I am a fish keeper and have a 30 gal tank empty at the moment. What Malawi Cichlids Would be suitable?

Question

I already have an 80 gal south american tank and 20 gal community and a large golden orfe pond. I would really appreciate feedback.

Answer 1

Yes a couple (4-6) yellow labs would be ok in there for a while til they mature then they might need sothing a little bigger. I am getting some brichardi daffodil. There is also the original brichardi but the daffodil has yellow dorsal and anal fins. These fish would be great in a school of 6 in a rocked and sand tank. These are Tanganyikan cichlids though. If you want a nice, easy and beuatiful fish I would recommend. I say easy cause they breed like the convict. They will take great care of their fry until you seperate them. the same water as the malawi but They like there water from 75-77 degrees F.

Answer 2

Actually you do have quite a bit of choices here, but the biggest trick, Malawi, Tangs or Victorian is knowing your males and females.  Females by far are more peaceful then males.  There are very few species that are in exception to this.  That's the real trick I've found to keeping Africans.

Labidochromis Caereleus is the Yellow lab, and usually an all around solid choice to get your hands into Africans with.  I have a strong preference for Auloncara Baenschi Peacocks myself, or even Benga Regal yellows.  There are quite a few Pseudotropheus species you could dive right into as well.  Zebras were mentioned by the young lady which has some advantages to having diverse sub groups and colors, but the only thing I don't personally like about Zebras is that these are quite a bit more aggressive then most Pseudotropheus types even many Haps too.

If you elect to go with Zebra's your best bet is to keep Zebra's only as these are high aggressor types.  If you wanted to mix Pseudotropheus types, you could get just as many, but probably have less stress.  I breed Ps. Flavus myself, but I also keep Ps. Elongatus, Ps. Acei, Johanni's and Auratus too.  My tank is a 180 so mixing higher aggressors isn't an issue with mine, but in a 30, the foot print is lower so you have to scale down accordingly.

You could also consider, if you want a large community, to go strictly Tangyanikan, and go shell dwellers.  They don't get big, but you can pack a large group of them in a 30.  Even the males barely reach 1 inch in size and have quite a bit of color to them.

Answer 3

I really enjoy any of the zebra mbuna.  There are a variety of these fish that come in many colors and stay between 4 and 6 inches.  red zebra, red finned albino zebra, blue zebra...

I also enjoy "yellow labs" and Kenyi (a dimorphic fish).

good luck and happy fish keeping.