I’m going to be straight honest with you . Because of you and few other youtubers i came into keeping an aquarium(s) . Specifically African cichlids but mostly Mbuna. I built my custom stand bought 75G purchased double of the best filtration,substrate, lights all from watching your videos and few others. Thank you for getting me here today i love with all my heart and stronger than ever and will always keep fish . Thanks a billion .
Real, honest and non judgemental video. I've got mutts. I don't care, love my fish been doing it 11+ years always keep my opinions to myself when others do things their way. I have mauna tank n a SEPERATE fancy goldfish tank. Love them both.
Love this. I am an avid breeder of mbunas and just love every tank I have. Yes, you can mix them. I find they keep to their own kind. Love your enthusiasm!
Great videos! I'm new to cichlids and learning more with each video! Thanks for taking time to share your experience and help others grow as fish keepers!
This is the best video. I tend to overthink and you really explain things well and now I don't feel so obsessed with all the details of creating a "perfect" tank. Thank you!
Great video 😀👍 After Keeping fish since my teens (25+ years) I keep only Mbunas now (5 tanks). It is something special raising/growing all of those fry. Now out of tanks for fry but enjoy all the adults and the hierarchy of each tank. The aggression of some Mbuna is not for everyone…
All good points, I recently started keeping mbunuas; and I did a lot research in keeping them. This video was a good refresher and insight on “elite” beliefs. Due to the Covid, I’m lucky to find mbunuas at the chain stores and lfs; so yeah I have multiple groups in my 90 gallon. As you state in your videos, being a lazy fish keeper is not an option when it comes to mbunua. Fired Up Video!!!
Thank you so much! Your videos are super informative! Currently cycling a 75 gal tank with the intent of getting Mbunas. Had to move my feather fin synodontis and bristlenose pleco into the tank because they both out grew my 40 gal barb community tank.
Because of you guys I started keeping cichlids. Geophagus Sveni, Rams, Electric blue jack dempsey, and Electric blue acaras. So far extremely happy with them! Keep up the great work!
Haven't kept African Cichlids in over 20 years . I'm getting back into the hobby with a 500 gallon , should be running in a week. Great Chanel to relearn some of what I've forgotten and stuff I never knew. Thanks
John, I really enjoy your videos. You and Zenzo from Tazawa Tanks are the reason why I started my 125g Malawi tank. I love these fish. My wife and kids would say that I love the fish more than them 🤣😂
I think one of my male cobalt blues or my red topper bred with my rusty cichlid and the made some pretty cool babies I’m raisins up in a 37 gallon plan to move a few of the bigger ones to the 75 with the parents.
I just bought 8 juvenile yellow labs for my 75 gallon…I hope to find them some tank mates in a couple weeks. I appreciate the eucalyptus roots I got from you guys too.
Love your videos John.. I know mbunas, keeping them for many years still won't stop me from watching your videos. Makes me want to go out and get in trouble With my wife, by setting up a new tank. Can't wait to see you guys new place
Redo those old videos!!!! Can’t say thank you enough for how much you’ve helped me progress through this hobby. My wife’s idea for a fish tank for our daughters Christmas present (2020) has turned into my obsession. Gotta give a shout out to Corey also. After some poor advice from a couple different pet smart ppl (there is also a couple good ones) I went to RUclips Bc I had zero idea about keeping a fish tank and was tired of getting poor info. Upgraded filtration to a tidal (with added media) from a Cartridge filter. Regular water testing. Now I have an amazing planted (thanks Corey) community tank ( thanks KG).
i rescued a tank of young cichlids that was abandoned in a rental all different colors. never had them before. i believe there different Cichlid types together not just color. i'm not sure if thats ok but for the most part they are doing well together. They are very fun to watch and just destroyed the plants i put in. they love to dig and make tall mounds.
Love it. Thanks! Haven't kept Cichlids for several years. I switched to salt, but now I am switching back, and of course Cichilds, were my first choice. I have a 300 Gallon drilled, used to be saltwater, any advice on it being drilled? Sump etc? it's been a while since I'ver done fresh water. Thanks again!
Thank you for the video. You guys do a great job. My question is about salt. Do mbunas and peacocks need a level of salt. I’ve been putting salt in my tank and the GH is around 13ppm. Am I increasing the salt level for no reason? I would love to not have ta add the salt if not necessary.
Fascinating video John. I'm not a Cichlid person, (my interest is Pleco's and Corydora's) so I learned quite a bit about fish that I don't have any experience with. Thanks again.
Cory's are a second to me when it comes to community tanks, cichlids are my first choice. Cory's have tremendous personality - and they are absolutely adorable 😂 I love to see how they kind of interact with their apple snail friends, and back when I was in school I had a dwarf frog in a 20 gallon with them.
