Burbot

Ditto.

One thing to keep in mind is mbuna, like most African mouth brooders, are "harem" spawners. A single female will be harassed constantly by a male and most likely end up dead, leaving you with a single male. I always try to have at least 3+ females to one male. Especially in such a small tank. I have kept a group of 8 in a 40gal, leaving the dominant male and pulling out the other males as they mature until I had one very happy male and 5 females. Dither fish are not necessary with mbuna since they are so active. No need to add more stress on the tank in terms of bioload. Instead of a BN pleco I would suggest Syn. petricola. The Synondontis will take a lot more abuse and come from the same habitat as the African cichlids. Just keep in mind the petricolas are also happier in a group and don't do well in small numbers. As far as the hard wear, substrate and plants you are right on track. Hope this is helpful and good luck in your mbuna endeavors. :beer:

Wow, can't wait for pics... :beer:

Ditto for Spencer Jack. :beer:

Any brand that is 100% silicone...

Nice Tom. You might want to screen the eggs so she doesn't eat them. A simple mesh like the bug screen on your windows around the tube, about a cm away from the eggs. That way she can still fan the eggs but not eat them. Remove the other tank inhabitants too, will help keep the parents happy, especailly the mom. I know when I spawned discus the parents tend to get spooked and eat the eggs the 1st few times. Peace and quiet seem to be key. Cheers and congrats!

Convict cichlid, not african

If your silicone is 100% you are fine regardless of which brand. Clear 100% is what you need. Anything with an additive like mold or mildew resistance will kill the fish. Cheers :beer:

That and the guy who did the web site doesn't work there anymore...

I have a bunch of acrilic laying around that could be used in an experiment like this. Willing to try but what is the bonding stuff made of? Non-toxic, environmentally friendly? Might just be an exercise in frustration other wise. Cheers, K

Electro fishing is the way to go. No chance of rippin' up thier mouths with hooks. The electro fisher ain't cheap but by far the most humane way to do it. Seine nets tend to kill most of the fish they catch. They get snagged by the gills and die with in a few hours of being caught. When I worked at fisheries and took samples of the lakes most of fish that came up with the net were dead. We would set the net the day before and come back the next day. Not an option if you want to save the fish.

As Jayba put it the footprint of the tank is really important. A forty gallon breeder tank with a larger surface area than a 55 tall will hold more fish. It's the surface area (that is directly related to the area available for oxygen exchange) that will be a limiting factor. Adding an air stone and increasing the O2 will help increase the # of fish you can add. Going with a peacock show tank will look great! Don't add any substrate (rocks or other structures) that will allow the males to establish territories and lead to fighting, even without any females in the tank. I have seen a 75gal with almost 20 full grown male Malawians do great. They were all fully coloured and swimming around like crazy. The high # of fish prevented any bullying or singling out weaker fish and it looked fantastic! You will notice once you start stocking your tank that you are reaching maximum capacity if the fish start breathing heavily, meaning lack of oxygen. It can also suggest you need better filtration as it can also indicate a high concentration of contaminants in the tank. I hope this helps and good luck with the project. Cheers, :beer:

If you are planning on breeding any of the mouth brooders on your list then the S. multies won't work either as they will interrupt the spawning and try to drop their own eggs. The fronts will feed on any fish small enough to fit in it's mouth so all the "Lamps" will probably disappear over time. :beer: Cheers

Come and check out the Calgary Aquarium Society. I bet you'll have a tank up and running in no time. :beer:

Nice! :beer:

Your fungus is hydra! It will eat small fry. Cheers :beer:

Ditto, I tried it and have a tank full of happy Tangs and empty Apple snail shells. Cheers :beer:

I use simple T5s on a timer for 14 hours. Fish still need a night to sleep and rest just like in the wild. Using a light full time will stress them out by keeping them awake all the time. Once stressed fish will become sick easily or susceptible to disease and die. Cheers :beer:

You could try one of the smaller umbunas from Lake Malawi. Since they are herbivores and stay smaller, it should work. They don't seem to bother other fry in the tank. Lamps are predators any eat anything they can fit in their mouths. Cheers :beer:

Over 10 tanks now eh? :beer:

If they are 1st time breeders don't worry too much about it. It usually takes them a few tries to get it right. It is great news that you got them spawning. Be patient and I am sure you will have plenty of healthy fry in no time. :beer:

Grab the ones from your gardens if you don't use toxic chems on your yard. The fish love it! :beer:

The mortality rate seems to be due to putting the fry in large fry tanks. The other fry would outgrow and pick on the cyps. Moral of the story don't mix these with other fry I guess :boxed:

Nice, good job.

The fry are left with the female up to two weeks at least. I try to let her hold until the fry are well developed. I find these two groups less resilient than other Tangs and Malawians.