Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower
Between Darkness's's's's purty fish and my daughter and son oogling at the fish tanks at my mom's house (20 gal goldfish) and at church (~80 gal saltwater), I have been wanting to get another tank. I had a 10 gal tank when I was a wee lad of 14, but then my mom took over and got a bigger tank. We've had the "easy" tropical fish like guppies and mollies and neon tetras. and then Mom got into the fancy goldfish with crazy tails, big bulging eyes and growths that look like they have a brain poking out of their skull.
So I've been wanting to get one, but our current house is space limited and there was no good place for one. Now that we have found a bigger house and will move at the beginning of next month, I started researching what I needed to do. So I emailed Darkness and sent on my pathetic attempt to play a PBEM and asked him if he could give me a primer of what I needed to do. He sent me back a 2 page response with some links for further readings.... I've read a lot and have decided to start a Lake Malawi tank. Right now I am only slightly overwhelmed.
My plan is to chronicle my tank start up and get pointers as I go instead of after all of my fish are dead. I'll be posting pictures as I go. I don't have a picture right now of the new tank location but I'll see if I can scrounge one up when I get home.
My plan:- 55 gal (~ 200 liter) tank ~$175
- stand for said tank ~$150
- hood/lights for said tank $???
- black sand on the bottom $20 / 20 lbs of black Tahitian Moon sand <- not sure how many bags I'll need
- rocks for decoration (I'm attempting to get Texas Holey Rock) ~$40 x 3
- filter $???
- fish $???
So as you can see I'm not sure how much all of this is going to cost as I'm not completely sure how much black sand will cost, which type of filter I'll be getting, what type of cichlids I'll be getting. I'm expecting the initial investment to be around $750.
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Lake Malawi... Nice choice.
Regarding the tank/stand: Here in the Netherlands they sell Juwel aquariums. These consist of a tank and a stand (and a hood with lighting in it) in one buy, which is often a bit cheaper then buying both seperate. Now I don't know if this brand is also sold in the US, but there should be something comparable in your part of the world... This brand sells 60 gallon tanks for about 200 euro's, stand included. Maybe you can find something comparable?
Regarding the Tahitan Moon sand: I see you're falling into the same trap that I once fell in...
First, Tahitan moon sand is NOT real sand. It's crushed quartz. Which has very shart edges, which will damage your fish if they like to dig. And trust me, almost all Malawi Cichlids dig... Second, a dark sand bottom means your fish will colour very dark, which will not show their best colours. White sand is exactly the opposite, which means the fish will be very bland. You've got to pick something in between...
Regarding the rock: Texas holey rock has a good side and a bad side. Good side: It has lots of big holes (hiding places for the fish, to escape the sight of the dominant male for a bit). Bad side: It has lots of small holes, which will accumulate dirt and will give your tank a dirty outlook.
Some small pointers regarding Lake Malawi cichlids:
- Try to get this book: "Guide to Malawi Cichlids" - by Ad Konings. This book basically contains all you need to know about Lake Malawi cichlids.
- Stick to Mbuna cichlids (Haplochromines will grow very large and Aulonocara's are weak fish)
- Feed green food (plant-based) mostly. I use an American Brand, OSI spirulina. Very good food.
- Like Robboo said, it's very easy to overfeed, so be moderate with the feeding can (skipping food for one day a week is a good way to prevent you from spoiling them rotten).