Hey all- quick question-

I just got my first African cichlid. It's a Kenyi. I got it somewhat for it's aggression but mostly because of the color the two sexes bring to the tank and the ease of breeding them (or so I hear). I only have a male at the moment. It's 2.5" long and quite yellow already. It still has fairly dark vertical bars at the moment but I am guessing that is because it is transitioning from its juvenile coloring. My question(s) is where in the New England area would be a good place to go to find two or three females? And are these species compatible with convicts? I don't think they are compatible per-se but I just want to double check. Finally, I don't think it appreciates the current lighting in my tank. Either that or it's just being shy at the moment. However, what kind of lighting is most commonly found in L. Malawi? When I turn off the flourescent on my tank, he seems to be more social. Is this normal? Thanks in advance. :thanks:

-Tim

Well...Lake Malawi has a bunch of High Pressure sodium lighting rigged up all the way across it.... :jk:

Seriosly though, Malawi has very clear water, and most Mbuna live in the shallower areas of the lake around rocks, so strong lighting should not be an issue.

If it's acting shy, it could just be that it by itself, or it could just take some time to get used to it's new enviornment.

And your right, these fish would not be a good mix with convicts.

What size tank do you have for it?

the black stripes dont really 'disappear' they come and go, get some more fish so gets more comfortable.

Black stripes are also parlty genetic certain males have them and certain males not. I'd guess your tank decor is less then ideal for mbuna if it's acting shy. 55 is absolute minimum for these fish but they are very inteligent and my 90 gallon always seems small. You'l want lot's of rocks and caves with idealy a sand substrate for them to dig in. They won't do well with convicts and especially not in a setup like I described because it tends to intensify there agresion being more territorial then mean. I doubt you'l have a problem finding more these are one of the most common mbuna in stores.


Also it is Maylandia or Metriaclima lombardoi- Not Pseudotropheus anymore

TBlake84, what vantagE means by the name thing is that the name Pseudotropheus lombardoi was the fishes old genus name. It has since been changed to Maylandia or Metriaclima lombardoi. The purists say it should be Maylandia because that name was around first, but many of the strongest voices in the field, like Ad Konings, are using Metriaclima lombardoi. You can use either of these two names & technically be correct, but you may find many of the older, less educated LFS' still use Pseudotropheus, (that's been my experience), so be ready to clarify & use that term if you use the new names & get a blank stare from the LFS person. :)

Re your tank TBlake84, tell us a bit about it. What size, filter & decor do you have amigo? Given your implication that it's a new tank & juvie fish by himself the shyness is likely to be just new tank syndrome & having companions will definitely help that. That being said vantagE gives great advice re the decor you should aim for, for a long term happy lombardoi colony. But please tell us about your tank & what you have currently & we can go from there to be sure. Hey got any pics mate, it'd be great to see what you've done! :pics:

I currently have a 10g. I know it's really small but my parents are on their way up from New Jersey with a 180g in the truck...lol. My grandfather decided to liquidate his collection and is giving me his tank. Anyways, the 10g is temporary until I can get the 180 set up and cycled. Then I will use the 10g as a breeder.

I currently have some Green Wendtii, a small cave built with lava rock, and a nice piece of malaysian driftwood in the 10g. It does have a sand over course gravel substrate with a Penguin Bio-wheel filter with dual mechanical and chemical filter inserts to help keep the suspended sand to a minimum. I have a small air stone and appropriate heater as well.

Considering this fish will be in this tank for about a month while the other one cycles, I do want to have everything right. My Ph is hovering around 8.0 and the temp is 78 F plus or minus a degree. I actually just added the driftwood so the Ph might be dropping, I have yet to check it. Are these water parameters correct? I don't know how to test water hardness but I know Mbuna like harder water. We use well water (no chloramine or chlorine is added) and it usually has a higher iron content but seeing as it is our drinking water, the filtration on our house is impressive. I believe our water is on the hard side anyways... can someone advise me on how to check this?

While the 180g is cycling, I will be on the look-out for some female companionship for my Kenyi. Any ideas on what I can do with the convicts? I have the Kenyi in with them right now and they seem to get along alright.... a little chasing here and there but no biting.... yet. The convicts and Kenyi have pretty much established their own territories even though they are faily close to each other (convicts have taken over the driftwood and the Kenyi stole the rock cave.) Please let me know what you think and I will post pics ASAP. THANKS!

G'day TBlake, I'm glad to hear that the 180g is on the way otherwise I would've had to recommend returning the Kenyi. That's very cool of your granddad to gie you that tank, what a score you lucky bugga!!! :) A 180g will make a spectacular display tank.

First water parameters. The pH is spot on but keep an eye on it as yes the driftwood will bring it down. The Convicts will love it but the Kenyi won't. You can get a kH test kit from the LFS to check your hardness but being ground water I don't think you'll have much of a problem there, but it is definitely useful.

When you get the 180g, I would recommend you follow vantagE's advice re the setup, lots of rock & caves, no driftwood & try & use limestone, if you can get it as it will naturally buffer the water for you. I believe you can get "Texas Holey-rock" in the states which is good too & great to look at. Have a look in the Gallery here for ideas re layout etc. But don't add all your rock at first, add say half of it to begin with, I'll tell you why later. For substrate I'd recommend Pool Filter sand, it is great to work with & doesn't require quite so much washing as many others. Just rinse till the water runs clear. You can buy it at any Pool shop.

Be sure to have really good filtration, leave the penguin you have now on the 10g for your convicts & aty your earliest opportunity upgrade that to a 30g for them. I would keep the Con's myself, as they're great little fish & in a bigger tank they may breed for you & the fry can be a nice little protein treat once a month for the mbuna... yes they vegetyarian but protein once a month is good for them IME, colours them up nice.

Re the Kenyi, hold off buying anything else till the 180g has cycled. As soon as it's setup & running put the Kenyi in there, yes I know it won't be cycled but he'll be fine on his own, a 180g with a 2.5" fish, the nitrate's shouldn't spike high enough, & you need fish in there to start the cycle anyway, so get him out of the 10G cos that's more likely to harm him. Especially if the Con's breed, they'll tear him a new one!! Kenyi are tough but at 2.5" against a breeding pair of Con's, he'd have no chance. He'd be much safer in the 180.

Once the 180's cycled then buy him a couple of females, wait a week then some more. & start stocking from there. As you add new fish, add more of the rock & shuffle stuff around to keep messing up the established territories to give the new fish as much chance as possible & not get beaten up by the locals. Especially the Kenyi. & all being well in about 8-12 weeks you should have an awesome mbuna tank.

The only other thing I'd recommend is as you stock, keep the diets the same, so only vegetarians & I'd stay with mbuna & maybe spome catfish for alga control. That way there's no danger of dietary illnesses like bloat because the mbuna will eat anything so getting food past them to feed carnivorous fish is not possible.

Well, hope that helps mate, keep us updated & yeah get pics asap. I am soo jealous! That 180 is gonna make a very sweet malawi tank mate! You lucky sod!!! :) Enjoy! & don't hesitate to ask for help. vantagE really knows his mbuna & there's a lot of people with a lot of experience in keeping Malawians on this forum, & they're happy to help out with advice & tips anytime. :)