I have a 90 gallon "Mutt Tank" Yellows, blues, all sorts of colors. They are mixed with a large Frontosa and a Large Red hook silver dollar. I keep PH at 8 and everyone is happy. The 20 year old Frontosa keeps the baby count down. The tank has been setup since 1987. Large Wet dry filter and canister keeps water changes to a minimum. I like this channel for its lack of snobbery. I don't tell the red hook he is not supposed to be in there.😉
It depends on what you do with that mutt fish after you had it if you sell it or take it to your local fish store and give it to them than it does ruin or hurt the Hobby because somebody says oh it’s a yellow lab and then somebody buys it and breeds it and sells it and says they’re selling yellow labs when really it’s a cross of a yellow lab and a red zebra and then it just snowballs but if you breed them and keep them in your tank forever then there’s nothing wrong with it if you breed them make mods and sell them or give them the other people and tell him this is what they are and they’re not then you’re ruining it because nobody wants to order a fish online has a yellow lab and they think they’re getting a yellow lab and then when they get the fish it’s not the right fish and it’s half mud there like this doesn’t look right then it ruins it for people and I have bought fish even from Dave’s rare fish because his breeders that he got them From we’re not strict enough breathing and I ended up buying fish that were half months they weren’t what I bought and then what do I get to do with them cause I bought him just to breed and resell and me knowing that they’re not the correct thing I could not Reese breed and sell though
awesome info! im doing my research for my first cichlid tank, 240L/~65G. how many fish should i keep to "overstock" it but not over do it? 15?20? i'll use a fluval fx4 for filtration, it should be oversized enough for 60-65 gallons, rite?
Love you two. Very informative and entertaining. I love to go hard or go home so 2 years ago these guys were my introduction into the hobby. Thanks for all the knowledge
Considering starting my first mbuna tank and it would be amazing if you could do an “everything need to start an mbuna tank”. Like a supply list so your fish thrive.
So this might be a dumb question, My water parameters are perfect. 7.8ph, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, 5ppm nitrates. I have 7 one inch mbuna's in a 55 gallon tank. I run a double foam filter on the left side of the tank rated for a 55g, and a hangon back filter rated for a 50-75 gallon tank. In my hangon filter I have 2 filter pads but also keep a bag of those quartz bio media balls in it to lessen ammonia, and a bag of crushed coral to maintain the ph. I keep the temp at 78, and also have 6 marimo balls floating around the bottom. I know it's overkill on ammonia reduction but with these mbuna's only 1" big I think of them as fragile. Seven little guys don't make a lot of waste I know but I overthink everything which brings me to my next silly question! In your opinion, do I still need to do water changes? Yes, my paramaters are perfect and have been for the last 3 weeks. Fish are super healthy and happy BUT, do I need water changes still to make sure the fish are getting proper minerals and nutrients found in fresh water? I tried to find out from everyone I know and a lot I don't know and so far the answer has been a split decission. I am putting it on you now because it seems you and Lisa know more about fish keeping than anyone I know. This is my 3rd african cichlid tank ever and I never had this problem of perfect paramaters for so long!
Its a great question and yes I would still do water changes. Focus on siphoning the waste and uneaten food from the substrate and under rocks or decorations. You could probably get away with about 20% water change per week since the fish are still small.
John, I have a question. I just did a 50 gallon water change on my 80 gallon. I've opened the substrate and have a piece of driftwood I'd like to keep_ how do I keep the healthy bacteria on a piece of wood no longer in my tank? I've purchased a 75 from Petco and will be picking it up this weekend
i JUST GOT A 65 GALLON TANK FOR MBUNA. Not stocked yet, but excited to do so. My thoughts were 2 angelfish, 4 rams, 2 apistogamma, 2 blue acara. 1 glofish shark baby.
Me: buys a group of mbuna's yesterday John: here's a video about mbunas! Mah Man! Btw, love the quick shipping on the hygger light I picked up from your site 🤘🤘
Glad you feel the same about them sand pounders because when I got in to the hobby I had noidea about lake malawi and having all 3 in one tank is hard and fun after 3 years I have a every nice male tank and have learned from mistakes and vidoes love you guys ❤
I've watched through less than 20 seconds and have already decided it's time for an upgrade😂 My daughter turned 11 this year and I gifted her with her first tank, 29 gal cons. I might say f it, and get a 75 gallon setup by summer. I've never been into SA cics, aka jumbo bois... They develop a lot of personality, but I just feel that mbuna bring not only personality but beauty and lots of energy to whatever room they're set up in. And I absolutely love working in their tanks, I used to be a landscaper😂 so go figure. Bring on the slate lol
Thank you for the video. I’m researching how to create many have said is not possible: create a planted aquarium with Mbunas and infrequent water changes. If you have advice I’m all ears.
They pull plants apart, I used to keep a lot of mature sword plants with mine and they still managed to tear them apart and rip them out of the substrate. I wouldn't recommend using wire either because the fish will damage their mouths and gills upon them, obviously, but I'm still putting it out there since I've seen that suggested in other aquascaping forums. If you tuck the root systems and secure them with heavier stones, that would help but you have to make sure that the roots are able to get proper circulation of water flow underneath the substrate. I know that your comment is old, any update with how things turned out?😂 I'm not laughing at you, I am laughing with you!
Hi! I bought some mbuna, juvinile, ciclids. The are in quarantume at the moment, to grow them.out a bit before adding to other cichlids, slightly bigger. 3 small ones died already. I dimmed the light after seeing them not coming out a lot. Feed them and they do come out to eat. Not all food, but I water change to take out excess food. Twice a week. Thre was about 5 in at first. One died. Inbought another 5 and 2 died. This all happened in the first 1st week and 2 days of purchase. I'm new in the hobby and would like tomlearn to provide the best for all my fish. Please help and suggest what it can be. I do not see any weakness in the fish but they 3 is dead. I'm now scared I will loose more.Rhinking to just add them to the main tank.where they might have a better chance. There is only 3 rocks in the quarantine tank. Maybe fir small mbuna not enough to hide. Maybe I need to leave the light off completely for a few days and not just dim it. Not sure. Please help...
