my mbuna cichlids

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Oct 17, 2009
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hello, i recently bought 4 mbuna cichlids and they seemed to like their new tank going everywhere checking it out and stuff, but over the past few days (1 or 2) they have become shy, always hiding and only coming out for food and swimming super fast, my water parameters are good (finally)

I believe the petstore owner gave me 4 males and
my tank is 30 gallons,

can someone please send me a link to females?
Pseudotropheus saulosi

I would like to get a few females in there with them too, how many of them could i house in my tank ?

maybe thats why their shy ? out of the 4 males there's one thats for sure the dominant one but even his hiding too alot
 
Saulosi females are all yellow, males are blue with black stripes.

Do they have lots of hiding places? Mbuna feel secure when they have lots of rocks or decore to hide in. Also having a few more fish will help bring them out. In such a small tank it's really best to just stick with one species of dwarf mbuna. Saulosi are an excellent choice becuase the males and females look so different.
 
yeah your right i plan to stay with just that species, but the problem is that i cant find small females about 1-3 inches big, all the stores that iv been too ither have only males or "assorted" african cichlids...

any suggestions?
(and if i do find females how many should i add with my 4 males??)

PS: 30 gallon tank
 
Four mbuna in a 30 gallon will not feel very safe. As mentioned, they need lots of rocks and caves to hang in and around, and they need a group to feel secure. When I had 10 peacocks in a 60 gallon tank (all male), they clearly weren't as comfortable until I added three more. 13 seemed to be the magic number in that particular tank.

You also should overstock mbuna slightly to reduce aggression (make sure you have the filter capacity to do so). A 30-gallon is a bare minimum and I'd personally be concerned over time that it would be insufficient. So something to think about for the future.

Also, make sure your pH and kh is high enough for them to feel comfortable.

You may need to order online or put a WTB add on this forum or others to find local breeders.
 
In a 30gal I would add no more than 3 saulosi males and then 6 females for them. Add plenty of rockwork too.
 
I'd agree with Efors, higher numbers of dwarf Mbuna can be housed in a 30, provided there is plenty of rock cover and the right ratio of males to females.
 
but the problem is that i cant find any females, maybe i could find a local breeder on craigslist....

out of my 4 males 1 of them is yellow with slightly noticeable vertical strips, which makes me wonder if he could be a female but then again his the most dominant one in the tank usually chasing around the other blue ones.
 
How big are they? If they're over 2" and the yellow is dominant then it's probably a female. If it was a male with female/juvie coloration it wouldn't dominate other fish, and females of most mbuna have been known to be aggressive to both sexes.

If you're unsure, just vent them and if it is a female and you can't find more of them locally just watch your tank close until one of the males breeds with her, then give her a separate tank and raise some of your own.
 
ibr3ak said:
How big are they? If they're over 2" and the yellow is dominant then it's probably a female. If it was a male with female/juvie coloration it wouldn't dominate other fish, and females of most mbuna have been known to be aggressive to both sexes.

If you're unsure, just vent them and if it is a female and you can't find more of them locally just watch your tank close until one of the males breeds with her, then give her a separate tank and raise some of your own.
Click to expand...

the yellow one is over 2 inches big and it has an egg spot on its anal fin, unlike the blue ones which dont have any egg spots, and if the females are most dominant then why do people say to get 3 females for every male?
i need to buy more of them because i can tell they dont feel comfy since theres only 4 of them in there,

which ones should i try buying to spread the chasing and aggresivness ?
even more males or yellow females?
 
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