Malawi or Tanganyicas

[nortonj]

Setting up new tank. 50 gal, hard well water.
Any advice on choice of cichlid?  Heard Malawi are aggressive and Tangs are hard to find and expensive.
Any thoughts/advice?
Thanks
Jeff

[sanny]

Hi Jeff,
I keep Malawi Cichlids. True about the Tanganyikans, they are hard to find and not a lot of selection in captivity. You could stock your aquarium with a all male Haps/Peacocks or all Mbuna. Watch out when mixing the three species together as some Mbunas such as Kenyis and Auratus are very aggressive. Also stay away from similar colored cichlids as they will compete with each other and at some times it will get pretty nasty. Overstock as well, not more than 16 cichlids for that tank size. Inbox me if you want some cichlids when the tank is cycled.

[Jeff1192]

I can't give advice on one vs the other cause I've only kept Malawi cichlids. But my mbuna tank is the most entertaining tank I have ever kept in my
30 odd years of fish keeping. I only wished I'd taken the African cichlids plunge sooner.

Jeff

[bitterman]

Malawi are cheaper and very colourful.

Tanganyikan's are my preference due to the personality.

Tanganyikans are more Nitrate sensitive so require more maintenance.

For a 50 gallon you could have a pretty nice range of different Tanganyikan's. Look at some of the following:

Comps/Calvus

syno multipunctatus or Syno Petricola (Petricola are my preference as they stay smaller for a 75-180 I like 6-12 multipunctasus are nice as they get to 6")


A group of Cyprichromis (There are many different coloration/collection points)

A group of Julidochromis (Try to get a nice balance of males and females)
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1526

And for some bright yellow some Neolamprologus Leleupi

Stay away from Tropheus (Amazing fish but hard to keep)
Petrochromis are nice but also aggressive and I would avoid them also in a 50 gallon.
Featherfin Furcifer are nice but need a bigger tank than a 50 but some of the other featherfins would work out ok.... however no need if you have Cyprichromis in the tank as they are better suited to the size of the tank anyways.


For Malawi you would want to say on the less agressive side So stuff like yellow labs, Afras, and lithos... you could mix some peacocks in there too but would have to be careful. a 75 is better suited than a 50 due to the nicer footprint.

If you upgrade to a 6' tank liek a 125/180 then options open up immensely!!!

Bruce

[Mike L]

 Agree with Bruce on Tanganyikans. I have kept both and definitely prefer them over Malawians. The evolution of Lake Tanganyika is about 8 Million years more the Malawi so the fish are a lot more specialized in their behaviors.
You will have to be vigilant with your nitrate managements as mentioned but that can be easily accomplished with regular water changes. As for cost and availability. Quebec cichlid or spencer jack has a great selection of both and the pricing is roughly about the same for many fishes.
Glad to see another take the cichlid plunge. Keep us posted.
Mike

[Al]

Go Tanganyika go !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bruce has made some great suggestions and a great summary.
Is your tank a 3 foot or 4 foot 50G? I know Marineland has a 4 foot 12" width and Aqueon has a 3 foot 18" width?
My additional comments would be to not get too crazy with numbers and mix as you have limited space.
A 3 foot is absolute minimum IME for open water fish like cyps and I would lean more to 4 feet really. They will survive but wouldn't thrive. Some smaller cyps like paracyprichromis nigripinnis (amazing neon coloration) would do OK as they are less open water and more rock dwelling. However, once you start to aquascape that size of a tank you don't have a lot of open area and water volume is reduced. If you chose something like julies, once they start breeding they'll soon take over the tank but if that's all you have in there, different story. So an important determination is if you want a species only setup or a mixed community.
You may also want to consider shell dwellers - amazing little fish that have a lot of attitude and really interesting behavior living and breeding in their shells and they don't require tons of space.

[daworldisblack]

Makes me want a chiclid tank myself! Def been eyeing more of the Lake T ones - they look pretty cool! I used to see Julidochromis everywhere and some looked like licorice gouramis but am glad i know what they are now! idea planted!

[sanny]

Tanganyikans are very intelligent and never seen a more beautiful fish then a Tropheus or Red Bulu point Petrochromis but what's the chances of finding these guys other then ordering online? I've kept Brichardis and lelupies and all I could say is they are one of the most aggressive cichlids I've ever kept.

[Mike L]

 .

    There are so many variable to keeping cichlids that it is hard to give advice without more specifics. 

Al mentioned you need to make some decisions first. What do I like. Do I want breeding to occur. How much time am I willing to spend on husbandry.
If your a little patient most of what you desire can be found. either shipped, from fellow hobbyists, and if your willing to drive to Toronto and to a lesser extent Montreal there will be a hobbyist that is breeding what you want at reasonable prices.

In my opinion a lot of problems with cichlids stem from the desire to purchase and own all the beautiful cichlids we see. This was my problem for many years. I would buy every fish I saw and try to make it work. (I sometime still do this when a fish I always wanted is available.)
It wasn't until I ran into a mom/pop fish shop on Marivale, can't remember the name. The guys running it were serious fish keepers and they brought in cichlids I had never seen and with it a wealth of knowledge. This was way before internet. Their guidance made the hobby less stressful and a lot more enjoyable.

Sanny is  correct. The Brichardi and Leleupi can be nasty. They belong to the Neolamprologus/ Lamprologus family. These fish sport dental weaponry that is thrice the size of most fish of their size which is why you have to proceed with caution when housing them. Brichardi  breed like a collective. Each generation that is spawned helps with the rearing of each successive spawn. Put a breeding pair in a tank and they will own it soon enough. So if in a community tank only one and house it with other fish that can hold their own.

There is aggression in all cichlids and it hits it's peak when in spawn mode. With Malawians you can control this by overstocking which allows aggression to be spread out. Even then, many species will take over half a tank or more when breeding. Tanganyikan cichlids can not be kept in this manner for the most part so if a pair bonds and breeds in a tank there is less fish to spread the aggression. Regardless of which lake you choose you must carefully select your fish.


Came across this article many months ago and found it for you. It might help somewhat.
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/information/African-Cichlids-Information.php

Regards Mike

[nortonj]

Hello Cichlid people,
Thank you for all the replies and advice. I guess I have a lot of homework to do.
The tank is a bow front 12inches by 36 inches.
It is full of water, the heater and filter are running and I am thinking of adding Fluval Beneficial Bacteria.
No rocks or plants yet. I will start doing water samples this week.

Please keep the advice coming and any articles that you think might help me learn more.

I will update as I go.

Jeff

[bitterman]

A 36" tank greatly limits you. A friend had a similar tank with Afra's Yellow labs and some lithobates. It worked out ok. The fish listed are all about as least aggressive as you can get for africans but that does not mean you wont have issues.

Personally I would lean toward an interesting group Tangs still.
-Pair of Julidochromis (when breeding could cause issues thought)
-Some Altolamprologus Calvus or compressiceps pick a group of them and you might get a pair to breed for you. Very interesting breeding behaviour to watch.
-Group of Cyprichromis (even though this is pushing it tank wise being only 36" if was 48" then would work great)
-Some Synodontis petricola

Honestly this would be a nice setup in a 75... could stock with a couple different colrations of calvus or comps for example. And a bigger group of petricolas

Also don't forget the CA/SA cichlids for example look as the apistogramma and other tank mates you can house with them.

Bruce

[Mike L]

Just wondering what the status is with this tank. Updates please.
Mike