# My 100g mbuna journal



## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Hello everyone. Going to try and keep a journal on my current setup. This is my first time keeping mbuna and so far it has been rather enjoyable. Im going to keep a log of the happenings of my tank and include pictures when I can.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

9/27/2013

My "Malawi buffer", NLS cichlid formula, and metro arrived today so I began feeding metro infused pellets. On Monday I received 7 elongatus 'chailosi' but since have lost 2 to what I believe to be bloat. They had the white stringy feces and it was a very quick death. The others appear to be healthy and still have voracious appetites so Im hoping that the metro prevents any further deaths in the tank. My fish weren't able to eat the 1mm pellets yet so for now I must continue to feed them the NLS small fish formula (.5mm pellets).

The current tank stock is as follows:
9 Psuedotropheus saulosi - a little over an inch
6 Tanganicodus Irsacae - a little under an inch
5 Psuedotropheus sp. elongatus 'chailosi' - same size as saulosi
3 Bristle-nose Plecostomus - inchers

I don't see myself adding anything else to the tank in the future so this is all for now.

I added some plants to my tank recently, and much to my surprise, they are flourishing! The only one I can identify is anacharis which has visible growth from day to day. The other plants are also experiencing noticeable growth, not quite to the extend of the anacharis. I'm hoping that this will help keep my nitrates in check between water changes and keep parameters a little more stable. The fish leave the plants alone and rarely do I catch them picking at them, but when they do, little damage is done.

The first of my saulosi is beginning to develop his vertical barring as well as some black on the tips of his fins. I'm anxiously awaiting his blue colors to set in. The chailosi on the other hand are rather brown and none of them immediately stand out as males yet, so I suppose only time will tell. Their fins are a little frayed, but I never catch anyone chasing/fighting. One of them has a somewhat sunk in stomach but appears to be slowly filling out since hes arrived, I hope to have it looking better soon.

A 30 gallon water change is scheduled for tomorrow. I will be using the Malawi buffer in my replacement water from here on out to bring my neutral tap water up to more "natural" levels.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

These guys dont hold still long enough for me to get a picture of them!

Saulosi male (I think)










Tanganicodus


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Your saulosi looks good. Keep the updates coming.


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Sounds like a fun tank! I've kept tanganicodus irsacae with mbuna before and they did well, currently I have eretmodus cyanostictus in with my mbuna. I think you could easily add another group of mbuna (I know I would)...


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

I've considered rustys. But not being able to add fish that look like the male or female saulosi really cuts my options down. I'm going to be monitoring my nitrates as they age. They increased our utility bills so doing more than 30-40% changes a week is the most I can do, that and for the sake of saving time. Suggestions on what you'd add eeztrophs?


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

This is the one with the sunk in stomach. He's pretty lively and showy so I think he's just a little hungry. He's been eating for we without problem as well. Its concerning though.


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Rustys would be nice or even ps. polit would be a cool addition to your tank. In a 100 you could add a larger species like metriaclima aurora or greshakei. Really tho add whatever you like best, sounds like you have a good idea of what your doing...

IME I wouldn't worry too much about nitrates. I only check nitrates when I'm cycling a tank.. Once my tanks are cycled and stocked I never check nitrates, however I do keep up on maintenance with 30-50% weekly wc and clean the filters as needed (usually every 5-6 weeks). Also what is the ph, gh/kh out of your tap? The malawi buffer may not be necessary...


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

One more suggestion, if you are worried about your utilities lose the extra 100w heater it's not necessary. If anything add another filter, a sponge and powerhead or a HOB.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Id really like to add another canister, but I need to find one used somewhere first. I've got a hagen 70 on it as additional water movement. But the problem is that the tank is a room divider for me. My desk is the behind the tank so I've got an amazing view when I'm gaming, doing calculus, surfing the web. Because of how its positioned there isn't a place I can put an HOB without it being unsightly. I've been thinking about getting some strong pumps and having a spray bar go across the tank to have uniform flow everywhere to try and cut down on my dead zones. Ill clean up my desk and get some shots tomorrow. To show the different viewing angles.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Just curious what the dimensions (LxWxH) of this tank are?


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

It is 60x18x18.

Update coming later today after water change.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

9/28/2013

Did a water change today. I think my master test kit is too old to work. I tested water from my tap, 7.0. I then added the Malawi buffer, waited for a few minutes to let it stir in, and retested it.......7.0. I guess I need to pick up a new master test kit soon.

