75 Gallon Malawi Questions

Hey guys, 1st post here.....wanted to get some insight on my setup.

75 gallon, aqua clear 110 currently cycling.

1. For my below stocking plan is 1 110 enough?

2. Please see photo I posted earlier to the Aquarium Photos, titles simply “Mbuna Tank” as I’m having trouble adding here. Do I have enough rock? I’ve seen varying degrees of rock while researching MalawI set ups. I have some slate & terra cotta pots I intend to add stones to to create smaller hiding places as well.

3. Am I too overstocked?

Desired fish:

6 LABEOTROPHEUS TREWAVASAE
6 PSEUDOTROPHEUS FLAVUS
6 MELANOCHROMIS JOHANNI
6 CYNOTILAPIA AFRA NKHATA
6 PSEUDOTROPHEUS ELONGATUS MPANGA

Ratio would be 1m to 5f

I would really like to add in a giant demasoni, but again I see conflicting info regarding a single male vs. a large group. Would a solo male be okay in a tank full of families?

Thank you in advance for the feedback!

 

1. I don't think the 110 is going to cut it with a tank with this many cichlids. Either you get another AC110 or a canister filter to gather all the junk they'll produce.

2. You can only watch them and see how they react. If they need more space you can add more as time goes. Often people will do a wait and see approach. Also there is nothing wroght with just loading the tank with tons of hiding spaces now so you don't have to do it later.

3. You are a little over stocked, you might find aggression due to territory issues. If you see signs of fish fighting due to territory you might need to consider rehoming the fish, fixing the amount of fish you want or drop a few of them before adding them.

How will you know if one is a male and the other is female? It's tough to figure out, especially if you have 30 fish in there.

 

The rocks will be a real nice touch. I find the JohannI is bit more aggressive towards their tank mates. I have just one and he's asserting his dominance over my other cichlids. However my butterikoferi, tho smaller, isn't having any of it

 

1. I don't think the 110 is going to cut it with a tank with this many cichlids. Either you get another AC110 or a canister filter to gather all the junk they'll produce.

2. You can only watch them and see how they react. If they need more space you can add more as time goes. Often people will do a wait and see approach. Also there is nothing wroght with just loading the tank with tons of hiding spaces now so you don't have to do it later.

3. You are a little over stocked, you might find aggression due to territory issues. If you see signs of fish fighting due to territory you might need to consider rehoming the fish, fixing the amount of fish you want or drop a few of them before adding them.

How will you know if one is a male and the other is female? It's tough to figure out, especially if you have 30 fish in there.

Thank you for the feedback! I plan to order them from a company that offers a m/f ratio guarantee (I know....not fail proof) in groups of 4 (1m 3f) or 6(1-2m, 4-5 f) given your response I may opt for the groups of 4 to begin with and add additional if needed. I'm looking for a busy, colorful tank but don't want to over do it!

 

The rocks will be a real nice touch. I find the JohannI is bit more aggressive towards their tank mates. I have just one and he's asserting his dominance over my other cichlids. However my butterikoferi, tho smaller, isn't having any of it

Thank you for the real life experience, they are one of the species I go back and forth on so may think on them a bit!

 

Agreed that you need more filtration. On my 55 African tank I run an AC 110, a Fluval 206, and a sponge filter. I’d shoot for around 20 fish.

 

Your not overstocked, but you are under filtered. The trewavasae and the afra are pretty mellow for mbuna, the other types you picked seem to be much more aggressive. Look into zebras and other types afra to avoid having a tank full of killers. Another way to go would be an all male tank, but still stay clear of the more elongated fish.

 

As said above you need a lot more filtration....I'd recommend a fluval 306 at the very least or better a 406...

 

Your not overstocked, but you are under filtered. The trewavasae and the afra are pretty mellow for mbuna, the other types you picked seem to be much more aggressive. Look into zebras and other types afra to avoid having a tank full of killers. Another way to go would be an all male tank, but still stay clear of the more elongated fish.View attachment 473292

Thank you.....I will look into the types you mentioned. I chose my species based on the “cookie cutter” link that is recommended quite a bit on here, I did lean towards the “aggressive MalawI list”

 

I'm laughing reading that you picked the more aggressive types, but tbh I'm jealous that you can get them.

 

I'm laughing reading that you picked the more aggressive types, but tbh I'm jealous that you can get them.

Why laughing?

 

from what's already been said here, I would agree that filtration needs to go up. having water flow is good for picking up detritus so if you can't get enough from the filter then perhaps a powerhead or something to keep the water mixed. if your stocking is guaranteed with the m-f ratios then I don't think you have a problem with stocking however you may find that you can't produce enough hiding places for your fish with rocks and one dominant one will claim a few of them. what I found in my experience is that I started off trying to replicate the rift lakes by creating rock rubble aquascapes but it is difficult let me tell you. what I found is that I only successfully created a few good hiding spaces and one **** of a fish took all of them and then bullied the rest. so what I ended up doing is having a rock scape without hiding places. so the aquascape looked full and looked like rock rubble but it was actually large landscaping stones with crevices inbetween for fish to swim through, but no caves. so they still acted naturally and still interacted with the rock work but they weren't able to claim territories.