Found cool Malawi Cichlids video, wanted to share
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More on the amazing lakes

Bookmarking - reading a book on them at the moment!

I got a tank of them...


thats a mbuna/peacock/hap mix. admittedly the catfish are Tanganyikan, but getting hold of true Synodontis njassae is damn near impossible

Got a species list for that tank?

Oh, which of the Synodontis do you have? Is it multipunctatus? Only that's the species most frequently seen in Rift lake dealerships here in the UK.

Meanwhile, I think it might be possible to get genuine Synodontis njassae here in the UK, but you'll pay a hefty price for them - about £50 each

EDIT: the one that's really hard to get here in the UK is Synodontis granulosus ... that's a £300 fish here ...

PsYcHoTiC_MaDmAn wrote:I got a tank of them...


thats a mbuna/peacock/hap mix. admittedly the catfish are Tanganyikan, but getting hold of true Synodontis njassae is damn near impossible

Cool

Calilasseia wrote:Got a species list for that tank?

Oh, which of the Synodontis do you have? Is it multipunctatus? Only that's the species most frequently seen in Rift lake dealerships here in the UK.

Meanwhile, I think it might be possible to get genuine Synodontis njassae here in the UK, but you'll pay a hefty price for them - about £50 each

EDIT: the one that's really hard to get here in the UK is Synodontis granulosus ... that's a £300 fish here ...

cant give numbers, the photo is old, and I've lost a few to age/odd fight.

Metriclima estherae aka Red Zebra
Labidochromis caeruleus aka Yellow Lab
Iodotropheus sprengerae aka Rusty cichlid
Pseudotropheus acei
Pseudotropheus ellongatus "Chewere"
Protomelas taeniolatus "Makanjila" aka Fire Blue
Aulonocara sp. "Stuartgranti Maleri"
Otopharynx lithobates "Mumbo Island"
Synodontis lucipinnis

I've reduced the number of tanks I'm running (from 14 at one point (10 in the bedroom)) down to 3, one with South african cichlids, (Krobia sp "xingu orange cheek, Geophagus sp "Tapajos Red Head", Mesonauta festivus "Tapajos", and the other is the Malawi tank, though I have added a few firemouths (Thorichthys meeki ), and all is well in the tank)

Bloody hell, you got that lot to live together peacefully? I'm surprised that the Labidochromis and Iodotropheus didn't get the shit kicked out of them by the Pseudotropheus elongatus, because those things have a reputation for being serious, hardcore aquarium terrorists ... if the elongatus aren't trying to kick the shit out of the other fish on a constant basis, you might have the similar-looking but much more peaceful Pseudotropheus minutus. One way in which you can tell that you have the genuine elongatus (apart from the fact that they're seriously motivated to inflict damage upon anything trespassing on their patch) is to watch their behaviour post-mating. Whilst many Mbuna males simply leave the female to get on with brooding yet another mouthful of fry, Pseudotropheus elongatus exhibits a significant difference - a male will stay in company with the female he's mated with, and the pair will co-operate in territorial defence. Though they don't launch long distance "search and destroy" missions like the Central American Neetroplus nematopus, they very definitely adopt a "launch on warning" strategy, and when they're in breeding mode, they are ferocious. On the other hand, Pseudotropheus minutus, which is frequently mis-labelled as elongatus, is much mellower in temperament, doesn't exhibit the strong pair bond post-mating of elongatus, and attains a smaller adult size.

Other Mbuna to watch out for that are very similar in appearance (and require experience to separate properly), are Pseudotropheus socolofi and Pseudotropheus lucerna, The first of these, socolofi, is another relatively mellow tempered fish, and can be integrated with relatively little fuss into an Mbuna community. On the other hand, lucerna is another hardcore aquarium terrorist, and is right up there with elongatus and the other bad boys.

Basically, if you want to avoid your tank turning into the Cichlid equivalent of World War III, then certain species are to be avoided unless you have a huge aquarium for them, so that they can claim an adequate territory without the red mist descending every five seconds. The ones I'd warn against are as follows:

Melanochromis chipiokae - this one will exhibit hyperdominance in an aquarium, will take on ALL comers, and starts fights the same way you or I blink. In an all-out internecine war, is likely to be the one that emerges as "king of the hill". Violently aggressive, will take on fishes twice its own size without any hesitation.

Petrotilapia tridentiger - another headbanger par excellence, which is a pity, because the males are a gorgeous, lustrous, iridescent purple. But, it's a total berserker in the wrong setup. One of the few fishes that can hold its own with the demon chipokae above. Tends not to start as many fights as chipokae, but once the fighting starts, it's one of the species that finishes the fights, frequently with lethal results.

Genyochromis mento - this species is frequently described as "Hitler with fins". Definitely one of the bad boys. Is likely to pick fights with most things that move, and sometimes with things that don't. A vicious thug of a fish in the wrong setting.

Pseudotropheus lucerna - already mentioned this briefly above. Another one that starts fights, exhibits hyperdominance, and generally behaves in a psychotic, anti-social manner unless you plan the aquarium setup very carefully around it and its extremely strong territorial instincts.

Pseudotropheus elongatus (and several others from the same species complex) - ruthless and determined describes this species well. Already covered the greater degree of male/female post-mating co-operation in some detail above. Exhibits some of the "search and destroy" temperament of Neetroplus nematopus, but over a more confined range, in keeping with the Mbuna habit of sticking close to the rockwork. If your Mbuna tank has extensive rockwork, however, it'll feel confident enough to go hunting for enemies over longer distances. Usually, however, it'll confine its activities to its chosen territory, but if your aquarium is small enough, it'll treat the whole aquarium as that territory and behave accordingly.

I'm also fairly amazed that your Aulonocara species haven't gone into permanent hiding if you have the genuine Pseudotropheus elongatus in the tank, because frequently, Aulonocara species go into hiding if they are housed with headcases - if they live long enough to run for cover!