Planted mbuna Tank - Part II

Another setup is used for Malawi Haps in a 1.300-liter tank - also planted. Here I kept things simpler. I selected plants already existing and growing in my 500 liter tank (accustomed to extremes like pH=8.3 and GH=10°) and used them in the big tank. There is no carbon dioxide injection, not much lighting (usually less than 0,25 Watt per liter, Hagen Aqua Glo tubes) and no fertilizer in the substrate, which is plain sand. Take my word for it. Anubias will be fine, Cryptocorines will thrive, Hygrophila corymbosa will grow slowly but steadily and will finally create a small "forest" while Amazon swordplants and Vallisnerias will be eaten all the time (this has to do with the particular species I keep I guess). Adding many Hygrophila corymbosa in a circle will create a beautiful shelter, which will last for a year or so before it needs cutting and replanting. You can compare the two photos below and see how much the plants will grow in one month under the conditions described in this article. In 2-3 months the whole part of this tank will be filled by this plant. Unfortunately the plant grows to about 60 cm in height so a big tank is also essential if you are looking for this effect. It should be observed that the mbuna did not touch these plants. This will not happen with all plants or with all mbuna. The hobbyist should first test some plants and then use the ones his specific mbuna didn't touch.

The 1300 liter tank is running for 15 months now and all plants are doing well. A tip for interesting aquascapes is to locate the plants between rocks. This gives a far more natural appearance (and the Africans can't remove them). Anubias will stick on rocks and create interesting spots with juvenile fish finding shelter among the roots (see photo below).

The non-mbuna tank is inhabited by Nimbochromis polystigma, Nimbochromis livingstoni, Nimbochromis venustus, Cyrtocara moorii, Chilotilapia euchilus, Buccochromis nototaenia, Aulonocara stuartgranti, Protomelas taeniolatus, Protomelas steveni Taiwan reef, Placidochromis electra, Copadicrhomis azureus, Sciaenochromis fryeri and Nyassachromis boadzulu. Scavengers include Akanthopsis choiroryncus, Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus, Synodontis decorus and Synodontis multipunctatus. Plants include Hygrophila corymbosa, Anubia barteri, Anubia nana, Echinodorus bleheri and Cryptocorine willissii. My Valissneria gigantea has now been consumed to the roots.

In the following photo, there is a carrying Melanochromis auratus (she released two days later) hiding in the dense vegetation of my tank (here is a Cryptocorine species, while the plant in the foreground is an Amazon swordplant - before being consumed to such an extent that made it a visual nuisance). In this sort of dense vegetation (which can very nicely substitute rockwork in your tank) the fish feel secure and relaxed since they can easily avoid the other females or males.

If you watch this picture closer you will even see a 40 days old Melanochromis chipokae to her right. The small fish, in an empty tank would be readily chased if not killed on the spot by the carrying mother or during the spawning procedure. Here it can stay within 5 cm from the mother and be invisible. Bear in mind that these are two of the most aggressive species available in the hobby - most aquarists clearly avoid them for community Malawi tanks. Both, when grown adults, will fiercely attack fish double their size. That is the reason for many hiding places in such tanks and plants provide lots of them. You will need the rocks because most mbuna will just choose them for spawning but you don't need them as hiding places. 

You may arrange your tank chemistry to suit that of your fish and let the plants find their own way. You will be amazed to see how easily some plant species adapt to these conditions. Carbon dioxide injections should be performed very carefully. The elevated pH of the tank is needed for the fish therefore a continuous supply of CO2 is not recommended. Heavily planted mbuna aquariums are the exception rather than the rule and this is because vegetation in their original habitat is not dense at all. However, the mbuna most of us buy are born in captivity and, as a hobbyist once said, "they wouldn't recognize Malawi habitat even if someone dropped them in the Lake". This is true and I can ensure you that the fish will live happily and spawn readily in such a tank. Survival rate will be also high since the fry can hide for the first couple of months when they are more vulnerable, still enough food will come to them because of the water movement. It is not uncommon to get 40% survival rates even in this crowded tank

Continued in next page

[ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]