This is the view I have from my desk.










I removed the bottom shelf and made a place for kitty to sleep and watch the fish beside me while I work.










This is the view from the other side of tank, which has my desk as the backdrop. Notice the unsightly HOB hanging off of it.










Despite having his own spot, he likes to lay behind the computer and watch/chase fish.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

9/30/2013

Today I lost an goby. I have been feeding metro infused NLS since friday, and hope that I don't lose any more fish.


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

How did you infuse the NLS with metro?


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Was that the one with the sunken in stomach?


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

That sucks. Are you sure it died from bloat? If so, you should stop feeding and treat the whole tank with metro and Epsom salt...


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Im not sure why it died. And no, it was a chailosi with the sunk in stomach. I've isolated that chailosi to a breeder net and am making sure it is getting enough to eat before reintroducing it to the tank. The other gobies appear to have regular poop. Nothing stringy.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/2/2013

One of the chailosi has become rather aggressive. He (I believe it's a he) gets really dark in the fins and dances around hitting and chasing the othe chailosi. He does vertical dances towards them and it's really erratic and fast. Fascinating to watch, but also stressful (I hope he doesn't injure the others). He has also began digging out a territory under a rock, which he continues to work on even after the lights are turned out (the ceiling light still illuminates the tank enough that they can see well). The saulosi are all fat and happy and the male appears to have darker bars and slightly more black on the fins. A few of the smaller ones get a split in their fins from time to time but nothing major that doesn't heal in a matter of days. Been trying to do a head count on the gobies, but the way they dart through the to rocks and arn't all out at any one given moment makes that rather difficult.

The plants are still growing well and arn't being eaten, or even picked at to my surprise. But some are getting diatoms on the leaves. I'm not sure how to go about removing those. Is there any way to rid myself of diatoms, or will they always be present within the tank?


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

apmorgan93 said:


> 10/2/2013
> The plants are still growing well and arn't being eaten, or even picked at to my surprise. But some are getting diatoms on the leaves. I'm not sure how to go about removing those. Is there any way to rid myself of diatoms, or will they always be present within the tank?


It'll Go Away Eventually By Itself, But There's Really No Way To Avoid It - Happens In All New Tanks. Plecos And Nerite Snails Will Eat It, But You Have To Decide If You Want Those In Your Tank.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

I've already got some plecos. They're fat even though I don't put food in for them so I guess they do take care of that to some extent, learned something new today! I need to stop getting on aquabid I keep seeing things I want. A crater building lethrinops species (I know I can't keep this with my mbuna but I'd totally do a species only setup to see that!) as well as jewel spot elongatus. Too many awesome species and not enough tanks.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

apmorgan93 said:


> Too many awesome species and not enough tanks.


Welcome To The Early Stages Of MTS - Multiple Tank Syndrome. We All Get It To Some Degree. I've Got Myself Down To A Very Managable 6 Right Now, Although I Am Considering One More Grow Out Tank...


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

nmcichlid-aholic said:


> apmorgan93 said:
> 
> 
> > Too many awesome species and not enough tanks.
> ...


Back when I was in high school I had 8 tanks. All of which held various cichlids from Tanganyika and Malawi. I just don't have the time or money for it now that I'm in college. If I could I'd convert my room into a fishroom and sell fry, but grandparents might murder me if I did that haha. I'm thinking about selling my crested gecko so I can utilize his tank for fish.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Yeah, My Wife Made Me Choose Between The Fish And The Reptiles A While Back. Since I Had Done The Reptiles For A Number Of Years, I Went With Fish For Something New. Plus, Having A Baby Will Really Make You Reconsider The choice To Own A Couple Of 14' pythons. I'm Much Less Nervous With The Baby Around The Fish! :lol:

Anyway, We're Off Topic. Keep The Updates Coming!


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/3/13
Last night I syphoned out a few gallons from the dead zones in my tank to remove some unsightly poop. Happened upon another dead goby  not cool. Did a head count and only was able to find 3 so somewhere along the way I lost one that I didnt know about. This is rather upsetting. The saulosi and the chailosi are looking good however. Fed them some zucchini last night. When the dominant saulosi would be eating from it, he would defend it from anyone and anything else coming near it. The chailosi in the breeder net has been eating well for me. And *** been feeding it multiple times a day. Despite this, its stomach is still sunken in looking and the fish just doesn't look as full bodied as the others.

