Uk Cichlids - Cichlid advice and discussion in the UK

Hi

Just joined today so i thought id say hi

Also i am in the process of setting up a 180 litre tank for which i hope to keep malawi cichlids, however i need some advice on species and numbers for this size of tank.

Also does anyone have any info on where best to buy cichlids in my area ( milton keynes ) as i am keen to get good advice

Hi Les and welcome to the forum!!

I'm waiting on a couple of people completing their signup- who will be just the trick - one who has a large supply of malawis that he can courier...

Is this your first tank or have you kept fish before??

Any help you need we are delighted to help.

cheers
Craig

hi craig

Yep kept fish before and malawis but not with much luck as i rushed into it but this time i want to do it right.

Also kept an oscar before for about 3 years.

So as i said i want to take it slowly and get good advice so anything you can help with would be appreciated.

for now though i would like some help/info on compatability of species and numbers for a 180 litre juwel aquarium if you or another member can assist

Just for basic info Les, whats the size of the tank?

I know that this will highly influence your stocking densities - a long broad tank will yield more than a tall narrow tank...

My guess would be along the line of 3 groups of 4 of the smaller species from memory I know 1m - 3f ratios generally work quite well.

cheers
Craig

hi craig

the tank i have is a juwel rio 180 and the dimensions are 101 x 40 x 50

Can you tell me the names of the species i should consider ?

Thanks
Les

hi les
a few year ago i did malawi's mbuna the smaller rock dwellers.i had them in a 3'x12"x15" and removed the brooding females to a seperate tank.a 3' tank is the minimum some people say a 4' is the minimum but i personally went for the more peaceful mbuna.a lot of people make mistakes with mbuna by buying the wrong type most are quite aggressive and a lot of them become hyper dominant and take over the tank.i had a trio of ps saulosi,trio of l.hongi,trio of yellow labs and a trio of ps demasoni.choose any of the following as they are fairly peaceful for mbuna.any labidochromis species,lodtropheus sprengerae,ps saulosi,ps demasoni.try and stay away from zebras,lombardoi mixed malawi etc.try and keep species that the males dont resemble each other i think that was a plus factor on my setup.hope this helps.
cheers dev

Hi Dev

Thanks for the reply

This is exactly what i was hoping for in this forum good information from people who have kept the species.

When i get set up il post some pics in the meantime any more useful tips you or the other members can give me will be most welcome.

cheers
Les

hi les
when you buy your fish make sure the tank is mature and get quite a few at once.the tank needs to be stacked with rocks from top to bottom right the way along the back of the tank.when adding new stock make sure to rearrange the rocks so they can form new terrirtories.like i said before do a bit of reasearch and try to keep species that do not resemble each other.these fish are better over stocked than under stocked to stop them picking on each other.wholesale tropicals do a good mail order service and stock malawi's.
cheers dev