Wonderfully coloured fishes from Lake Malawi (Mbuna Cichlids)

Member Name: markos9

Product:	Mbuna Cichlids
Date:	04/07/09 (246 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunningly beautiful fishes which are active and fascinating to watch.

Disadvantages: Need a large tank.

Lake Malawi is the ninth largest lake in the world. By any scale, it is huge; 360 miles long by 25 miles wide, with a surface area of 8683 square miles (more than Wales!). The lake is also over 2000 feet deep! The lake contains a huge number of fishes from the cichlid family (over six hundred), most of which are endemic so found nowhere else on earth.

One particular group of fishes, the 'Mbuna', or rock dwelling fish, are amongst the most popular aquarium fishes in the world. There are many reasons for this. Mbuna have been called 'freshwater coral fish', comparing them with the stunningly colourful and beautiful fish that live on saltwater coral reefs.

This comparison is apt; Mbuna live amongst rocks in Lake Malawi; massive conglomerations of small and large boulders. In this suitable habitat, they live in huge concentrations (again like coral fish) swimming in and out of the rocks. Most of all, Mbuna resemble the coral fish because of their beauty and vivacity. Most are small to medium sized (3 to 5 inches).

Many people, viewing an Mbuna aquarium for the first time, would be convinced that the inhabitants are saltwater fish; their stunning colours, dazzling displays, and robust, aggressive behaviour, recalls wildlife programmes seen on TV.

Unlike saltwater fish, however, they are easy to look after, and for reasons I'll go into later, can (and should) be kept at far higher concentrations than one would ever consider for a sea fish.

To gain a quick appreciation of their beauty, try a Google image search for: melanochromis auratus, pseudotropheus zebra, labeotropheus trewavasae, or cynotilapia afra (don't be put off by the Latin, not many have 'common' names). If you do this, and you're interested in fish keeping, I suspect you'll be very impressed.

The reader of this review might now be thinking that Mbuna are ideal aquarium fish (colourful, active, can be crowded into an aquarium), and they are. With a few, very important, provisos.

Aggression

One of the most important considerations for keeping Mbuna is that they are among the most aggressive of all aquarium fishes. Keeping Mbuna with any other aquarium fish is a complete no-no. The other fish will either be killed, or will starve because they daren't come out of hiding.

Mbuna must be kept with other Mbuna. This is not a restriction since there are over 100 species available in the aquarium trade.

Mbuna will fight amongst themselves, particularly the males of the same species. To ameliorate this, Mbuna should be kept in the ratio: one male to three to five females (this is not a problem; most females are as colourful as the males). As mentioned above, Mbuna should also be crowded in the aquarium. This means that the dominant fish will have too many 'targets' to attack, so the aggression will be spread out and minimised. Keeping a small number of Mbuna is to sentence all but one of them to death, and the final one to a sad, lonely existence!

The size of the aquarium required is quite large, however. Minimum size recommended for a colony of Mbuna is 300 litres (a small number of the less aggressive species can be housed in a 200 litre aquarium, but it's not ideal). A 300 litre aquarium will allow around 20 fish of three to four species.

Water quality

Lake Malawi has pristine water quality, so fish from the lake have little tolerance for pollution. This, together with the requirement for crowding the inhabitants explained above, puts a severe demand on the filtration required on an Mbuna tank. External filtration is best, with one large, or preferably two medium sized canister filters turning over the whole volume of water about three times an hour.

The return line of at least one filter should be sprayed onto the surface of the water to agitate it and effect gas exchange (removal of CO2, absorption of oxygen).

The pH requirement of an Mbuna tank is also quite stringent; it must be above 7.0. This can be achieved by using rocks or gravel made of alkaline minerals to buffer the water (limestone or tufa).

The other requirement for water quality is frequent water changes. Due to their low tolerance of nitrate, a water change of 30% per week is recommended. A high quality chlorine neutraliser should be added at this time. Water temperature is typical of the tropical aquarium at 72 - 82 Fahrenheit.

