In the planning process.......

[sandnuka]

fish-n-vw, I love the tank... I like how simple it is with lots of open space... this will keep them from all hiding and make it more of an active tank..... which you already see, ("crack head fish"). They will actually get a little more graceful once they get used to there new home... they will do the hole, pause... dart.... pause... dart... kinda thing... very cool. Africans are by far my favorite fish to watch. So entertaining!

The stock list looks perfect... Im just imagining the colors... will be a gorgeous african community tank.... and I honestly dont think you should have much cross breedin because the colors are so different between them. Only thing I would suggest, I know you dont want to, but I think a red ruby peacock would just put the whole thing together.

 

[Betty]

I don't think you're going too heavy. My mbuna tanks almost look like cans of sardines.

I have plenty of filtration and do 50% water changes every week and have no problems with overstocking.

 

[larry.beck]

Oh I'll bet the 45 will be nice then. The upper range of the tank is complete lost on mbuna anyway.

I don't mind sharing the details on my tanks. Here's my 55g malawai stocking:

12 Ps. demasoni - I don't bother to sex these, ratio doesn't matter
4 (1M:3f) Cyno. afra "cobue"
6 (2M:4F) Lab. caeruleus
6 (3M:3F - will be adjusting this) I. sprengerae
6 (2M:4F) Ps. acei "white tail"
2 (1M:1F) Ancistrus plecostomus
1 Mastacembelus shiranus - I haven't found a way to sex this yet

You have to note, however, that this tank won't compare to any tank that isn't housing demasoni. They are so unlike other mbuna that you basically have to plan a tank around them. They are small, require relatively little space (for a mbuna), but show high con-specific aggression.

Yes, I am way, way overstocked. My cobues and acei's are still small. And they acei's won't reach maturity in that tank; I'll cycle them out into my 125g and put some juvie yellow-tails in their place.

I run a Fluval 405 canister on the tank with the intake and return both low in the tank, and have a powerhead at the top to break the water tension. There is roughly 120lbs of lace rock in the tank, with some fake plants, black sand and LED lighting. I run dual 100w heaters in there as well.

We do 50% water changes every 5-7 days, and use prime to dechlorinate and cichlids salts to maintain the water chemistry.

That's everything I can think of.

 

[Anonymous]

After just under an hour and 172 pictures this is the best pic I could get of one of them.... you have to look clos because if I got the phone anywhere neer the tank they would go ape.

Btw they have seemed to calm down a bit. But there still crack monkeys I really like them. There like me full of energy and just doin what they do.

:: jees I spell like a preschooler when I'm tierd.::

 

[Anonymous]

Wow that was thorough for a stocklist. Thanks for all the help. And thank you betty and everyone else who has helped me to plan this out. I will probably have more questions and maybee change the stock list down the road but for now its 4 psycho yellow tail acei, will probably double it in a few weeks and go from there. Now to get the 180 set up for my pearsei.

 

[larry.beck]

After just under an hour and 172 pictures this is the best pic I could get of one of them.... you have to look clos because if I got the phone anywhere neer the tank they would go ape.

Btw they have seemed to calm down a bit. But there still crack monkeys I really like them. There like me full of energy and just doin what they do.

ROFL!! Don't worry, they'll calm down a lot. Your labs and cobues will be the crack monkeys once the tank gets into its groove - the acei's should settle down quite a bit. Mine like to come up to me when I'm trying to photograph the tank and stick their nose in the camera.