Regarding the filters: Canister filters are better IMHO. They have more capacity and are easier to clean in my experience.
Petsmart sells the Eheim Ecco series (with filtermedium included) for decent prices. 90 dollars for the Ecco 2234...
http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...N=2030111&Ne=2
Quote:
quote:Originally posted by Tubby Rower
I've been reading up on Darkness's suggestions and it appears as though some of the species are hard to sex as juveniles and sometimes hard to sex as adults. So Should I just get 1 extra juvenile and return any excess females or males that I might get? What happens if some die? will I be able to add some new fish without starting Fish Wars II?
btw, my rocks are due on Wednesday. Sherry mentioned some other things that we'll need for the house like a fridge, dining room table, new sofa, & window treatments. So I might have to delay this a bit. I'm trying to work it out so I could buy some things now, so it's not as big of a purchase all at once... but I think that she's getting wise to that.
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Sexing cichlids as juviniles is very difficult. It is possible to see by behaviour and bodyshape (males are more active and boisterous and often have "heavier" bodies). The only sure way to sex cichlids is looking at the genital papilla (venting). This is not easy and gets excessively more difficult if the fish are smaller. Buying more juviniles and returning the excess males to the shop is the way to go when purchasing juviniles.
Excess females is not a problem. All Mbuna''s are polygamous, so males appreciate having a lot of females around. Most of the time females like it that way too (fights among females can happen but it's rare).
Pairing after partners die is not a big issue with Malawi cichlids. Because they are polygamous they don't form a single bond with another fish and these bonds are relatively easily replaces (exceptions can happen of course).
Very important: When adding new fish to an established tank you need to do two things:
1. Re-arrange the rocks and plants (re-arranging the fish's territoria).
2. Switch off the lights and only turn them back on the following day.