Housing Lake Malawi Cichilds
Introduction
These fish are often called "Africans" in local fish stores, a term which incorporates dozens of species of cichlids from Lake Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria. This article will focus on the cichlids found in the hard water, rocky shorelines of Lake Malawi. They are very colourful, medium sized cichlids, which are, in my opinion, great for dedicated, beginner fishkeepers.
Behaviour
Many of the fish found in Lake Malawi are of the genus grouped Mbuna, which can be very aggressive. This can be largely avoided when the right environment is given. There are two styles of tanks we can set-up, a species tank or a community tank. Each of these tanks require many rocks for the fish to hide in, and to utilize as markers to establish territories.
Species tanks would house a single type of fish, for example, Pseudotropheus Saulosi. This fish needs to be kept in harems of an approximately 2:5 male/female ratio. This way, aggession is minimal as there is little competition between the males for mates. A species tank is not often desirable for a beginner because of this ratio, as the males are the most brighly coloured and the females, not so much. So it can make for a somewhat drab set-up with a large number of females.
Community tanks are the most active and colourful to keep. In this set-up, one would house a pair each of 3 or 4 different species, i.e. - Pseudotropheus saulosi , Pseudotropheus estherae, Melanochromis johanni, Labidochromis caeruleus, to name a few. With a community tank, keep in mind, that because we're dealing with aggressive fish, it may be difficult to establish peaceful existence between species. As there are various environment factors and personality differences, there is no fool proof mix.
Set-up
It is best to choose the largest aquarium you can afford. These fish should be housed in a minimum 50 gallon (36x18x18"). A 75 or 100 would be better. Avoid tanks that are too narrow. A 55 gallon may be long enough for your fish to establish territories but it only measures 12 inches across. This makes it very difficult to stack the rockwork needed to make your fish feel at home.
I like to place a piece of plexi-glass in the tank first. Get one that is large enough to cover the bottom, but not too large as to interfere with the silicone joint of the tank. This will act as a cushion for the couple hundred pounds of rock we're going to add. Yes, this tank will weigh a lot, so now would be a good time to read Shane's article! However, the weight can be reduced significantly, by using clay pots in place of rocks that would normally be in unseen places. One can also use lava rock purchased at a local fish store. This stuff is very light but really expensive. A good alternative to lava rock is lace rock which can be purchased at a landscaping place. It is not as light but just as appealing. Both lava and lace rock stack easily because of their rough surface. Another cheap alternative is to use beach pebbles, also found at landscaping places. This type of rock comes in various sizes and looks the most like the actual shores of Lake Malawi, but it is very heavy and very slippery, especially when algae begins to grow on it. Stack this rock very carefully. These fish are notorious diggers, which is why any rock you use should be firmly in place before the substrate is added. You don't want the structure to collapse on your fish!
Now let's add the substrate. Because of the digging tendencies of these fish, we should use gravel or sand that is fine enough that they can move it easily, but not too fine so that there will be a permanant dust cloud in your aquarium. 2 inches is a sufficient depth. Crushed coral, aka argonite, is a very natural looking substrate which slowly dissolves in the water to increase the hardness and Ph(alkalinity). The water of Lake Malawi approaches a Ph of 8.0. This type of substrate is not absolutely necessary but I highly reccomend it. To save some money, you can use a typical playsand or a mixture of argonite and playsand. However, if you use strictly playsand and your tapwater is on the soft side (Ph below 7.0), then you may need to add a commercial buffer (Lake Malawi additive) to bring the water to an acceptable level. This will be be more expensive in the long run than purchasing the argonite initially. Some hobbyists have such soft water that they need argonite and additives. In this case, you may want to consider South American cichlids
. You may want to create your own additive. While the make-up of Lake Malawi water is complex, the additive need not be. I use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon Epsom salts per 5 gallons of water. The Ph out of my tap is 7.4. With a substrate of 50% argonite (the other half is small artificial gravel) and the addition of this homemade mix to new water, the Ph of the tank holds at 7.8. Another good idea, to keep the Ph balanced, is to add a small amount of argonite in a fine mesh bag to the filter media.
One thing is for sure, these are messy fish. So we need lots of filtration in the terms of media capacity and water movement. I recommend 6-8 times water turnover per hour. This means that if your tank is a 75 gallon, you'll need a filter with a rate of 450 gph minimum. A filter that I am partial to is the AquaClear 300 made by Hagen. It is very efficient with a large media basket. Two of these filters would give you a turnover of 600gph. That's 8 times turnover for a 75 gallon tank. Perfect! These filters are "hang-on-the-back" style. Position them at opposite ends of the tank for optimal circulation.
You'll need a good submersible heater, preferrably two. One for back up in case of failure. I recommend 200 watt Tronic heaters. They are very reliable and accurate. There are better heaters on the market but I like these because of the reasonable price and because of the safety shield that can be purchased for them. These shields are desirable for any tank that houses large, rambunctious fish such as our Malawis. Keep the temperature at ~78 degrees Farenheit.
Finally, let there be light! Assuming that we've decided on a 75 gallon, we know that it is 48" long, so lighting can be done very inexpensively. There are numerous twin bulb, fluorescent shop lights found in hardware stores that can be easily converted to aquarium lights if you're a DIYer. One of these shop lights would be a total of 80w. While it is not great for growing plants, it is sufficient for viewing fish. If you decided that it would be easier and more cost efficient to purchase an aquarium kit instead of the tank, stand, heater and light separately, then make a small upgrade and get the double fluorescent light instead of the single that typically comes with these kits. 40 watts is just not enough light to observe these wonderful fish properly.
Now that all of our equipment is in place, we need to do some reading on tank cycling and the nitrogen cycle. There are many great articles on the net on this topic. Do a search on "Aquarium maintenance", "Fishless cycling", and " nitrification". Please, please do this for the sake of your new pets. I won't go in depth but here is some brief instruction. Purchase some small, hardy, inexpensive fish such as Danios, feeder Guppies or Platties. Four or five will do. Let the tank run for two months while performing regular maintenance. At this time, choose your first pair of Malawis and add them after removing the other fish (you can use them as trade ins). After a couple of weeks, choose another pair and so on. Do not exceed 4 pairs in a 75 gallon tank.
Tankmates
There are very few fish that can handle Malawi aggression. About the only one I can recommend is the Plecostomus, particularly the Sailfin Pleco. This is a beautiful fish that will not grow too big for the tank (many plecos get huge) and will keep the glass of your tank algae-free. Keep a small piece of driftwood in the tank for your Pleco to gnaw on.
Feeding
These shoreline fish are primarily algae grazing in the wild, so their diet should consist mainly of vegetable matter. There are many high quality prepared foods on the market and you should take advantage of them to provide your fish with a varied diet. Keep some frozen brine shrimp on hand for a once-a-week treat. Most of these fish will readily accept home prepared foods such as blanched romaine lettuce, zucchini and cucumber. Don't leave these foods in the tank for more than 24 hours or they will begin to rot and pollute the water. There also a few plants that can be grown at the water's surface that the fish will occasionally munch on. One I like is Elodea (Egeria densa). It is very pretty and grows quickly.
Conclusion
Now that we have everything in place, it's time to sit back and enjoy these fantastic fish. If all of our requirements have been met, we should even see some babies soon! Thanks for following along and happy fishkeeping!
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