I live in the Philippines so taking care of tropicals here is easier 😁 Never tested my water. What i do is i smell it 😂 there should be no smell to the water at all if there is a smell time to change the water😁 Plus i do partial water change every three days since i dont work anymore 😊 No need of heaters here. I have a total of 7 tanks of different sizes😁
I've been watching bass fishing productions on the tube here, are you familiar with his channel? He basically goes to people's ponds and other abandoned waterways in the area of Florida. The weather is tropical down there, and he finds tons of abandoned fish! He's found several amazing rare ones amongst the plethora of home aquaria releases and invasive fish. Basically what I'm getting at is if I was in the Philippines I would love to do what he does😂 minus the RUclips part. That would be so cool to go to an amazing destination like your home country, and to explore what type of species are common and what is being released by the population, I'm sure that you guys have really strict laws about invasive species, it's crazy how many people skirt the laws! And it's a global phenomenon lol people across the planet want to get rid of pets they can't keep😢
Jhon! U are 100% rigth that lot of groups of ppls tryign tos ay u cant mix types in one aquarium... This sound like joke... Persons which do no;t know u trying to tell u howe to live. I have meet one man which is responsible for breeading mbuna and just in his store i saw how much this fish like groups and how preaty aquarium can be when u keep lot of clours. Currently i have in 300L around 45 fish, when comunity ppl says that i shouldnt have more than 13 XD. Love your content and your true talk!
I'm looking to redo my 60g mbuna tank. Take out my drift wood and river stone and would love to do something like your 240g yellow lab tank. Where did you get the stone and is that some type of pumice or black lava rock? I heard you mention cichlid substrate... What is that?
Awesome video. Been keeping central and south American cichlids for decades and just now decide to build a lake Malawi tank. Glad to see my plan to mix and match is kosher 😅. Wish there was a way to show you my collection. Anyway, thanks for info. I just put a 75 together with 20 gallon home sump filter together and adopted mom dad and three mutt kids of mbuna. Trying a new venture in the hobby. Any advice? Would really love a few Malawi peacocks as well?
I've got 200 litre 53 gallon tank that i want to use for mbuna. I have naturally higher ph and hardness. I want to keep an all male crowded tank. Could you recommend good species and numbers. Been watching your videos for a while. You guys seriously helped me when starting my 30 gallon community tank 18 months ago.
@@apss5736 thanks. I don't have a separate tank for brining on babies. I was thinking of an all male overcrowded tank with 10 - 15 fish. Would that work in a 200 litre
Have a few Mbunas in there own aquarium and love them. Struggle to get a few bright blue ones, like the cobalt blue and bright yellow ones like the yellow lab in. I live in SA and courier services does not like to move fish country wide here. And local store takes forever to get stock. Live in a smaller town/city in SA.
I'm currently keeping platies, cories and neons which I love but if I'm still living with liquid rock in a few years I may consider some mbunas. How many would you recommend in a 55?
I started watching your channel because I impulse bought some mbunas and knew nothing about them lol now my fish room is all cichlids new world and African If you remade all your old videos I would totally watch every single one
Ok.I have started whit mbunas Last Mont and I'm happy but since my friend give my grown 4 and abut 35 Babys my Problem is that I have find some Beautyfool karleusa yellow whit black Fin on ther's Back Just Like yours and thay are in beatween grown and Babys so I put them for next one of two month in other Aquarium but in 58 litar and that is abut 19 American's galon.Did I have Made mistake?
I have peacocks and mbunas together would you say that's a bad combo I do have some random power battles resulting in the death of a fish it usually happens overnight
Yes you're absolutely correct.I will do what makes me happy and I always follow my rules.Your channel is my favorite and I am from Bangladesh.Google will help you to know my country.Happy fish keeping...
Are Mbunas free swimming or do they only hang in the rocks? I want to be able to see my fish. I know peacocks tend to swim more in the column but didn’t know about mbunas
Hi, when you mentioned the water parameters you said a ph of 7.8. Which is great for me as it comes out of the tap at that. What would you recommend for KH & GH as mine is 3.2KH and 4GH. I have read that they are way to low to keep mbuna and would need salts . Any advice would be much appreciated
Hi Richard.I keep my KH around 10 and the same for GH. You could dose some sodium bicarbonate,1xTea spoon per 5gal to bring your KH up,probably be best to try it on your tap water in a bucket first,to give you an idea of how much to dose. For Your GH you could use Epsom Salts,same dosage,make sure it’s food grade as some are perfumed for bathing ect. Just bring the parameters up slowly when dosing in the tank. Hope this helps.👍👍
LoL...Brotha you earned that sub for sure..I love the Jokes. Start laughing to much and had to rewind couple times..realizing i wasnt paying attention....I cried when you said those fish should be cult...lol....cramugen..lol...about go watch your other videos.Thanks i just started my 125gal. African tank.
Awesome, yes learned alot from those old breeding videos. Remaking some of those older videos would be cool, sound and video has improved greatly over the years 😎
My power was out. I have no idea how long. I lost 8 peacocks in a mixed tank. Aftertaste the marinas began picking them off one buy one. Now I just have mabunas.