Aquarium requirements

Mbuna are rock dwelling fish. Their aquarium therefore requires rocks and lots of them. Mbuna feel secure and make their home in and amongst rock piles, so an Mbuna aquarium should try to replicate this to make the fish secure. Piles of rocks are assembled (safely!), almost to the surface of the tank, to give the fish the maximum amount of habitat.

Plants are not required and, if you add them to the aquarium, the fish will thank you; you've just given them a salad bar to munch on for a couple of days!

Rocks and more rocks! This sounds austere and boring, but it's not. The fish will constantly weave in and out of them, popping out when you least expect them (and hiding when you want to show them off to visitors!). The rocks will soon get covered in algae, and look quite natural; you will have created a 'biotope aquarium'.

Feeding

Mbuna are mainly herbivorous; they 'graze' on algae covered rocks, picking up small crustaceans as well as the vegetation. They cannot handle fatty foods. If overfed 'meaty' food, they can succumb to 'Malawi Bloat', a fatal condition.

Mbuna should be fed fish food designed for herbivorous fish. I've fed mine on spirulina pellets for five years and they've thrived on it. They do also appreciate fresh food. Blanched lettuce, attached by a food clip near the top of the tank will be attacked with gusto once the fish get used to it.

As in the wild, you will also see your Mbuna grazing on the algae covering the rocks in their tank.

Breeding

One of the most endearing habits of Mbuna is their breeding technique. With most fish, fish keepers will ask "how do I get my fish to breed, and how do I save the babies?" With Mbuna, your fish will breed whether you want them to or not, and some of the babies should survive.

Mbuna are mouth brooders. The male has an 'egg spot' on his anal fin. During mating, the female lays her eggs, one by one, and picks them up in her mouth. She inadvertently pecks at the male's egg spot and he releases sperm which fertilises the eggs in her mouth.

What follows is one of the most amazing 'wildlife' spectacles you can view in the comfort of your own home.

The female now has about 15-20 large eggs in her mouth which she proceeds to look after, turning them to oxygenate them and make sure they're safe. The eggs remain within her mouth for about a month. Her belly gets gradually hollower (she can't eat), whilst her mouth bulges more and more as the eggs develop.

Finally, the eggs hatch, but she STILL keeps them in her mouth for a few days! You can see, as you look into the tank, the eggs in the female's mouth, and then the fry (look out for tiny eyes peering back at you), as she's brooding her young.

Finally, she lets the fry free. The young, highly developed, looking like miniature versions of their mum, dive into the rocks for safety (the adults would like nothing more than a fry fish supper to end the day with!).

Summary

I've had an Mbuna aquarium since 2003. I was attracted to these gorgeous fishes by pictures I'd seen in books, and by articles written by devotees. An Mbuna aquarium is always active; the fish have a hierarchy which is evident as you watch. One fish will dominate; strutting about with all fins erect, whilst other fish will take a subservient role, but still dominant over other, weaker fish. Occasionally two fish of equal size will decide to test each other. They lock jaws and spin round at high speed until one gives up! Amazing to watch.

The initial set up cost is quite high, with a large tank, at least one large canister filter, and the fish to buy, but ongoing costs are slight. Mbuna are hardy fish, and if given good water quality, will look after themselves.

In my opinion, there's no other aquarium that looks better than an Mbuna tank. Yes, some of the saltwater coral fish are slightly more colourful, but can only be kept in small numbers.

A well stocked Mbuna tank will create a dazzlingly coloured centre point to the living room and something to watch at all times of the day.

If you have the space, the money, and the time to devote, I highly recommend getting an Mbuna aquarium.

Here are some websites with more information on keeping Mbuna:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com

http://www.mchportal.com/

http://www.malawimayhem.com/

Summary: If you have the space, an Mbuna tank makes the most attractive freshwater aquarium.