# Malawi stock list



## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I have a 37 gallon aquarium and my tank is cycled but I am currently working on a diy background so there will be enough caves for all fish.
Current: 2 electric blues (plan on selling), 1 yellow lab 1 demasoni.

I want up to 11 more demasonis, 4 yellow labs,

Maybe: 3 octocinclus catfish, 3 clown loaches, 2 cory cats

All comments are appreciated I am only 11 years old and am new to cichlids.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Otos and Corys will be killed by your mbuna. Clowns get too big for most tanks and need to be in groups of 6 or more, they would be better in a 6 foot tank. I'd stick with the Demasoni and Labs. Is you tank 36" long?


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

my tank is 36 inches long and are there any good algae eaters other than plecos that I can get I know my mbuna will eat algae but the lights for my aquarium were for my old reef tank so they are a higher spectrum and algae will be present.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

tank is actually 30 inches long, 12 inches wide and 24 inches deep


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## DNK (Jun 8, 2007)

tylerj said:


> my tank is 36 inches long and are there any good algae eaters other than plecos that I can get I know my mbuna will eat algae but the lights for my aquarium were for my old reef tank so they are a higher spectrum and algae will be present.


Any reason you don't want a pleco of some sort?
Ancistrus work out well in a Mbuna tank and stay a reasonable size.
As for catfish, you could try a group of synodontis which are popular with alot fo Mbuna keepers (including myself.)


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I'd stick with an ancistrus (Bristlenose ) if your primary concern is algae.


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

Not sure why you have an algae problem. Do a good clean on the glass and the rocks and just turn the lights out unless you're viewing. That way you won't have an algae problem and you don't need a pleco of any sort. This will leave more room for your malawi, which your malawi will need as you have a minimum sized tank for them.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I don't have an algea problem my fish are in a different tank till my background is in and ready till then I am planning ahead for when i do get algea because I know I will get alot and I want to keep it under control but not completely get rid of it because in my planted tank I had a pleco and he cleaned every little bit of algea so he died of hunger even though I gave him algea tabs so I won't get a pleco for about a month when I get a couple more demasonis and they start to breed because I can't afford 11 more of them that would cost me $220


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

yellow lab died today now I am getting 5 more


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## Super Turtleman (May 21, 2007)

You can get 11 dems for a lot less than that. What happened to your lab?


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I woke up this morning and went downstairs to turn on my aquarium light and I put in some lettuce for them to snack on later this afternoon I went to my tank to just watch everybody and at first I thought it was lettuce but then I netted it out and it was his tore up skeleton. I kept wondering what had been going on with him. So I am guessing it was stress related.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

would an upsidedown catfish work (synodontis nigriventris) it would fit my aquarium I am thinking of a small school of them like 2 or 3


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I am also thinking skunk botia loaches


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Tank is too small for skunk loaches. I think I'd get your labs OR demasoni and a trio of Synodontis Lucipinnis because they stay small.

But maybe your tank needs to stabilize for a month or so before you add catfish to be sure whatever killed the lab is gone. Synodontis are expensive!


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

thankyou when I was researching the skunk loach the sites didn,t tell me how big they got and when I finish my background and the ph is back to normal they will be in a bigger tank currently they are in a 20 long with lots of rockwork so there has been no agression. also is there a loach that I can put in there I am thinking is the angelicus botia loach ( botia angelicus).


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

arent the s. lucippinis from lake tangyanika?


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## cc_woman (Jan 31, 2008)

Yes they are. But like others have said, you have a bare minimum tank to really get more than one species of mbuna. I would probably go with 5-6 labs in a tank that size, and some of the syno's, or a bristlenose. Demasoni if kept in groups do better with at least 12 of them, which you certainly couldn't really fit that many in a tank of that size without having any issues. And yes syno's prefer groups of 3 or more, and most loaches will not work so well in a tank that size. There are kuhli loaches which stay a smaller size, but I would not really want to keep them with africans.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

who here thinks instead of going with demasonis and labs I should just go with a group of about 12 at the most p. saulosi and a group of 3 synos and if my electric blues havent grown out my tank by then maybe I will keep them ( but in the long run sell them ) and I don't know if I should keep the demasoni since the resemblance in color to the dominant and sub-dominant-males and if you think these are a wise choice possibly better than the demasonis and labs please say and if you think there are better options than that please tell me. Also remember I will have tons of caves in my diy background so there will be alot more territory.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Not me. :thumb:

It's a 30" tank. Caves aren't going to give you more capacity. Remember territory consists of area on the *floor* of the tank. A female might use a cave in the background for hiding, but a male is going to claim and defend a chunk of the floor. If there is not enough floor to go around, your fish will kill each other. IME aggressive fish usually chase whomever they consider an interloper constantly until the fish dies or gets sick. Getting sick is worse because it is often bloat and will spread throughout your tank.

If you are keeping the electric blues until they outgrow the tank, don't add any fish at all.

IMO it should be a single species tank (with 3 S. Lucipinnis if you want them). Choice between:
12 Demasoni
5 Labs
6 Saulosi 1m:5f


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I have been thinking of building an upper level in my background almost like a second floor and I will cover the second floor with sand and rocks if I do this will it give me more floor space and if it doesent does anybody have ideas about something cool I could do with this upper level


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

I agree with DJRansom......Agian

Your best bet would be a small colony of Ps. Saulosi. I have an all Saulosi tank and they are great to watch, not to mention very attractive.
Males will fight and defend their territory, so i would only have 2 of them and about 6 maybe 7 females.

Keep it simple :thumb:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I tried the upper level thing...it did not give me more floor space, but rather places for the females to hide.

Visualize this: the rock piles form the walls of "rooms" or more like cubicles at work because there is no ceiling. Each male will try to grab a section of the bottom. He will defend it and perhaps even try to take over the spaces of the neighboring males.

The rock pile walls form barriers to his sight of the other males. If he doesn't see them "threatening" him then he will forget about the other males, attack less and breed more.

Overhead the flocks of females hover. If the male swoops up to "herd" a female into his cubicle for his own nefarious purposes, and she isn't interested, she will duck into one of the caves in the background or on upper levels.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I think I am going to go with djransomes idea about the rock piles because I have a rock that was used to cover my powerhead so it has an entrance hole and partly broken but there is alot of room in it so do you think this would be a bad rock pile or a good place for my synos to hide. Also are there any smaller syndontis that don't cost alot I was thinking maybe the upside down catfish or should I just stay with the lucipinni and just buy them.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think all Synos cost a lot. Upside down is a Syno too, correct? But it's larger than the Lucipinnis? You could skip the Synos altogether.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

on one of the sides of my aquarium I am going to make a big ledge it will create a huge shadow and it will be covered with sand and rock so that will be a place for the females to go. Also should I put any snails in there maybe apple snails or ramshorns I put 2 small ramshorns in there but they were MIA also are there any other inverts I can put in and should I buy juvenile saulosi or adult .


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would not add snails. I have a ramshorn infestation (100's of them) and they are eating my plants. Once they are established, there is virtually no way to get rid of them. I put lettuce in every night, and take out 50 snails every morning, but they are still going strong. (And this is the 38G tank.)

Juvenile Saulosi are much more available and affordable.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

I used to have a planted tank in my backroom and there were snails in it... well long story short it has been two years since I took everything out but I still left some water in it I forget why but there are atleast 2,000 snails in it so I was prepared for snails that is why I wanted the loaches.

Just an update I am definitely going with a colony of p saulosi but right now I am trying to convince my father to let me get a 90 gallon tank for $200. I found out that an 11 year old has no power in this world


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