Lovely fish. I like Anerican Cichlids but LOVE African. How big does the average Mbuna get? Do you have a preferences between these, Laps & Peacocks? Would you ever mix the above? Thanks from 🇬🇧
Like yourself I am not too precious about cross breeding, I do try to minimise it by keeping to 2 or 3 very different species per tank. I currently have Yellow Labs and Demasoni and for the most part aggression is usually kept within species and breeding tends to be within species. I have 2 questions I would like to ask: 1. would you have any suggestions to likely mbuna tankmates that are likely to get on the current tank setup and less likely to cross breed. I recently tried to populate with Pearl Whites Mericalima Callainos , but had to withdraw them due to aggression from them to the current tank. 2. Demasoni fry look great right from birth, but my yellow lab fry appear pale in comparison to the adults, very pale when fry becoming pale like 50% yellow (compared to adults) when about 1 inch and I am concerned the I am missing something. I have been told that I am likely to have a bad strain of Mbuna by some breeders, but the look great to me. I feed flake and a selection of veg such as broccoli, peas, and cucumber. My oldest Frys are now about 3 months and about 2 inch. Thank for any advice offered from yourself or the community.
Just adopted about 30 mbunas from a local fellow, moved them in buckets about an hour away, day 2 and one of them is on its side at the bottom looking like it's gasping and hiccuping 😭 any idea if it'll survive or how I could help it?
Hello. You have some good videos that are very informative. I am new to this game and I would like to keep some American cichlids including a Jack Demsey and a Green Terror plus a few others. I have been told to bY 2 FX6 Fluval canister filters plus one of those hang on the back filters just for extra filtration. Would this be necessary? Any comments will be greatly appreciated Thanks
I bought 10 yellow labs from a local breeder. The my were the smaller ones in the tank. The bigger ones were a nice bright yellow color. It’s been about a week now and the ones I got still look a little pale. Any ideas?
Hi, ok I'm hoping that I get reply so at my work we have a tank of cichlids an in that tank the bigger fish ate off the tail fin off a smaller cichlid so as of right now I have that injured fish in a Mason jar recovering I know this sounds crazy but I didn't have a tank set up for him and I feel bad having him by himself in a tank and the only tanks I have are 10 gallon tanks an I've read that you shouldn't keep cichlids in a 10 gallon tank..so what's the proper way to keep the injured fish safe but not have him be lonely?!? Please help
Thanks for educating a novice. BTW, your current videos are among the best I have seen. I gather that indicates your have excelled over time or a family member took over. 😉 Either way, great job ! Thanks again? Jim
Thank you for the vid .Did ask in superchat about cichlids for a 66 gallon a few weeks ago and these were ones you mentioned or peacocks.the vid was taken down so i have no reference . My water runs at 7.8ph sand and rocks on order .I know you hate this question ,But i was in the thinking of 12 for that size tank your thoughts would be appreciated
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Sir can i keep a black ghost knife fish in 3ft tank🤔🤔😁♥️
@@sdpetsvlog4355 no
Tell the story of your fish store,sounds interesting 🤔
I’m going to be straight honest with you . Because of you and few other youtubers i came into keeping an aquarium(s) . Specifically African cichlids but mostly Mbuna. I built my custom stand bought 75G purchased double of the best filtration,substrate, lights all from watching your videos and few others. Thank you for getting me here today i love with all my heart and stronger than ever and will always keep fish . Thanks a billion .
Real, honest and non judgemental video. I've got mutts. I don't care, love my fish been doing it 11+ years always keep my opinions to myself when others do things their way. I have mauna tank n a SEPERATE fancy goldfish tank. Love them both.
Your old cichlid videos are a big part of why I now have a tank (55 gallons about 3 months old).
How’s your tank doing man?
FREAKING GREAT MBUNA WRAP UP!! LOVE THE GYMNASIUM FULL OF FARTS
Love this. I am an avid breeder of mbunas and just love every tank I have. Yes, you can mix them. I find they keep to their own kind. Love your enthusiasm!
Great videos! I'm new to cichlids and learning more with each video! Thanks for taking time to share your experience and help others grow as fish keepers!
This is the best video. I tend to overthink and you really explain things well and now I don't feel so obsessed with all the details of creating a "perfect" tank. Thank you!
Great video 😀👍 After Keeping fish since my teens (25+ years) I keep only Mbunas now (5 tanks). It is something special raising/growing all of those fry. Now out of tanks for fry but enjoy all the adults and the hierarchy of each tank. The aggression of some Mbuna is not for everyone…
Ok glad I'm not crazy then its a passion for me as well my 16 year old daughter doesn't understand :)
I’m thinking of getting mbunas too this video has been a really great help. Thank you so moch
All good points, I recently started keeping mbunuas; and I did a lot research in keeping them. This video was a good refresher and insight on “elite” beliefs. Due to the Covid, I’m lucky to find mbunuas at the chain stores and lfs; so yeah I have multiple groups in my 90 gallon. As you state in your videos, being a lazy fish keeper is not an option when it comes to mbunua. Fired Up Video!!!
Thank you so much! Your videos are super informative! Currently cycling a 75 gal tank with the intent of getting Mbunas. Had to move my feather fin synodontis and bristlenose pleco into the tank because they both out grew my 40 gal barb community tank.
Because of you guys I started keeping cichlids. Geophagus Sveni, Rams, Electric blue jack dempsey, and Electric blue acaras. So far extremely happy with them! Keep up the great work!
