thanks!

 

[blatch]

personally i would go for tanganyikans as most malawi's are all the same in personallity and stay in the same place in the tank, what i would do is get tanganyikans as they are pretty cheap if u get from a good retailer, hiow big is the tank, some nice fish that you mite want to research are:
altolamprologus calvus and compressiceps,
enatiopus melanogenys,
eretmodus cyanosticus,
cyathopharynx furcifer,
frontosa,
lamprologuses,
cyprichromis and
tropheus.

im buying from a wholesaler and hopefully getting:
cyathopharynx furcifer,
eretmodus cyanosticus,
enatiopus melagenys
tropheus duboisi,
tropheus moorii moliro,
altolamprologus calvus,
frontosa mpimbwi blue,
cyprichromis leptosoma(blue tailed type),
and synodontus petricola

im buying these to start a breeding project but if once i have got the breeding groups i will probably be able to send any fish that i don't need for breeding to u via courier.

i will probably be buying these in about 1 -1.5 months because i need to set up a 400 gal centralised system to hold them in.

thanks matt

 

[mukundam123]

Cheers Blatch! The tanks only a 55G. Ill check out what the LFS has in terms of Tangs, and prices etc, and will let you know. Keep me intouch about what fish you have available!

Cheers

 

[mike dunagan]

in a 55, I would say some cyps for upper, and then some comps, and perhaps julies...