There is an OCA meeting tomorrow in cleveland. Im contemplating going after my calculus class tomorrow and seeing if there is anything of interest to pick up from the BAP auction.


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Are the dead gobies beat up looking? Their conspecific aggression is on the extreme side even at that small size... I successfully kept a quad 1:3 tanganicodus irsacae in a 100g but if you have multiple males the dominant one could be the reason behind your dead gobies? Just a thought..


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

They don't appear damaged in any way. There is ALOT of chasing through the rockwork but i never see any frayed fins. I try to make sure theyre getting enough feed, but I think they may be getting out competed. They do get pellets though.


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## eeztropheus (Jan 10, 2010)

Or it could be the mbuna killing them, who knows?


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/4/13

Did a 60 gallon water change today. Probably going to do another 30-50 gallon change tomorrow as well. I've got the house to myself for the weekend so no one will be here to protest how much water I'm using.  The chailosi are looking great and some are beginning to get some blue hues on the front half of their body. Its hard to tell if the boxed one is filling out from day to day, but it doesn't look emaciated anymore so there is definitely progress on that front.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/5/2013
Did a 30 gallon WC today. Tested my nitrates prior to doing it and they came in somewhere around 5ppm. The nitrate test is a separate kit I bought a few months ago, and not a part of the kit that is several years old that I have been trying (unsuccessfully I believe) to do PH testing with. One of the smaller of my saulosi appears to have what looks like popeye. His eyes are slightly bulged and one appears to be discolored, but it is hard to say. Tearing down my whole tank isn't something I want to do so I chased him with the net unsuccessfully, and gave up. I made a trap out of a water bottle with an inverted bottle and am waiting on him to swim into it. I took the hagen 70 off the tank put it on an empty 10g which will be my emergency hospital tank. This is where he will go so that I do 50% daily water changes in 5 minutes time, as well as dose aquarium salt without worrying about how it'll mess with my plants.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Good new! Caught him! His eyes looks so nasty. Put the recommended 1 tbsp per 5 gallons of salt in there. Any other treatment recommendations besides the daily WCs?


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/9/13

The saulosi with popeye is almost back to normal and will be ready to be put back with the others very soon. The emaciated looking chailosi is also doing good and may be released from the net soon.

I've been looking for a another group to add to the tank. How about Pundamilia nyereri? The males are stunning and though the females are drab, I think there is enough color in the tank to distract from them. Has anyone tried a similar combination before that can share their experience?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I put nyererei in a mbuna tank and no one died but the male was dark (like black) and the females lost weight over time. They are fine now in a species tank.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/12/13

Did a 50g water change today (nitrate roughly 15ppm prior). Also I released the chailosi into the main setup. It appears to be doing well. I'm going to leave the saulosi in the hospital tank for a few more days just to make sure its 100% OK before returning him to the main setup. Over the week the remaining of my Tanganicodus pined away. I'm pretty disappointed about that.

DJRansome: thanks for the reply! I ultimately decided against getting nyererei after doing some searching. Id just rather not risk potentially ending up with a dominant fish that is a terror. I jumped on an auction for a group of Gephyrochromis moorii 2m,4f. They'll be here on Wednesday. I should definitely stop browsing on aquabid.... Its bad for the bank account haha.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

10/18/13

Got my G. moorii yesterday and drip acclimated them in. They've settled in and are quite rowdy. The group I think is actually 4m 2f and they really duke it out. *** never seen fish spin around each other so fast. They're beautiful though.



















I've found very little information about these online. So Im excited to have them and hopefully find out and contribute to the knowledge about these fish.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Those look great! I hope they work out for you. If you need to get rid of an extra male, I would certainly take one for my all-male tank...


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

My camcorder isnt working prperly D: but who doesnt love pixely camera phone footage?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Very unique choice of mbuna. Something you don't see offered too often.

In the future, you should quarantine new arrivals. As of right now, you lost a couple chailosi and your whole squad of gobies. If there is bloat in your tank, it will slowly creep through. At times things will appear fine, then you notice a symptom. Just speaking from experience here. Bloat is ****.



> but who doesnt love pixely camera phone footage?


 :lol:


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks iggy. Im hoping to get these guys breeding and make them more available to others.

And ya. I really need a quarentine. I lucked out with this last batch of fish in having a clean bill of health. In the process of doing a WC right now. Going to see what kind of activities introducing fresh water causes. The dominant moorii is already courting his females, maybe I'll get a spawn!