Haven't kept African Cichlids in over 20 years . I'm getting back into the hobby with a 500 gallon , should be running in a week. Great Chanel to relearn some of what I've forgotten and stuff I never knew. Thanks
Jesus Christ a 500 gallon you could put a whole river into that
I don’t know why but that “Tell that old man to go pound sand” line had me crying 🤣, they were the ones that probably gave you the 👎
John, I really enjoy your videos. You and Zenzo from Tazawa Tanks are the reason why I started my 125g Malawi tank. I love these fish. My wife and kids would say that I love the fish more than them 🤣😂
I think one of my male cobalt blues or my red topper bred with my rusty cichlid and the made some pretty cool babies I’m raisins up in a 37 gallon plan to move a few of the bigger ones to the 75 with the parents.
I just started a 125 gallon mbuna tank and this is the best video I’ve seen yet on this topic. Thank you for simplifying this
I just bought 8 juvenile yellow labs for my 75 gallon…I hope to find them some tank mates in a couple weeks. I appreciate the eucalyptus roots I got from you guys too.
Love your videos John.. I know mbunas, keeping them for many years still won't stop me from watching your videos. Makes me want to go out and get in trouble With my wife, by setting up a new tank. Can't wait to see you guys new place
Redo those old videos!!!! Can’t say thank you enough for how much you’ve helped me progress through this hobby. My wife’s idea for a fish tank for our daughters Christmas present (2020) has turned into my obsession. Gotta give a shout out to Corey also. After some poor advice from a couple different pet smart ppl (there is also a couple good ones) I went to RUclips Bc I had zero idea about keeping a fish tank and was tired of getting poor info. Upgraded filtration to a tidal (with added media) from a Cartridge filter. Regular water testing. Now I have an amazing planted (thanks Corey) community tank ( thanks KG).
IMO 40 breeders or 75 gallons are way better then a 55 gallon. Sure the length is there ,but cichlids like width and 55s are very narrow
i rescued a tank of young cichlids that was abandoned in a rental all different colors. never had them before. i believe there different Cichlid types together not just color. i'm not sure if thats ok but for the most part they are doing well together. They are very fun to watch and just destroyed the plants i put in. they love to dig and make tall mounds.
Love it. Thanks! Haven't kept Cichlids for several years. I switched to salt, but now I am switching back, and of course Cichilds, were my first choice. I have a 300 Gallon drilled, used to be saltwater, any advice on it being drilled? Sump etc? it's been a while since I'ver done fresh water. Thanks again!
Thank you for the video. You guys do a great job. My question is about salt. Do mbunas and peacocks need a level of salt. I’ve been putting salt in my tank and the GH is around 13ppm. Am I increasing the salt level for no reason? I would love to not have ta add the salt if not necessary.
Love my tank of mix mbuna. Got personality. Keep it up with your video love them from Canada Québec
Fascinating video John. I'm not a Cichlid person, (my interest is Pleco's and Corydora's) so I learned quite a bit about fish that I don't have any experience with. Thanks again.
Cory's are a second to me when it comes to community tanks, cichlids are my first choice. Cory's have tremendous personality - and they are absolutely adorable 😂 I love to see how they kind of interact with their apple snail friends, and back when I was in school I had a dwarf frog in a 20 gallon with them.
I have a 90 gallon "Mutt Tank" Yellows, blues, all sorts of colors. They are mixed with a large Frontosa and a Large Red hook silver dollar. I keep PH at 8 and everyone is happy. The 20 year old Frontosa keeps the baby count down. The tank has been setup since 1987. Large Wet dry filter and canister keeps water changes to a minimum. I like this channel for its lack of snobbery. I don't tell the red hook he is not supposed to be in there.😉
Sssshhh don't tell Red Hook 😂
That would be fun.
Any thoughts on fresh vegetables for Mbunas to mix up the diet?
It depends on what you do with that mutt fish after you had it if you sell it or take it to your local fish store and give it to them than it does ruin or hurt the Hobby because somebody says oh it’s a yellow lab and then somebody buys it and breeds it and sells it and says they’re selling yellow labs when really it’s a cross of a yellow lab and a red zebra and then it just snowballs but if you breed them and keep them in your tank forever then there’s nothing wrong with it if you breed them make mods and sell them or give them the other people and tell him this is what they are and they’re not then you’re ruining it because nobody wants to order a fish online has a yellow lab and they think they’re getting a yellow lab and then when they get the fish it’s not the right fish and it’s half mud there like this doesn’t look right then it ruins it for people and I have bought fish even from Dave’s rare fish because his breeders that he got them From we’re not strict enough breathing and I ended up buying fish that were half months they weren’t what I bought and then what do I get to do with them cause I bought him just to breed and resell and me knowing that they’re not the correct thing I could not Reese breed and sell though
I have 2 Malawi's in with my electric blue acaras and convicts. They get on just fine 😊
awesome info! im doing my research for my first cichlid tank, 240L/~65G. how many fish should i keep to "overstock" it but not over do it? 15?20? i'll use a fluval fx4 for filtration, it should be oversized enough for 60-65 gallons, rite?
i'm so thankful for your channel - we learned so much from you before starting our cichlid tank!!
Love you two. Very informative and entertaining. I love to go hard or go home so 2 years ago these guys were my introduction into the hobby. Thanks for all the knowledge
Considering starting my first mbuna tank and it would be amazing if you could do an “everything need to start an mbuna tank”. Like a supply list so your fish thrive.
