70 gal Malawi tank, A Journal.

[groan]

OK!
New topic on the 70 gal malawi tank! I'm very excited!

I need input if you don't mind.
Here is what I have, and what i will be starting with.
HARDWARE:
70gal
2x Fluval 304's
a heater (not sure what type or how powerful, markings are gone but seems to be working)
substrate = Sahara Sand (I know, I should have gone to the hardware store...i'm an idiot, but it looks great!)

SOFTWARE: (hehe, fish)
3 Yellow Lab juvies (M/F, dunno yet)
4 Afra (I think 2 male, 2 female)
2 Clown Plecos (i think they are clowns...) I'll replace these with 2 BN's if i can get some at a decent price.
I am moving them from the 30 gal tonight!

I am looking for info and suggestions on additional fish to add. I would love some more open-water fish to take advantage of the large space I have also I know the afras and labs wont get very large.

I would love to get some Peacocks in there but am open to options.
I am not trying to stick to a colour scheme this time so i don't want to stay with blue or yellow so feel free to suggest others, but I do want bold colours, even will consider black and white spots or stripes.

Some options I am considering (only because I see they are available or will be from Pegasus and DD...(other breeders feel free to speak up!)

(From Pegasus) Stuartgranti, Red Empress, Lithobates, Maleri Sunshine, Crabro, moorii, Copadichromis mloto Midnight, Protomelas steveni Taiwan Reef, BN Pleco
(From DD) Otopharynx Lithobates "Zimbabwe"

If you see anything that should NOT be placed in this tank let me know or suggest something completely different. Consider this the OVAS Club Tank except i have to buy everything so keep the cost down!...hehe (I'll eventually join...I'VE JOINED!)

[Steve_2]

You can always go for a breeding trio of albino peacocks...That way you will avoid the yellows and blues which seem to be very hard to do with a Malawi tank. Im realizing with my own tank I've got too much of those colours as well. Also I would recommend the red empress. I just bought some and I love them. Ask Pegasus if he has any availlable. I didn't buy mine from him, but I have been to his place before to buy some C.Mooriis and he's got lots of amazing fish!

Good luck.

[groan]

I think going albino is the opposite of what i am looking to do. i want colour, not lack of it
I'm not agains getting more blue or yellow, but I would like a mix if possible.
I just dont want to get more of the same as what i already have (unless it's recommended due to the new size of the tank).

I've seen Red Emps at Darkdeps and they are beautiful!

anyone else have any ideas? I have time to dwwell on this so I'll update this thread as I gain new knowledge.

[darkdep]

Red Empresses are great fish.  Only problem is many grow up to be more blue than red.  A couple Lithobates are good but not too many (ideally you want to get a single male IMHO, but you need a while to see gender). 

Peacocks are AWESOME.  Any kind really.  They have a very different shape and are very colourful.  Keep an eye out for the Spencer Jack group order in the next bit, good peacocks there.

I won't have any Thick Skin (C44) ready for a while yet.  Good ones are crazy colourful.  My breeding male is one of my favourite fish.  We'll see how the juvies turn out. 

Moorii are great as well, but are blue.  They grow VERY slow, so look for a mature male or get some and wait...a long time.

[Steve_2]

I'd have to say that mooriis are one of my very favourite freshwater fish! And they have great personalities on top of that. I have a group of six in my 67g tank and I cant wait untuill they start breeding. They are all 3-5 inches right now and will soon need to be moved to a bigger tank...along with the livingstoniis.

[darkdep]

I know!  Moorii rock.  I have a colony of 8 now, and have had my first holding female for the past 3-4 days.  If she holds until Jan 8 she gets moved to an isolation tank...fingers crossed!

[groan]

Thanks for the suggestions DD...I don't mind slow growers, means I have something to look forward to for a long time though instant colour is nice, liek the labs and afrtas you sold me. they are doing great except they like to hide all the time. only come out when i feed them!

I'm hoping that will change in the new tank.

I'd love to get some peacocks. are they more of an open-water dweller?

Steve and DD, The mooriis look great. The forehead feature would make them a great 'feature' fish.

[darkdep]

Peacocks are drifters...yes, more open water.  Lithobates are open water as well. 

The Afras and Labs will come out if there are more fish in the tank..it will make them more secure.  Many people have that issue.

