Housing:  Provide a large tank with good filtration.  Provide plenty of caves and hiding spots. You can create natural looking settings by piling up lava rock or coral rock. (Tufa Rock)   The fish may disrupt live plants so plastic plants are the most practical.  Larger Africans may rearrange your decorations by digging and tunneling.   Maintain good filtration with one or two power filters or canister filters with a supplemental air pump, and do regular partial water changes.

pH: pH should be alkaline  (7.6-8.4). Purchase a high range test kit and check 1-2 times a month.  Many hobbyists use gravel especially designed for African cichlids to keep the pH correct.

Temperature: 72-80

Aquarium Salt:  Cichlids should always have some aquarium salt in their water.   For best results use salt designed for African cichlid tanks. We recommend Sea Chem- Cichlid Lake Salt. Follow label directions.

Feeding:  Most of these fish are algae eaters. They should be fed several times a day for best results. Feed flake foods, algae based flake foods, plankton, krill, brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, Tetra Bits, Marine Pellets and Cichlid pellets. A group of live plants will provide a diet supplement.

Tank Mates::   These fish are lively and aggressive fish and are not suitable for a traditional community aquarium. You should purchase only  other African Rift Lake Cichlids of similar size. Here are some tips to help create a compatible tank.

* Adding your Africans in large groups or all at once is a good idea. This will enable them to get familiar with the tank at the same time, and you won't have the original fish bullying newcomers.  Be sure to have plenty of rocks and hiding spots toward the rear of your tank.  In new tanks use a biological starter such as Fritz-Zyme or Tetra Safestart to assure that the biological filter is ready for the fish.

* Keep the fish of similar size.  A well stocked (and crowded looking) tank will reduce fighting because the fish will lose their tendency to defend specific territories. Tanks that are only sparsely populated have more compatibility problems because one or two fish will come to dominate the tank and all others will be harassed and kept hiding.

Some other fish for and African Community:  Sometimes these fish will fit in:   Red Tail Botia and Synodontis Catfish

Breeding/Sexing:   If your interest is in breeding, we recommended getting 4 or more of the same species. This will give you a better chance of getting males and females because when they're usually hard to sex when young. They do not form pair bonds as do some South American cichlids. One male may breed with several different females. In fact it is not recommended to keep only one male and female in a tank because the male will often attack the female. All African rift lake cichlids are either mouthbrooders (incubating eggs in the parent's mouth) or cave spawners (laying eggs in protected burrows or caves.)   For additional information on breeding see one of the books below:

 Books:  We carry several books on Lake Malawi Cichlids.  It is best to read about these beautiful fish to plan your tank.  You may find it fascinating to read about the history of the lake and the way that Cichlids have evolved to fill many of the niches in the lake.

Our Inventory:  We carry a wide variety of Lake Malawi species.  Stop in to see our latest inventory.  Below is some basic information of some of the more popular varieties:

Johanni Cichlid   grows to 5"  Melanochromis johanni   Hardy and active.  A very pretty blue fish with black stripes.  A mouthbrooder.  Hardy and active.

Some Malawi Cichlids that are not pictured that you may find at Elmer's include:  Trewavasae Cichlid,  Burtoni Cichlid,  Johanni Cichlid, Livingstoni Cichlid, and many others