Production quality A+, fish info comprehensibility for a complete noob A+, quality of rants and good humour A++. Thanks mates, from a total beginner.
So this might be a dumb question, My water parameters are perfect. 7.8ph, 0 ppm ammonia, 0 ppm nitrites, 5ppm nitrates. I have 7 one inch mbuna's in a 55 gallon tank. I run a double foam filter on the left side of the tank rated for a 55g, and a hangon back filter rated for a 50-75 gallon tank. In my hangon filter I have 2 filter pads but also keep a bag of those quartz bio media balls in it to lessen ammonia, and a bag of crushed coral to maintain the ph. I keep the temp at 78, and also have 6 marimo balls floating around the bottom. I know it's overkill on ammonia reduction but with these mbuna's only 1" big I think of them as fragile. Seven little guys don't make a lot of waste I know but I overthink everything which brings me to my next silly question!
In your opinion, do I still need to do water changes? Yes, my paramaters are perfect and have been for the last 3 weeks. Fish are super healthy and happy BUT, do I need water changes still to make sure the fish are getting proper minerals and nutrients found in fresh water? I tried to find out from everyone I know and a lot I don't know and so far the answer has been a split decission.
I am putting it on you now because it seems you and Lisa know more about fish keeping than anyone I know. This is my 3rd african cichlid tank ever and I never had this problem of perfect paramaters for so long!
Its a great question and yes I would still do water changes. Focus on siphoning the waste and uneaten food from the substrate and under rocks or decorations. You could probably get away with about 20% water change per week since the fish are still small.
My main tank in my living room is a mix of snow,yellow,blue's and reds and it looks awesome!
John, I have a question. I just did a 50 gallon water change on my 80 gallon. I've opened the substrate and have a piece of driftwood I'd like to keep_ how do I keep the healthy bacteria on a piece of wood no longer in my tank? I've purchased a 75 from Petco and will be picking it up this weekend
i JUST GOT A 65 GALLON TANK FOR MBUNA. Not stocked yet, but excited to do so. My thoughts were 2 angelfish, 4 rams, 2 apistogamma, 2 blue acara. 1 glofish shark baby.
Me: buys a group of mbuna's yesterday
John: here's a video about mbunas!
Mah Man! Btw, love the quick shipping on the hygger light I picked up from your site 🤘🤘
It's school of fish
@@valuableconsulting9787 we found the curmudgeon!
Great video
So my ph out my well is 8-8.2
My TDS is 115
Does TDS have anything to do with my water hardness ?
Glad you feel the same about them sand pounders because when I got in to the hobby I had noidea about lake malawi and having all 3 in one tank is hard and fun after 3 years I have a every nice male tank and have learned from mistakes and vidoes love you guys ❤
I've watched through less than 20 seconds and have already decided it's time for an upgrade😂 My daughter turned 11 this year and I gifted her with her first tank, 29 gal cons. I might say f it, and get a 75 gallon setup by summer. I've never been into SA cics, aka jumbo bois... They develop a lot of personality, but I just feel that mbuna bring not only personality but beauty and lots of energy to whatever room they're set up in. And I absolutely love working in their tanks, I used to be a landscaper😂 so go figure. Bring on the slate lol
Thank you for the video. I’m researching how to create many have said is not possible: create a planted aquarium with Mbunas and infrequent water changes. If you have advice I’m all ears.
They pull plants apart, I used to keep a lot of mature sword plants with mine and they still managed to tear them apart and rip them out of the substrate. I wouldn't recommend using wire either because the fish will damage their mouths and gills upon them, obviously, but I'm still putting it out there since I've seen that suggested in other aquascaping forums. If you tuck the root systems and secure them with heavier stones, that would help but you have to make sure that the roots are able to get proper circulation of water flow underneath the substrate. I know that your comment is old, any update with how things turned out?😂 I'm not laughing at you, I am laughing with you!
Hi! I bought some mbuna, juvinile, ciclids.
The are in quarantume at the moment, to grow them.out a bit before adding to other cichlids, slightly bigger.
3 small ones died already. I dimmed the light after seeing them not coming out a lot. Feed them and they do come out to eat. Not all food, but I water change to take out excess food. Twice a week. Thre was about 5 in at first. One died. Inbought another 5 and 2 died.
This all happened in the first 1st week and 2 days of purchase.
I'm new in the hobby and would like tomlearn to provide the best for all my fish.
Please help and suggest what it can be. I do not see any weakness in the fish but they 3 is dead. I'm now scared I will loose more.Rhinking to just add them to the main tank.where they might have a better chance.
There is only 3 rocks in the quarantine tank. Maybe fir small mbuna not enough to hide. Maybe I need to leave the light off completely for a few days and not just dim it. Not sure. Please help...
I live in the Philippines so taking care of tropicals here is easier 😁
Never tested my water.
What i do is i smell it 😂 there should be no smell to the water at all if there is a smell time to change the water😁
Plus i do partial water change every three days since i dont work anymore 😊
No need of heaters here.
