[Grah the great]

'ello all! This might not be the best place to post this, but oh well...anyone on here have some suggestions for lake malawi or victoria cichlids (you can suggest africans from elsewhere, but I would prefer Malawi or Victorian cichlids) that would do well as a single species colony in the above tank?

 

[Wy Renegade]

Typically none - most of your African Rift lakes species need considerably more area than that. The exceptions would be the shell-dwelling varieties out of Lake Tanganyika. African riverian species like Kribs and some of the varieties thereof would do fine in that tank.

 

[burr740]

Assuming that's inches?

Id go with some Tanganyikans like julies, brichardi, daffodils, lelupis, or any of the shell dwellers.

If you're set on Malawi, Id go with some variety of peacock, but that's just personal preference, and they could probably use a bit more tank height.

 

[Grah the great]

Yep, inches...if it was centimeters the tank would be worthless for africans.

 

[Aqguy]

That height would not be healthy for malawi they need room to move, I have a 40 that 18 high and thats pushing it.

 

[jas1313]

The one Malawi I might try would be p. saulosi. Cool looking fish. The only cichlid I have that uses the upper half of the tank is an acei. Not to say they are all identical.

 

[Wy Renegade]

While P. saulosi is classified as a dwarf cichlid because of its small size, in my experience they exhibit extreme conspecies aggression and I've yet to talk to anyone who has successfully kept them in anything smaller than a 4' tank. All my previous attempts resulted in a single member of the species being left. I am currently keeping them successfully in a 6' tank.

Peacocks, Brichardi and daffodils (Brichardi and doffodils are usually the same fish), get much too large for a 40" tank and Julies typically are too aggressive for the smaller tanks. The lelupis I have no experience with.

 

[PlantedRich]

I found Labidochromis Chisamulae did okay in a standard twenty. They are like a small cousin of the yellow labs. Some what hard to find as they are not so common. Ihad them in a tank that I used as a growout for small "electric blues"(Sciaenochromis Fryeri or old Hap ahli?) . With small gravel, plants and rocks, they seemed content and bred well.
This:

Became this:

Blue striped is adult male, two hap ahli juvies below, normal female above and ahead with holding female above and behind. This female was into holding about two weeks at the time. They normally produced 12-15 each time. Small fish with small mouths. I never saw the dance as they always went under the rocks for breeding.

 

[Grah the great]

I take it that the chisumulae are not big time plant rippers?

 

[PlantedRich]

Never saw any signs. That tank was my first step into planted and it kind of ran away with me. It got so crowded with plants, I just had to have more and bigger tanks! I can't really say they had too much of a selection to eat, thought. Anarcharis, hydrilla and ludweigi. When the anarcharis was added to some other tanks, those fish did a job on it. Yellow labs were the first in followed by several others. I did not like the way it grew so tall and wound around the top so I pretty much just fed it to the fish I had at the time.
I would assume they would dig a small nest site but it must have been back under some rocks. The male would get grumpy and move all the other fish away at times and I would find a holding female but they were never any trouble to speak of as far as plants or other fish.
This is a very nice guy who might be a good spot to find them. I got mine from him back about 2011 but I see he has them on his price list.
http://www.davesfish.com/
Knows his stuff on cichlids and I would trust him if he shipped to you.