Lake Malawi cichlids breeding "season"

so beautiful

 

Thanks man... He really is a stunner

 

Wow, looks absolutely amazing!

 

Thank you... Long since we've seen an update from you

 

Life's just been a bit hectic lately, but fish (both tank and pond) are doing very well

 

Happy to hear this. Looking forward to the updates

 

That Peacock i s irreducible

 

He is indeed brilliant..

Had a spawn take place today with the peacocks... Few days before the yellow labs did so looks like they at it again

 

Thanks. It's alot easier to look after with the open space

 

Few weeks ago I added acrylic as a cover so I can stop mopping every time I enter the lounge coz my fish literally splash every time they see a human lol. It kept bending due to heat or moisture as this is debatable even online. Thanks @CharlZA for the inspiration.

I added velcro cut to size on both all places of contact and it had a sticky back which was so strong I could barely get it off my fingers. Here's the outcome.


I also added some Amazon sword to the tank which I took out of the planted tank coz it was just growing crazy roots. Fish seem uninterested by it so hopefully they leave it alone and I can grow it there. The overstocking definitely produces nitrates and this should help with keeping that under control. Here's a pic of the tank now.



I'll get more pics later, hopefully some fish close ups too.

Edit: I have no idea how that last image got there and it's refusing to delete

 

And I already had a chance to take some pictures.

 

Hi. First time viewing this thread. I am planning a malawi tank for the first time. Since the bio load is very high and plants that can absorb nitrates are very low:
1. What filtration do you run?
2. What is your water change routine?

Thanks

 

Hi @PappaBear so excited to hear you want to do a Malawi tank. They are really exciting fish. I've always been a fan of over filtering all my tanks so I run 2x2000lph cannisters. But to be honest I could have just one and a wave maker for circulation and it will do just fine.

I change around 50% water weekly, I stopped testing every week but my nitrates usually go up to about 50ppm in that week. Remember they are aggressive feeders so nothing hits the bottom, you can control the amount of bioload by how much you feed. Surface agitation is really important too because these fish can starve of oxygen very fast. As much as I'm quite punctual with my water changes, once a tank is mature you can get away with less, but the downside is aggression becomes a problem, like I've left my tank 2 months without me being home and they were mostly fine without water changes. You can add something like sweet potato to eat at the nitrates kind of like @CharlZA has plant's in his hob filters but it really isn't necessary because they are hardy fish. The key, is getting all that go well together and stocking them over the "limit" and they will flourish

 

Thank you for the feedback.

I am thinking of going the sump route. With nitrate absorbing plants in a seperate comparment.

Thanks for the info.

 

I love the idea of a sump, definitely a superior option for filtration especially with Malawi's. I like the idea you have there, how long till we get this project on the road? Lol and how big would the tank be for this

 

Hello, the sump route is a good idea.
I have about 3 large filter bags in my sump filled with high quality Japanese Pumice stone. You can also look at various other filter media that you can use in bulk
Like ceramic media, or even the large black filter sponge you can cut up to size the sump compartment and put in
So anything that adds a lot of porous surface area for extra bacteria, this will help with the bacteria for nitrites

For the nitrates that are then generated, I have a small light in the sump. And have low light moss like subwassertang.

 

I have the tank and stand, but will need to have a sump built. Tank is 200cm x 60cm x 60cm. Currently housing small fish that will move once i setup a few small tanks for them. I think the cost of the sump will be my biggest delay.
So not too soon I am afraid. Still have a lot of expenses to finalise on my current project.