# Stocking 135g malawi tank



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

I want generally smaller fish, maxing out at around 5". I want cheaper hardy ones since my parents will be taking care of them when I am off to uni and I don't want anything too high maintenance. On a pretty tight budget as well. How many species and how many of each can I have? I am thinking demasoni, yellow lab and red zebras to start. Also not a big fan of frontosas. Any inputs are welcome. 

As for filtration, I have an emperor 400 from my last setup, what other filter should I get? Another emp? Remember, tight budget.


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> I want generally smaller fish, maxing out at around 5". I want cheaper hardy ones since my parents will be taking care of them when I am off to uni and I don't want anything too high maintenance. On a pretty tight budget as well. How many species and how many of each can I have? I am thinking demasoni, yellow lab and red zebras to start. Also not a big fan of frontosas. Any inputs are welcome.
> 
> As for filtration, I have an emperor 400 from my last setup, what other filter should I get? Another emp? Remember, tight budget.


Just curious.. which university will you be attending?

If you're on a tight budget then I would suggest waiting for a good deal on any large capacity filter on here or kijiji.


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

Goin to western. Looking to get an xp3, fluval 404. But I can get 2 more emp 400 for the same price. Which one would be better though?


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> Goin to western. Looking to get an xp3, fluval 404. But I can get 2 more emp 400 for the same price. Which one would be better though?


I went to Western too . Enjoy! Keep up the Western Pride and our varsity teams.

I would say fluval 404 or xp3, you already have a HOB. IMO


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

So as for fish stocking, how many species and how many of each can I have in my 135 gallon? I absolutely need red zebra, yellow lab and demasoni. I am sticking around the smaller malawis, topping out at max 5". Need to get the fish fast too so species that are usually readily available and fairly cheap. Any other suggestions or comments about my current choices? I am all ears here, eager to learn 

Quick question:
yellow labs
red by red zebras
red top zebras
melonchromis interuptus
peach zebras
Demasoni

Are these all compatible?


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

labs and zebras will cross breed IIRC


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

I am not breeding them, doubt the fry would survive, I am not making the conditions in the tank and setup for the growth and survival of fry. Will be a fairly open tank. Not gonna breed until I get out of uni. As long as they don't tear each other to shreds, it's fine. I just want a community of compatible malawis as well as a striking display so I picked relatively colourful fish.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

I'm sure he won't sell the hybrids...they will all most likely be eaten if it is an open tank without many hiding spots. Just don't be suprised if there are some that do survive. 

I personally like yellow labs and demasonis, those are pretty common and seemed to get along when I used to keep them.


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## Tbird (Oct 5, 2009)

I have some small yellow labs approx 1.5".


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> Goin to western. Looking to get an xp3, fluval 404. But I can get 2 more emp 400 for the same price. Which one would be better though?


2x404, 2x2217 or 2xXP4 and not XP3 you can never have enough filtration


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

RED Zebra
RED TOP ZEBRAS
MELONCHROMIS INTERUPTUS
YELLOW LABS 
BUMBLE BEE 2-3
Demasoni
ELONGATUS 2-3

Are these all compatible? Don't worry about hybrid fry, they will be given away...if they survive that is lol. As long as they don't tear each other to shreds, it's all good. These are all fry, maybe something to keep in mind. Pretty sure demasoni and elongatus will conflict, so i might keep just the elongatis or possibly trade for demasoni (are their values the same? in terms of price)


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> RED Zebra
> RED TOP ZEBRAS
> MELONCHROMIS INTERUPTUS
> YELLOW LABS
> ...


Why not go with an all male tank so there's no worry about hybrids? Also, I don't think you should give hybrids away. The whole point is to keep them, destroy them or use as feeders.

Hard to say if your choice of fish will get along or not. I've kept limited species of mbunas.


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

I am getting a ton of fry for cheap so I can't select just males. I would rather have possible hybrids (I HIGHLY doubt they will survive), than having pure male tank. The hybrids WILL be feeders lol, in my setup I would be surprised if they survive and I would keep them cause they are a total boss surviving in those conditions. Anyone has any input in terms of compatibility of these fish? They will be raised together as fry


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## Twiggles (Jun 6, 2010)

Well to actually answer your question which I’m not sure anyone has done yet ... that’s not a bad list but there is a problem I see;the demasoni and the elongatus. I would try to choose one or the other; the two species share very similar colouring and would just generally be a bad idea to have them together. In fact you might not even want to put any demasoni in there unless you’re going to have a solid group of 10 or 12 of them in there, they're mean son’s of b******. But besides that I think you’re okay, the tank is going to be huge so as long as they have ample rockwork then it should be ok.


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

I saw that problem as well. I will get either demasoni or elongatis depending on what mike has at his store. If he has demasonis ill trade for those and buy some more, if he has elongatis the I'll just get a few more.


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## Twiggles (Jun 6, 2010)

Good thinking there. I share your love for demasoni though, they're probably my favorite mbuna cichlid, or malawi for that matter they're just awesome.


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

alright, looks like my list is pretty much set. Might add or trade some hear and there. Mike at finatics does straight up trades for fish of equal value right?


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

Philip.Chan.92 said:


> RED Zebra
> RED TOP ZEBRAS
> MELONCHROMIS INTERUPTUS
> YELLOW LABS
> ...


I know that bumble bees and yellow labs are not compatible and melanchromis interuptus have a tendency to make hybrids with demasoni for some reason. That's just from my own experience so take it with a grain of salt. If they're fry, it won't matter until they're at least adult/juvies. Demasoni are usually on the higher end of the $$ scale when compared to other cichlids. Although, I do have 20 0.75" demasoni fry available for 3.5 a piece. (sorry for advertising, just thought you might be interested)


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## bigfishy (Jun 19, 2009)

or try something new

buy my polypterus endlicheri and I will throw in a nice 7" Orino peacock bass for $20


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

lol I wanna keep my fish alive 

Updated list for a 90 gallon NOT the 135, common names, can't spell their scientific name off the top of my head. 
Snow white cichlid
Yellow lab
Demasoni
Red zebra
Perlmutt
Electric blue hap

Is that a good choice? Anything that will cross-breed? They don't look similar so they shouldn't beat each other up.


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

perlmutt and yellow labs are essentially the same species...they could potentially cross breed but I have never had that problem.


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