[groan]

hehe,
I just read this on the Cichlid forum site about Mooriis...
"Because of this fish's giant proportions, adults and even sub-adults should not be kept in aquariums less than 125 gallons in size. "

should I avoid them in a 70 gal? I am looking to put in maybe 8-10 more fish...does that sound unreasonable?
for example, maybe 4 moorii and 4-5 other (not definate on the mooriiyet, just an example

[darkdep]

Advice on Cichlids is funny, cause it generally only takes into account the maximum size of the fish.  Moorii grow so slow that you'll probably die before the fish are full grown.

Ok, I'm exaggerating...a little.

I've had my Moorii for almost, what, 3 years now, and the biggest is 4".

[babblefish1960]

You're supposed to feed them you silly.

[Steve_2]

I agree with DarkDep. Mine right now are 3-5" in length not including the tails and they seem quite comfortable in the 67g tank I have them in right now. Not to mention it is quite overpopulated right now since my fish are growing fast(Im not talking about the mooriis...but more the labs, the afras, the livingstoniis, and so on). Some people say Mooriis grow to 12" in lenght while others say 6-8". Assuming that 6-8" is more accurate than 12"...I don't see why 4-8 of them could not be kept in a 70g with adequate filtration. Also...as DD already mentioned...it'll be a LONG time before they get big. Why don't you start out with a group of about 8 juvenils? In my tank...the mooriis come from two different breeders. One of which is Pegasus...and you can EASILY tell which 3 of the group come from him....they are much nicer than the 3 others. They are metalic blue with some darker blotches on their bodies. My dominant male is solid metalic blue though.

[groan]

good!
I look forward to getting some in my tank!

Maybe I'll get 5 juvies and 5 juvies of a peacock and when they get too large I'll sell off a few.
Does that sound valid?
That way I can do all my shopping at Pegasus's (i'm big on convienience)

[Steve_2]

Sounds like a plan to me!  Carefull with the peacocks though...if you get two males, they will fight. Mooriis on the other hand wont be a problem. You can always got for a breeding trio of peacocks.

[groan]

what if i get two types of peacock, or is that a no-no?
what im saying is 5 blue dolphins, 3 peacock1 and 3 peacock 2?
Am i overstocking at this point?
I just like the variety but i dont want to get greedy at the expense of the fish.

[groan]

I see that Pegasus has Haplochromis sp. "Thick Skin" (C44) listed as well...

I'm hoping he'll chime in here so I can know what is actually available.
Pegasus, when you see this thread, can you post what fish in your stables you have available for purchase or will be soon available?
DD,
When will your c44's be available?

still looking for confirmation about my question above as well.

[darkdep]

IMHO, don't mix peacocks unless they are vastly different in colouration, but that's just me.  Many mix them.

Half my breeding group genetics are from Pegasus' C44 stock.  I know he was getting out of them, so not sure what he has.  I am growing up my first two spawns now (with two more in the breeding nets) but don't have enough experience with the babies yet to tell you how fast they grow.

[groan]

ok,
so I'll decide what type of peacock i want and wait for it, the c44 looks lovelya nd maybe i'll wait for them to go along with teh dolphins.

so in the end, how does this sound

4-5 mooriis
1m 2f  c44 peacocks (or some other)
4 afra
3 lab


should I get more afra and/or labs or stick with what I have? wait, if they do what they do I'll have more sooner or later.
on an aside, how big before I see the ones you sold me get into their breeding habits?

[Steve_2]

Correct me if I am wrong, but C44s are not peacocks and don't come from Lake Malawi. They are from Lake Victoria I believe. They are still super nice looking fish. I had them before but my dominant male harrassed my peacocks untill all but one of my females died. I got rid of all of them...which is too bas as my male c44 was my favourite fish in the whole tank at that point(That was before the Mooriis). As for mixing peacocks...thats not recommended at all. First of all, the males of different species will fight and you'll end up with very unhappy submissive males(and one proud dominant). Second...the females from pretty much all the different kinds of peacocks look almost identical therefore you will have lots of cross-breeding going on which is not recommended. Tghe good news is...you can get a trio of peacocks and a trio of c44s.

[groan]

hehe, well i'm sold on the mooriis so i will decide on one other batch of either c44's or a peacock.

thanks for the heads up onthe c44. i would like to keep the tank malawi only but we'll see.