# Are my mbuna's going crazy or are they normal



## Cenzy (Oct 7, 2014)

40 gallon tank
all mbunas i just stocked a few days ago.
ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 ph 7.4
filters been cycled for 2 months

I just setup a new tank and stocked it with eleven, small assorted mbunas over three day period. It's been two or three days now that they have been together and still get along good.

Before they roamed around all over the tank and now they seem obsessed with constantly swimming up and down the left side glass. I've turned lights off on that side of the room to see if they were attracted to the light, and that wasn't it.

There is a lot of yellow stains on that glass. The same yellow stains on the intake and output of the canister filter. They are left over from the fish i moved out. They picked those clean, so i know they like that.

As I was just typing the last paragraph, I turned the TV off. It's very close to the tank, on the left. Now they have spread out. Some are still going back.

Maybe it's a coincidence. Any ideas?

They do look healthy, happy and having fun. I'm just not experience to know .


----------



## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

It's fairly common for fish in a new tank to do a lot more swimming up and down the glass. I guess they kind of learn where the boundaries of the tank are. I wouldn't worry about it unless it's still going on in another week or if there are additional issues.


----------



## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

What is your temperature at? Is your heater on the right side? When I had my heater up to treat ich, my fish stayed on the far side of the tank where it was slightly cooler.

Is there anything else that might be encouraging them to avoid the right side/prefer the left side? If all the fish are doing it together, it doesn't sound like an aggression problem, but you're likely to run into trouble with "assorted mbuna."


----------



## Cenzy (Oct 7, 2014)

It's on the right side. My temp is 80f. i have it high because in the summer it's gets to 85f in the house. Now that summers over i kept it at high.

I always see a wide range when reading about it. What is the perfect or more tight range that they prefer.

i guess most of the fish always look for the boundaries. I think these guys are just really energetic.

thx for the replies


----------



## The Cichlid Guy (Oct 18, 2014)

80's not bad. Lots of people keep it a little lower, around 76-78, but mine usually stays up around 80.

And Kanorin is right, new fish tend to hang out around the glass until they get comfortable. And it's possible they're intrigued by the activity happening on the outside of the tank. Just keep an eye on them and see how it plays out.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Eleven assorted may not work in a 40G. What is the species list?


----------



## Cenzy (Oct 7, 2014)

I don't remember all there names but they were all lake malawi mbuna. The nicest are the red banded and white banded trophies.

They are all very small, so it looks like more then enough room. They seem ok, just overly energetic. I just don't know what's normal. They were more relaxed at first. They like to eat. They always come to the front if i sit there.

they only thing I changed was to add salt to the water. I got the salt from the fish store and followed directions.

I'm starting to worry, I don't know why they would spend so much time on one side of the tank, going up and down. They didn't do that when I first got them.

But for sure they are not chasing each other. I see no aggression at all. I'm going to do a 25% water change, without adding salt. I have the full test kit and every thing seems OK

How important is sleep and lighting. They are in the living room and i'm up all night. They only get about 4-5 hours of total darkness, even though the aquarium light is off for 10 hours. I don't see them sleep on the bottom until all lights are out.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Cenzy said:


> I don't remember all there names but they were all lake malawi mbuna. The nicest are the red banded and white banded trophies. .


 Tropheus are from Lake Tanganyika and a 75G species tank is ideal for them. For a 40G we might recommend 11 mbuna, but it would be a single, small, peaceful species like saulosi. You may not see any problems for a couple of months.



Cenzy said:


> they only thing I changed was to add salt to the water..


What is your pH and GH? You may not need salt, too much can be useless or even harmful. The mfg don't always tell you that because they are in the business of selling product.



Cenzy said:


> I'm starting to worry, I don't know why they would spend so much time on one side of the tank, going up and down. They didn't do that when I first got them..


This is called pacing, it can go on for days and days. Normal.



Cenzy said:


> How important is sleep and lighting. They are in the living room and i'm up all night. They only get about 4-5 hours of total darkness, even though the aquarium light is off for 10 hours. I don't see them sleep on the bottom until all lights are out.


It's important they have 8 hours to rest on the bottom. Aquarium lights should be on less than 8 hours unless you have plants as you will get too much algae.


----------



## Cenzy (Oct 7, 2014)

DJRansome said:


> This is called pacing, it can go on for days and days. Normal.
> 
> It's important they have 8 hours to rest on the bottom. Aquarium lights should be on less than 8 hours unless you have plants as you will get too much algae.


Thanks. It's a relief to know there is not something wrong. They seem to be doing so well. They have lots of fun going through all the caves and hiding places i provided.

As far as tank size I was hoping a 40 gallon would work for years or so. I bought the smallest fish they sell at the store. Only one tried to dominate at first and was met with enough resistance, so he gave up.

I'm going to take pictures.

Thanks again.


----------



## Cenzy (Oct 7, 2014)

My PH is 7.4

I don't have GH in my test kit. I do have a very expensive TDS/EC/PH meter. MY tap water is 900ppm so I only use half tap, and half RO. The tank reads 600ppm. Our water in Vegas comes from lake mead and is some of the hardest in the nation. Is my meter ok of aquariums use. I use Seachem Prime.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What is the pH of your straight tap? Now that the fish are used to 7.4 you want to increase it very slowly. Doesn't make sense to use RO and then add salt. The tropheus may not be happy with the other species, and pretty definitely won't be happy in a 40G tank within 6 months.


----------



## Austinite (Jul 27, 2013)

Can you post any pics of your fish? Maybe we can help identify them and alert you to any future compatability issues. You never know what you might get with "assorted mbunas" and all might seem fine for a long time with the group, but that could change once they reach sexual maturity. Good to know what you have in order to prevent issues later. Also, some grow too large for a 40 gallon tank, so that would be good to know too.


----------