I have a total of 7 tanks of different sizes😁
I've been watching bass fishing productions on the tube here, are you familiar with his channel? He basically goes to people's ponds and other abandoned waterways in the area of Florida. The weather is tropical down there, and he finds tons of abandoned fish! He's found several amazing rare ones amongst the plethora of home aquaria releases and invasive fish. Basically what I'm getting at is if I was in the Philippines I would love to do what he does😂 minus the RUclips part. That would be so cool to go to an amazing destination like your home country, and to explore what type of species are common and what is being released by the population, I'm sure that you guys have really strict laws about invasive species, it's crazy how many people skirt the laws! And it's a global phenomenon lol people across the planet want to get rid of pets they can't keep😢
Jhon! U are 100% rigth that lot of groups of ppls tryign tos ay u cant mix types in one aquarium... This sound like joke... Persons which do no;t know u trying to tell u howe to live. I have meet one man which is responsible for breeading mbuna and just in his store i saw how much this fish like groups and how preaty aquarium can be when u keep lot of clours. Currently i have in 300L around 45 fish, when comunity ppl says that i shouldnt have more than 13 XD. Love your content and your true talk!
John where can I get the African cichlids substrate & also if I want to order a wide variety of peacock, mbuna and haps 1 of each adding up to 25-27
I'm looking to redo my 60g mbuna tank. Take out my drift wood and river stone and would love to do something like your 240g yellow lab tank. Where did you get the stone and is that some type of pumice or black lava rock? I heard you mention cichlid substrate... What is that?
Best mbuna ever is albino fuelleborni's- such a funny cichlid, bog personality, always watching me, showing off for treats or the camera.
Great video. I have a question for you. I have a 55 gallon, maybe twenty-five all male mbuna tank. Any idea on why they aren't coloring up good?
Awesome video. Been keeping central and south American cichlids for decades and just now decide to build a lake Malawi tank. Glad to see my plan to mix and match is kosher 😅. Wish there was a way to show you my collection. Anyway, thanks for info. I just put a 75 together with 20 gallon home sump filter together and adopted mom dad and three mutt kids of mbuna. Trying a new venture in the hobby. Any advice? Would really love a few Malawi peacocks as well?
I've got 200 litre 53 gallon tank that i want to use for mbuna. I have naturally higher ph and hardness. I want to keep an all male crowded tank. Could you recommend good species and numbers. Been watching your videos for a while. You guys seriously helped me when starting my 30 gallon community tank 18 months ago.
hmm. depends on the type. i keep 8 demasoni and 4 yellow labs in my 125 litre with an internal and a canister filter
@@apss5736 thank you. Are they all males?
@@morgan1985uk no. mixture of boys and girls. more girls for the demasoni and more boys for the labs
@@apss5736 thanks. I don't have a separate tank for brining on babies. I was thinking of an all male overcrowded tank with 10 - 15 fish. Would that work in a 200 litre
@@morgan1985uk certainly. you could probably add a bristlenose pleco and a nerite snail for a bit of algae control and to add some interest
Have a few Mbunas in there own aquarium and love them. Struggle to get a few bright blue ones, like the cobalt blue and bright yellow ones like the yellow lab in. I live in SA and courier services does not like to move fish country wide here. And local store takes forever to get stock. Live in a smaller town/city in SA.
I'm currently keeping platies, cories and neons which I love but if I'm still living with liquid rock in a few years I may consider some mbunas. How many would you recommend in a 55?
I have 20+ in my 55. You can look at my videos
I started watching your channel because I impulse bought some mbunas and knew nothing about them lol now my fish room is all cichlids new world and African
If you remade all your old videos I would totally watch every single one
Is it possible to keep a maisoni Reef mbuna with Predator Haps? Currently attempting this and the mbuna is bullying the bigger haps.
Wasup. I have a 75 gallon aquarium and I want to create a colorful mbuna community tank. Any suggestions of what I should get? I want 15 fishes.
Great entertainment + solid info thanks…u are one of my favourite for fish related stuff … awesome dude and dudess…
A+ for the fart sound effects and animation! Love it!
Yeah, the one in the gym room....😂🤣😏
Ok.I have started whit mbunas Last Mont and I'm happy but since my friend give my grown 4 and abut 35 Babys my Problem is that I have find some Beautyfool karleusa yellow whit black Fin on ther's Back Just Like yours and thay are in beatween grown and Babys so I put them for next one of two month in other Aquarium but in 58 litar and that is abut 19 American's galon.Did I have Made mistake?
I have peacocks and mbunas together would you say that's a bad combo I do have some random power battles resulting in the death of a fish it usually happens overnight
What temperature u put in ur 20 gallon for the cichlids?
Yes you're absolutely correct.I will do what makes me happy and I always follow my rules.Your channel is my favorite and I am from Bangladesh.Google will help you to know my country.Happy fish keeping...
Are Mbunas free swimming or do they only hang in the rocks? I want to be able to see my fish. I know peacocks tend to swim more in the column but didn’t know about mbunas
They love rocks. It comforts them and their natural behavior shine for the good and bad.
Very cool video John but i have a question: If the recommended tank is 55g what i can fit in a 40g tank without getting too many headaches?
Hi, when you mentioned the water parameters you said a ph of 7.8. Which is great for me as it comes out of the tap at that. What would you recommend for KH & GH as mine is 3.2KH and 4GH. I have read that they are way to low to keep mbuna and would need salts . Any advice would be much appreciated
Hi Richard.I keep my KH around 10 and the same for GH.
You could dose some sodium bicarbonate,1xTea spoon per 5gal to bring your KH up,probably be best to try it on your tap water in a bucket first,to give you an idea of how much to dose.
For Your GH you could use Epsom Salts,same dosage,make sure it’s food grade as some are perfumed for bathing ect.
