# Stocking Malawi 90 Gallon



## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

I will be using flagstone and another round rocks so that fry can survive as well as enough hiding places for the fish to feel right at home. The tank size is 90 gallons 48"x18"x 24" high. I want fish that will not breed hybrids and will not tear each other apart.

Species I currently want are:
Yellow labs
Red Zebra
Demasoni
Yellow Tail Acei
Perlmutt or snow white cichlid

Will any of these fish crossbreed or kill each other? Any other suggestions for fish? I wanna stick with mbunas


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> I will be using flagstone and another round rocks so that fry can survive as well as enough hiding places for the fish to feel right at home. The tank size is 90 gallons 48"x18"x 24" high. I want fish that will not breed hybrids and will not tear each other apart.
> 
> Species I currently want are:
> Yellow labs
> ...


no more 135G?


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

Maybe for my uncle, but not for me . Might be able to get the 135 gallon from my uncle after I graduate.

Any suggestions in terms of stocking though?  5 species should be fine for 90 gallon, how many of each though?


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> I will be using flagstone and another round rocks so that fry can survive as well as enough hiding places for the fish to feel right at home. The tank size is 90 gallons 48"x18"x 24" high. I want fish that will not breed hybrids and will not tear each other apart.
> 
> Species I currently want are:
> Yellow labs
> ...


Instead of asking for opinions from folks that may or may not be knowledgeable I suggest you check out websites such as Cichlid-Forum for their expert recommendations.

Check out this page of "cookie cutter" setups for 75 gallon tanks which are almost the same as a 90.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_75g.php

Pay close attention to their recommendations because sometimes they say stuff like "Select only 1 from A or B and 1 from C".

Then go to a place like Finatics and pick up top quality stock from a reputable person like Mike otherwise you could end up with poor quality or worse hybrids.

Good luck with your new setup.
--
Paul


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

Posted, gonna get yellow labs, demasoni, yellow tail acei and deciding on last species, any suggestions?


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

Current List:
Yellow labs
demasoni
yellow tail acei
albino socolofi

I want something that looks like a red zebra in terms of colour, might just get a singular one of that species since my tank is already fully stocked.


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos or demasoni for this stock list? How many Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos need to be kept together?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Yellow labs are among the least aggressive of mbuna, and Melanochromis spp tend to be extremely aggressive.

In general, you should get species with a comparable level of territoriality and aggressiveness. You should also have more females than males of each species, perhaps four females per male. Don't combine fish in the same genus or where either sex has a color or pattern resembling that of another species. This will not only reduce injury, but will minimize hybridization.

You can use pieces of plastic pipe in your rock piles to increase the number of hiding places. The piles have to be very stable or the fish may knock off rocks that can injure them or crack the tank. The pile should be on the bottom of the tank, not on the substrate, because mbuna dig.

If you want a successful mbuna community, you need to do more research, on the web or in books. cichlid-forum is a good site, and there are others. Good luck!


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## Philip.Chan.92 (Apr 25, 2010)

I have done a lot of research, just not sure about melanochromis cyaneorhabdos, i hear they are only super aggressive towards their own genus. My stock list before was cichlid-forums approved  just harder to find demasonis these days.


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