Lake Malawi Cichlid Information for Beginners

Here are some common cichlid species that are oftentimes available to be purchased. I have included their scientific names as well as their common names, which are mostly used to help find them in your local fish store. I have also included a picture of these colorful fish, their 'temperament' (whether they are aggressive or peaceful cichlids ) and 'size'. This should help you in choosing African cichlids. Metriaclima lombardoi (Kenyi)   Temperament : If taken from the wild they are very aggressive. If they are captive bred, then they are a little less aggressive. Size: Up to 5 inches ______________________________________________ Labidochromis caeruleus (Electric Yellow Lab) Temperament: Very peaceful Size: Up to 3 inches for a fully grown electric yellow cichlid ______________________________________________ Melanochromis johannii (Electric Blue) Temperament: Moderately aggressive Size: Up to 4 inches ______________________________________________ Metriaclima es...

When it comes to African cichlids and other types of aquarium fish it is not a good idea to put them together in the same tank. Even though cichlids look beautiful and harmless, they are very aggressive fish and they will harass and kill foreign fish and even fish of their own species. So to save you time and money I recommend that you never put other tropical fish in with African cichlids, because even aggressive tropical fish will not have a chance against them. They are just plain mean when it comes to other fish especially if they are breeding cichlids. You can keep in your tank any type of cichlid species found in Lake Malawi but you don't want to ever mix South American cichlids and African cichlids together! You must only choose one or the other, you cannot mix different regions together because it will prove to be disastrous! But you may be wondering, how do I keep my tank free of algae, can I put in a bottom feeder fish or an algae cleaner with my cichlids? My recommen...

If you want to maintain healthy and beautifully colored fish then you must maintain a good Mbuna cichlid diet. Cichlids eat a wide variety of food from vegetation to other fish. Certain species consume more plant matter than other species, however you can feed all your mbunas a mix of pellets and supplement with spirulina, live guppies, or frozen food. If you do this then you will cover the dietary requirements of the majority of cichlids from Lake Malawi especially if you are part of the bunch that makes up Lake Malawi cichlid beginners. You can buy a good commercial brand of cichlid pellets and this actually can cover their diet very nicely. I don't recommend that you use normal tropical fish food or food that you would give to a goldfish. Look for cichlid pellets that are designed to greatly enhance their color. These work really well. They do offer a cichlid flake, but the pellet seems to be the one that works the best in my opinion. I like to watch them chase the pellet as...

This is some simple but important advice for Lake Malawi cichlid beginners. If this is your first freshwater tropical fish tank setup and you have had a chance to study up on the information I have provided through this blog and you have reached the point of wanting to start an African Mbuna cichlid aquarium then here is a tip that you will want to know to be successful. Cichlids are an awesome tropical fish species to have but it is very important to know how to properly take care of them. What are some of the African cichlid tank requirements? Well, your new tank needs to be cycled before live fish are added. What does that mean? It means that you allow enough time for your tank water to properly build up a sufficient amount of natural bacteria that aids in reducing or breaking down organic material. Fish waste, plant matter, rotting fish, uneaten food are all broken down by certain bacteria. This bacteria produces ammonia and this is very dangerous for fish. So you can understand ...

Cichlid aggression prevention is a very important topic when it comes to these tropical freshwater fish. If certain cichlids are allowed to be bullies in the tank this can cause undo stress on the other fish and may cause a rise in disease and death. That would not be good! So probably the best way to avoid conflict between your fish is to make sure that you have lots of cichlids in the aquarium. It seems like a strange concept but if you put in a lot of cichlids they won't have enough space to establish territories and the result can be peace in the tank with less aggression. Believe it or not, this concept works! Within the African cichlids natural habitat , they are aggressive by nature and it is not uncommon to see them chasing each other around. Or you may see them peck at each other's fins or may appear to be fighting face to face. This is their normal action and behavior but if you notice that a single fish is constantly being picked on, then you will want t...

You may be like me and like the tropical fish species called Mbuna cichlids. If this is the species that you have chosen to put into your tank then, good for you! I will like to suggest that when choosing African cichlids that you purchase all the cichlids you want at one time. It is not a good idea to buy a few now and then a few more later because the original cichlids in the tank will have probably already established boundaries and adding in new cichlids could cause some major fighting. By adding them all at the same time eliminates one particular species from gaining total control and terrorizing the rest in the tank. This approach can level the playing field, so to speak. But if you already have a few Malawian cichlids in your tank and you want to add some more then read the post I wrote called "Cichlid Aggression Prevention". And of course that post can help you if some fighting does start in your tank some time in the future (hopefully this doesn't happen, but it ...

My site deals with tropical freshwater fish called African cichlids. I only deal with them and so I won't be discussing Central and South American cichlids at this time (but I may start a new blog about them at a later date!) But I do want to say that African cichlids and Central and South American cichlids are similar as tropical fish species but they are different enough that they should not be kept together in the same tank. The benefit is they can both be cared for in the same way but just not kept together. The most common species for home aquariums are the African cichlids and I have included a little bit of information in regards to the Lake Malawi cichlids natural habitat. They are extremely colorful and most are bred in captivity and so the price is cheaper for them and your tank parameters don't have to exactly match the waters of Lake Malawi because they are used to more normal water specifications. I specially like the Mbuna species and that is the type that I will ...

Mbuna Tank Size Since I have chosen to do a blog about the tropical fish species called Mbuna Malawian cichlids I will be giving tips, guidelines, and requirements for this freshwater fish only. These are the smaller of the cichlid species and so they can thrive in a smaller aquarium of approximately 20 to 30 gallons. You most certainly can go bigger if you want, but it's nice to know that you can have these beautiful colorful creatures in a normal sized tank as well, especially if you have limited space. Malawi Cichlids Natural Habitat How to create a lake Malawi atomosphere: Malawian cichlids have three general living preferences: rocky, sandy, or mid-water. The Mbuna's mostly prefer rocks. Use smooth rocks and pile them up to form caves and hideaways for them to take refuge in. Use just enough sand to cover the bottom of your tank because these type of cichlids like to dig and they will make piles of sand and gravel all along the bottom of the tank. And if you have too...