20inch cube Cichlids newbie

trumpeter said:

Hi all,
just setup a new tanks and am thinking of keeping lake malawi cichlids.
Question is is my tank big enough and if so how many fish could i keep.
I asked my local shop and he said i could get 30 fish in there but this seems a bit much.
Also what is the best materials for these fish. Again i was told coral sand and ocean rock would be good.
I have high PH water (7.8) so i assume this is OK.
All advice greatly appreciated.

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we are going to need much more info then this. what type of tank, how many gallons etc. there are many experts on here, but if you want my opinion, if your going to have 30 lake malawi fish, you better have a very large tank. they grow big, and need lots of rocks and hiding spaces. and did I mention a very large...... tank?

oh and how about A picture of your tank? seriously fish stores will tell you anything to sell you 30 fish.

thats roughly between 39 and 40 gallons. Big enough for some Lake M's but definitely not 30. I have had the same experience with LFS telling me i could fit more fish than i really could.

I would not keep Lake Malawi Cichlids in a 20" long tank. Its not big enough IMO. I would suggest atleast a 3ft tank for some Malawi Mbuna, most need a 4ft atleast though....and same for Peacocks.

For a 20" long tank, go for smaller cichlids from Lake Tanganyika or with South American dwarves in a community tank.

The number of gallons isn't the most important thing IMO for Malawians....its the length of the tank.

A pair of Rams, Apistos, or Kribensis; an Angelfish, and a school of something peaceful.

The bright yellow ones you saw were most likely Yellow Labs/Electric yellows....they get about 5 inches and are less aggressive than other Mbuna, but I still wouldn't put them in a 20" tank...as they aggression level can vary.

If you want cichlids only, check out Lake Tang. Shelldwellers. You could have a nice colony of Neolamprologus multifasciatus ("Multies"). I'd start out with 3 pairs or so and let them reproduce and add to the colony.

http://www.fishtanksandponds.info/live-stock/tropical/tanganyikan-shell-dwellers.htm Here is a site about other shell dwelling cichlids. Some are more aggressive than others though, so will limit your stocking numbers. They have quite the personality though, to be so small.

While your tank is sufficient gallons wise for Lake Malawis, a 20" long tank just isn't practical for them. The longer the tank the better for them.

have you looked at trying to find some afas to go in there. i know that afas only get about 3 inches and there are some very colorful and beautiful species to choose from by fav. is the cobue afa.