10 months in to my Malawis.... How am I doing?

1203 Views 18 Replies 7 Participants Last post by NewNoise21, Feb 17, 2011

NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · Feb 14, 2011

Hey everyone, long time reader first time poster type of deal. I've gotten a wold of info from reading your posts on here so thank you in advance! I'm almost a year in to my tank and there are a couple questions and some things i'd like some opinions on... I have 2 Kenyi (a male and female) and 2 Red Jewels (also male and female). The tank is 110G with a built in overflow box.I have a 30G sump pumping around 650GPH and a Haggen Aquaflo110 on the back of my tank.... The questions I have are 1).. I use bioballs, filter cloth, ceramics, and carbon for my filter media. I have great circulation and water movement but am I getting enough oxygen into the water?. 2)...My male Kenyi is super aggressive but more of an annoyance to everyone than a threat or a problem. Should I consider adding a couple more females? I've read that could help but will that overload my tank and is it too late or not a good idea to introduce new and possibly smaller fish at this point?

1 - 19 of 19 Posts

DJRansome

· #2 · Feb 14, 2011

You have only four fish in a 110G?

If so I would add six female kenyi.

Have the jewels spawned? They have a rep for being overly aggressive to tank mates when spawning.

vahid

· #3 · Feb 14, 2011

First of all jewels are not malawian, they came from rivers of west africa and as mentioned before, in breeding time they are aggressive. I have just begun keeping mbunas but one of the first fish that I kept 5-6 years ago were was a pair of red jewels and I think the better choice will be keeping them in their own tank.

NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 14, 2011

Yep just 4 in there... I'd love to add some more females. If they are smaller are they going to get picked on? Everyone in there right now is at least 4". The jewels have spawned twice since i've had them but they got eaten really fast. The male Jewel is big but he's a wuss, both Kenyi bully him around more often than not..

vahid

· #5 · Feb 14, 2011

4 fish in a 110 gal tank!!!!!!!!
When i stock my tanks the biggest temptation is to add a few fish and a few fish and ....
you can add much more fish and with that filteration your tank is very understocked. Maybe an empty tank is beautiful for you but I think the aim of fishkeeping is to have the most number of fish which I can keep in a suitable environmentand care for them adequately.

DJRansome

· #6 · Feb 14, 2011

Usually you can add smaller fish (around 1.5") and they will not be picked on by the adults of the same species. Don't know about the jewels.

Since you won't be able to sex juveniles...I would get twice as many as you want to end up with and remove extra males as they mature.

dielikemoviestars

· #7 · Feb 14, 2011

vahid said:
Maybe an empty tank is beautiful for you but I think the aim of fishkeeping is to have the most number of fish which I can keep in a suitable environmentand care for them adequately.

What? You aim to pack in as many fish as possible? Talk about quantity over quality...

Agree with other posters - make that Kenyi pair a colony and make sure there are two very distinct territories, since everything will likely continue to become more aggressive when spawning.

DJRansome

· #8 · Feb 14, 2011

dielikemoviestars said:
What? You aim to pack in as many fish as possible? Talk about quantity over quality....

There IS a guideline that says mbuna like to be crowded. Sometimes if you don't have enough fish they hide too much. And mbuna pairs are very likely to end with a dead female.

NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · #9 · Feb 14, 2011

Thanks for the help you guys are rad. I figured with only 4 everyone would have their own space, I definitely dont like a bare aquarium but overcrowding was always a fear of mine, I'll definitely add a few more females. With a Mbuna tank do I need and natural media like plants or live sand to oxygenate the tank properly or am I ok with the media Im currently using?

JcarrVT

· #10 · Feb 14, 2011

dielikemoviestars said:
What? You aim to pack in as many fish as possible? Talk about quantity over quality...

With most other kind of fish you are correct but go google some of the footage from Lake Malawi, they are in HUUUUGE numbers in relatively small spaces that we can't easily reacreate in the aquarium. Our attempts at overcrowding them is an attempt to recreate their natural habitat. The aggression mbuna are so known for probably evolved because of the massive competition that is constantly going on in these large schools. The damage and fatalities caused by aggression are mitigated the more individuals there are, provided an appropriate balance of each sex.

DJRansome

· #11 · Feb 15, 2011

NewNoise21 said:
Thanks for the help you guys are rad. I figured with only 4 everyone would have their own space, I definitely dont like a bare aquarium but overcrowding was always a fear of mine, I'll definitely add a few more females. With a Mbuna tank do I need and natural media like plants or live sand to oxygenate the tank properly or am I ok with the media Im currently using?

Oxygenation is achieved via filtration, so as long as you have enough surface disruption caused by the water return on your filters, you are fine. Are the fish sipping air from the surface?

NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · #12 · Feb 15, 2011

Ok cool. Thank you! No they are not sipping air from the surface at all, i've actually never seen them do that so I suppose thats a good sign.

vahid

· #13 · Feb 15, 2011

dielikemoviestars wrote:
What? You aim to pack in as many fish as possible? Talk about quantity over quality....
I mentioned 2 conditions 1 keeping them in the suitable environment crowding mbunas to some extent makes the tank environment like their natural habitat.2 caring for them adequately, overcrowding them without controlling the chemistry of water and nitrogen cycle in my opinion does not constitute caring for them adequately. He has a largish tank and keeps only 4 fish in it, its unusual, and I think one of the advantages of having a large tank is the chance of keeping larger number of fish. and afterall there is not a rigid rule that compells you to like what i like and every one can like and create his own ideal tank. Sorry for bad english and long post.

In the case of jewels the best scenareo is keeping them in pairs otherwise the breeding pair will chase the other fish to exhaustion. I think the best option would be to remove the jewels from that tank but its your tank and do what you like.

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NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · #14 · Feb 16, 2011

Okie dokie I picked up 3 females today and this has been pretty interesting so far... My male is losing it, I think he just doesn't know what to do with him self... The original female has gone from annoyed and hiding all the time to border line jealous and aggressive tword the new females... no fins or eyes are missing yet so I guess just see how it goes?

DJRansome

· #15 · Feb 16, 2011

Usually when adding fish I like to add six at a time so the new guys are not overly picked on.

NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · #16 · Feb 16, 2011

Ya this has been awesome, totally changed my tank. You guys were right i'm way understocked... what else can I put in there? I was thinking some bumble bees or zebras?

Super Turtleman

· #17 · Feb 17, 2011

I think some bumblebees will work. Maybe some type of zebra if you like them. Since you want to keep the jewels and kenyi, adding the more aggressive species is a good option. Maybe some auratus???

Chunkanese

· #18 · Feb 17, 2011

I wouldn't add a few. I would add like 30. Seriously. You have so many options and if you get a large calm dominant male everything will be fine. With so few fish they will be forced to have huge territories. Add more you have less agression and more likely not to end up with dead females. Some acei would go well.

NewNoise21

Discussion Starter · #19 · Feb 17, 2011

Awesome thanks for the help, I'll go here in the next couple days and keep it posted. Guess I didnt think I had that many options.. Thanks again!

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