Just bring the parameters up slowly when dosing in the tank.
Hope this helps.👍👍
this is a great video. i have my tank all set up .i would like to start off with two african cichilds what do you remend .im new to this hobby.🐟
I'm not an Mbuna fan but I love Pseudotropheus Acei , and Labidochromis caeruleus
wow we are on the same page and keeping a clean tank is easy if you buy the best filters
Cynotilapia sp. 'hara' Gallireya Reef this is one of my favorite. You should definitely bred and enjoy their beauty.
LoL...Brotha you earned that sub for sure..I love the Jokes. Start laughing to much and had to rewind couple times..realizing i wasnt paying attention....I cried when you said those fish should be cult...lol....cramugen..lol...about go watch your other videos.Thanks i just started my 125gal. African tank.
What kind of fish would you recommend for a 20 gallon tall
Awesome, yes learned alot from those old breeding videos. Remaking some of those older videos would be cool, sound and video has improved greatly over the years 😎
My power was out. I have no idea how long. I lost 8 peacocks in a mixed tank. Aftertaste the marinas began picking them off one buy one. Now I just have mabunas.
John how many Mbuna's would you recommend for 150 gl tank?
50-60
Whats the yellow fish without the black fins you show overand over. I think that was my first fish, and i was never sure what it was...
Lovely fish. I like Anerican Cichlids but LOVE African.
How big does the average Mbuna get?
Do you have a preferences between these, Laps & Peacocks?
Would you ever mix the above?
Thanks from 🇬🇧
So how many could you put in a 300gal?
thats a nice light on the yellow lab fish, what light is it, kinda of blue
Like yourself I am not too precious about cross breeding, I do try to minimise it by keeping to 2 or 3 very different species per tank. I currently have Yellow Labs and Demasoni and for the most part aggression is usually kept within species and breeding tends to be within species.
I have 2 questions I would like to ask:
1. would you have any suggestions to likely mbuna tankmates that are likely to get on the current tank setup and less likely to cross breed. I recently tried to populate with Pearl Whites Mericalima Callainos , but had to withdraw them due to aggression from them to the current tank.
2. Demasoni fry look great right from birth, but my yellow lab fry appear pale in comparison to the adults, very pale when fry becoming pale like 50% yellow (compared to adults) when about 1 inch and I am concerned the I am missing something. I have been told that I am likely to have a bad strain of Mbuna by some breeders, but the look great to me. I feed flake and a selection of veg such as broccoli, peas, and cucumber. My oldest Frys are now about 3 months and about 2 inch.
Thank for any advice offered from yourself or the community.
Love the Back to the Future reference; as well as Home Alone: Buzz
Lol I'm watching this 2 years later😂😂😂...I want my heart❤ 2:35
My favorite is the Blue Dolphin Cichlid, Oscar, Angel fish and Mayan Cichlid.
Just adopted about 30 mbunas from a local fellow, moved them in buckets about an hour away, day 2 and one of them is on its side at the bottom looking like it's gasping and hiccuping 😭 any idea if it'll survive or how I could help it?
So does anyone know where to get holey rocks black or gray in color xl like for a 90 gal peacock/hap tank?
Really love these fish I have a 65g how many could I fit ?
Hello. You have some good videos that are very informative. I am new to this game and I would like to keep some American cichlids including a Jack Demsey and a Green Terror plus a few others. I have been told to bY 2 FX6 Fluval canister filters plus one of those hang on the back filters just for extra filtration. Would this be necessary? Any comments will be greatly appreciated Thanks
Great Vid John, if you were any closer I'd buy you a beer! I'm down here in Chesapeake, living the dream!
I bought 10 yellow labs from a local breeder. The my were the smaller ones in the tank. The bigger ones were a nice bright yellow color. It’s been about a week now and the ones I got still look a little pale. Any ideas?
Been there, done that; nevah gonna keep Cichlids again. Gonna keep watching your videos though cause they're always awesome! :)
While I don't know that I would wanna keep Mbunas yet, I am thankful for this video and I'm glad to know at least how to get started. Thanks!
Hi, ok I'm hoping that I get reply so at my work we have a tank of cichlids an in that tank the bigger fish ate off the tail fin off a smaller cichlid so as of right now I have that injured fish in a Mason jar recovering I know this sounds crazy but I didn't have a tank set up for him and I feel bad having him by himself in a tank and the only tanks I have are 10 gallon tanks an I've read that you shouldn't keep cichlids in a 10 gallon tank..so what's the proper way to keep the injured fish safe but not have him be lonely?!? Please help
I have an all Electric Yellow Lab tank and looking to add a few Snow White.
Your spot on, I've had mine all mixed up & it's been like it for years, & 'it works' perfectly :)
I only have about 12 cichlids in a 55 gallon. Everyone is getting along mostly but is that too few?
Thanks for educating a novice.
BTW, your current videos are among the best I have seen. I gather that indicates your have excelled over time or a family member took over. 😉 Either way, great job !
Thanks again?
Jim
Thank you for the vid .Did ask in superchat about cichlids for a 66 gallon a few weeks ago and these were ones you mentioned or peacocks.the vid was taken down so i have no reference . My water runs at 7.8ph sand and rocks on order .I know you hate this question ,But i was in the thinking of 12 for that size tank your thoughts would be appreciated
I like placidochromis, especially the VC-10. I know it's not mbuna, but they're cool