60l malawi setup? Is it possible?

My previous 60l tank cracked so all the fish have been moved to my new 220l setup. Obviously I still have all the old filters lights etc so I figured I may as well spend a hundred bucks and get a new tank. Im thinking about putting some dwarf cichlids in there but Im not sure if 60l is taking the dwarf thing to far. If this is feasible which fish should I look out for?

 

60L is very very small for a malawi setup, even if you only gonna put a few in there its very little space for them to set up territory..

 

Malawis NO, pair of dwarf chichlids Yes.
Or you can look at some of the smaller shell dwelling species.

 

Which dwarf cichlids should I be looking at? Sorry the terminology is all quite new to me. I was under the impression malawis were cichlids?

 

Hey FishRMan,

You are right, Malawis are cichlids but not all cichlids are malawis.

 

correct, malawies are a type of cichlid, oscars are a type of cichlid, angels are a type of cichlid and many many more types out there and even then there are sub-species of malawies, angels, etc.. not all of these fish have the same water and tank requirements or are compatible either..

i would follow Vis advice and do some research into a pair of dwarf cichlids..

 

Ok...not quite Malawi's,but just a bit north - Lake Tanganyika... Small shell dwelling species called Neolamprologis brevis .. Super cute - I had 2 x 60cm tanks set up next to each other with 10 x wildcaughts in each... Sponge filtration and coral sand/PFS mix dotted all over with old Apple snail shells.... To watch these little guys go about their biz has been one of the highlights of keeping fish in my own experience.... + made good bucks selling the little ones....he,he

 

Hi Azure do you know where one can still find some of these guys?
Could never source them only the bigger gold shelldweller.
Another cool shell dweller for a 60L is the multies, not sure of latin name.

 

Its neolamprologus multifasciatus,and the brevis your are probably talking about is the brevis sunspot,has a yellow fleck above its eyes...other shell dwellers are occelatus(also get a gold variety)similus(similar to multies),...
Other dwarfs such as nannochromis sp,pair of kribensis,odballs such as blockheads,maybe a pair of brichardis,leleupis,(these are from africa),apistogramma species,pref a pair bcoz they are protective aver their fry,ramirezis,

Please understand that the above should be best kept as A pair in the 60lt and not more

 

Sorry @Vis ... I gave mine away to a friend when I left Jozi about 5 years ago - he has subsequently stopped keeping fish and sold everything privately... Think the multies you refer to are Neolamprologus multifasciatus - awesome little fish (never kept them,but they must be just like N.brevis,I suppose) --> Both are bred in the East,so check with @Dolphin if he could get hold of some for you....

Trick I had with mine(discovered this by trial and error...),was to have way more shells than fish... Biggest male in both tanks became dominant and kept ALL other males hiding in a dense thicket of Anubias(one of the few plants that would grow at such a high pH BTW) -- only after introducing WAY more shells than the initial 15 or so I had in each tank,did things calm down...

 

Wow Im really struggling with this! The truth is what I really want is an oscar tank and this is pushing me in the direction of cichlids but at the same time Im wanting colourful pretty fish and I cant find a balance here. I also have the male problem of size! I obviously want a bigger tank but then my filters, lights and heater will have to be replaced:wondering: I thought fish keeping was meant to be relaxing not have me asking all these questions

 

The more questions you ask the better . .some people don't even ask questions and fail at keeping fish . . so ask away . .

Try apistos bro . .those fish have more personality than any malawi will ever have . .

 

Yes google apistogramas. They are small enough for your tank, have loads of color and personality.

I personally love the cockatoo apistos.