Newcomer looking for advice.

Hi all,
I have just recently purchased myself a 4 foot tank and am trying to decide what to stock it with. I currently have a 3 foot tank which is set up as a community tank with fish like angels, neons, gouramis, etc.
I am considering using the 4' as a cichlid tank with either oscars, convicts or malawis. I have had oscars before, but never convicts or malawis.
Any advice would be welcome.

 

Hey there!

Oscars and Convicts are both South American Cichlids. Also check out Tanganyikan Cichlids. They are very seldom seen fish that are extremely beautiful. I know someone who can get you some if you want these fish.

I recently was introduced to Tanganyikans (Tangs) and definitely want to set up a tank exclusively for them in the future.

What Malawi's have you thought about keeping?

I have convicts mixed in with my Malawi's. They are tough buggers! They will fight fish twice their size. I suggest mixing smaller sized Cons with your Malawi's if you really want the Convicts.
Regards
TM

 

Hey Master, welcome to TASA

Whichever option you go with, you'll have a great time keeping any of these fish.

If you want to have guarenteed breeding, definitely go for the Convicts, as they are regular breeders and can be very good parents too. Better than that, they're extrememly hardy and are easy to find. The only problem lies in the fact that they are aggressive most of the time, so mixing them in with other species can be problematic. In a 4 foot tank, though, you might get away with another Central American cichlid species.

Keep us updated

 

well with oscars there's not much else that you can add,with malawis and the other rift lake cichlids you can have a colourful,active and interesting tank

Other south and central fish firemouths,blue acara,rainbow cichlids,geophagus species,triangle(uaru) cichlid

Or an oddball tank with maybe polypterus(more attractive sp such as ornate birchir,eindlicheri or delhezi to name a few)maybe some african fish butterflyfish,elephantnose,rope/reedfish.options are endless so if I were you google some picts on tropical fish and see what catches your fancy and speak to us ,there's plenty of knowledge and experience on this forum SO all the best and enjoy

 

Hello and Welcome to TASA.

Uh Oh i see MTS on its way.....

 

Thank you for all your advice.
I decided to go with Malawi cichlids. I visited a near-by fish shop and after looking at his stock tank, fell in love with these little guys.
As i am still new to these fish, anyone with advice on feeding, sexing, breeding, etc will be greatly appreciated. I have currently been feedin them spirulina bits in the morning and Cichlid pellets (crushed) in the evenings.

I bought 4 yellow and 4 blue with black stripes.

 

Sounds like Labidochromis Caeruleus (Yellow) and Pseudotropheus Demasoni (Blue with black stripes)

Feeding is fine but feed them too much of protein and they will get a Disease called Malawi Bloat. You are feeding them well so far.

Sexing: These Malawi's are impossible to sex without venting. The male's anus and vent are the same size while the female's vent is bigger than the anus.....

Breeding: They will have to be at least 7-10cm before you consider doing this successfully.

Tank: Big tank is required but small will do for now. Lots of rocks to form ridges and caves for them to go in.

Regards

 

Thank you TM.
You mention a "big tank". Is 4 foot (+/- 210 litres) a big tank?
How many malawis would you suggest for this size?
I currently have 8 (4 yellow and 4 blue) and would like to get 4 more (They have a leopard skin finish).
Is this too many?

 

Big enough!

Depending on the size of your fish. You can easily fit 20 of them comfortably. 4 more wont hurt.

The Labidochromis Caeruleus grows fast. The demasoni will take 1/2 as long. They are slow pokes when it comes to maturing. You will probably want to get 3 2 foot tanks if you want to consider breeding.

 

Hi Master

You will never go wrong with having a Malawi Cichlid setup, though there are some things that you need to pay a little attention to
1 Good filtration
2 Keeping your PH Stable
3 Getting a good water balance

You can always buy good water buffers for your tank, they do cost a bit and always keep and eye on the buggers they tend to dig up everything lol.....

I hope that you enjoy your fish, i think this is one of the most rewarding hobbies around.

 

I need some more help!
I have a small tank ( 1 1/2 foot) in my office with a 4 female guppies.
1 female recently had a brood of fry. I have noticed that the majority of their tails seem to be deformed. The tails taper to a point rather than fan out. Is this a deformity or a part of their growing process?
Not all the fry are like this.
PS: the male that i did have developed some or other bloating disease and died a week ago. Maybe he passed on a disease to the fry?