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Bout to make this not safe for 56k up in here! Busted out my grandfathers Canon and snapped some pics tonight. Enjoy!



Dem chompers





Iridescent fins!



Purty ladies



Chailosi


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Beautiful fish!


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks Michael!

10/26/13

Tested my water today and it clocked in around 50ppm nitrates so I did a 60 gallon WC, and am going to do another one tomorrow to get them nasty nitrates lower! This week my dominant saulosi started turning blue all over. The light has to catch him just right and he changes color. He's also become very aggressive and chases and shakes for females when he sees them. They havn't shown interest yet. Also I've caught the moorii doing the spawning dance shortly after the lights go out. This hasn't resulted in holding yet, but I'm expecting it soon.

They recently realized that the plants I had put in the tank were tasty. Now I only have a small handful of plants left that havn't been shredded. I wish I could start getting green algae on my rocks, but I'm still stuck in the diatom stage.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

11/2/2013

GOOD NEWS! I wasn't going to be coming home on friday evening and wasnt going to be home most of the day saturday so I figured I'd leave the lights off since they wont be getting fed for awhile. Came home just a little bit ago, turned the lights on and BAM! Once of the Gephyrochromis is holding! She's being elusive right now, but I should have some good pictures by tomorrow.


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## Cichlidman14 (Jul 17, 2013)

Yay, hope she does well holding.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Congrats on the spawn...


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

11/7/13
The female is still holding well. I'm super nervous about it though. I actually had a dream last night that she spit them while I was observing her so I syphoned them out as fast as I could but lost most of them to the other fishes snacking on them.

I've built a tumbler and am considering stripping her soon to ensure the fry make it. What is the general consensus on when to strip?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

18-21 days


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

I have a question about stripping then using a egg tumbler, such as in your case. Is it smart to strip capable of swimming fry and put them in a egg tumbler? I always strip my fry at 18 days and then put them in a net breeder for about two weeks to make sure they are fed properly. Then I put them in their own tank. Sorry if this is considered hijacking a thread.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

11/12/13

2 days I decided to strip the holding female. The other female was chasing her and beating her up as well as the males being more harrassing towards her. I have her recovering in a breeding net and shes got quite the appetite. I think there are around 20 fry and to my surprise, they were rather far along for only 8 days. Below is a video of how they look today (day 10). They are free swimming and their yolk sac is nearly gone. I feel like they are developing alot faster than I anticipated, but then again I've never tumbled fry before.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

11/14/13

The fry officially no longer have yolk sacs. I find this odd at only 13 days old. I reintroduced the female to the tank and she is doing well. The thermostat on my heater for the 10g seems to be shot because it heats the tank to 86f even on its lowest setting. Went to petco to get a new one, but left disgusted. Since when did they start charging so much for heaters??? I may be moving them to the breeder net in the main setup until I can get my hands on a reasonably priced heater.

Do some species wrigglers/fry mature and form faster than others? Because I feel like these guys have developed way too quickly.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Get a heater and avoid the breeder net - it'll be much easier to keep them alive in their own tank. The net is good for keeping the fry still while the adults try to suck them through it's like a sieve.

I've found that fry stripped early on tend to lose their yolk sack more quickly than fry left to brood in mom's mouth. Maybe it's because they are having to expend more energy when they're out on their own? I don't know, but it sounds reasonable.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

11/18/13

The fry have been in a 10g for a few days now and are eating crushed NLS. Also, I added 4 Synodontis petricola the other day. They're a joy to watch so I'm going to be getting 6 more in a few days.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

12/6/13

Its been awhile since my last update. Im now at 12 petricola cats, and I absolutely love them. Also, my G. moorii spawned again today and I got it on film! Enjoy the fish porn you pervs


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## Michael_S (Aug 18, 2013)

Congrats on the spawn and the fish look beautiful!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Where's the 70s music?

Glad the fish are working out for you.


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## apmorgan93 (Jan 29, 2013)

Thanks guys. Going to strip her tomorrow when I do a WC I think. I know its early at 4 days, but Id like to watch the fry develop and maybe make a picture time lapse of them. Had a slight disaster in the fry tank today. Found 3 dead for no reason. I keep getting horrible green algae blooms on the glass and in the water column. Going to do a heavier WC regiment now that school is out in hopes of making it go away.


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