How to Keep Mbuna Cichlids | Care Guide & Species Profile

[@CichlidBros]

Mbuna need more of a vegetable based diet than most cichlids. We use spirulina flakes: geni.us/ByXSoL

[@cocoaquatic]

Do you see that you can introduce our lights?

[@cosmicshy637]

Yay! Thanks for this video! I have them & they are such beautiful & cool little fish. Pretty easy to care for & fun to watch. I have some peacocks in there, too & they've done well together for over a year now. The mbunas even had a few babies along the way. The nerite snails keep things tidied up nice. It's always best to research things alot beforehand & keep a super close eye once you have them in the tank.

[@Jerry-lj3cf]

Love the colors. 😊

[@CichlidBros]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@taeferguson]

Great Great Great content and information provided on the specific fish care and tank set up!

[@CichlidBros]

Thank you, glad it’s helpful!

[@chillwill7s60]

Thanks for the video, love your mbunas set up beautiful fish, keep up the great content, I have 1 white zebra mbuna with my peacocks and he is far more inteligente then the rest very active likes to decorate the tank set up. Awsome personality.

[@Shadow-wn5fw]

Great video. I have an all-male mbuna tank. I have subscribed to your channel.

[@bryanheiselman000]

Awesome video!!

[@CichlidBros]

Thanks!

[@bryanheiselman000]

@Cichlid Bros I'm trying to identify which cichild I have for future tank mates. I sent over pictures to you guys on Instagram. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can't tell if they're eletric blue johanni or mainganos.

[@caseyruegsegger282]

Awesome video. Thinking about setting up my first African tank. Thank you!

[@CichlidBros]

Glad it was useful! Thanks for watching!

[@jc49fishniner4lif7]

Great info I hope to do a set up of this awesome cichlids 👍❤️it

[@michaelhaines3451]

Great video. When you were feeding the flakes, did you leave the Tidal running? I always lose too many flakes to the pesky surface skimmer. Keep up the great content!

[@musdeni3222]

What lamp that You use?

[@DjPosey3]

I keep a mixed tank of peacocks haps and Mbuna but I'm slowly removing all of the mbuna from the tank as I believe that most of the aggression definitely comes from the mbunas and I'd like to see if it'll help some of the peas and haps color up better due to less aggression.. Great Video bros!

[@CichlidBros]

Thank you! Definitely can be tricky keeping them together. Good idea!

[@alfredodeeric]

Also just curious if you've got any good sources for mbuna type and care info

[@tulioalopez]

Do you guys use seachem cichlid lake salt or fritz aquatics rift lake cichlid salt?

[@CichlidBros]

Nope

[@Myfishyprogress]

@cichlidbros do you have a link i can find black aragonite sand I really love the black substrate

[@CichlidBros]

Carib Sea Aragonite Sand - bulkreefsupply.sjv.io/g1MgJr

[@richardgiacomotti404]

👍👍👍

[@legionaquatics]

I was planning on getting something else for my new tank but when I went into the mbuna isle at my lfs it made me want some so badly so ill probably go with them, I really liked the demasoni babies I saw.

[@tulioalopez]

Hi Can tou keep the yellow labs with Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid? I was told they are very aggressive.

[@Don-md8tt]

Can yellow lab keep with rummy nose or angel fish? Ty

[@tatesreptileworld8654]

How many can you keep in a 40 gallon breeder ??

[@tulioalopez]

is an fluval fx6 and aquaclear 110 good enough for a mbuna in a 75 gallons? I only have 5 but i found a breeder of yellow lab and planing to add about 10 more. Thank you

[@mikech60]

I am growing my mbuna now, will mix them with some Lake Victoria haps. I read it can be done, will see how it goes, the victorians have more color.

[@victorlozano6749]

How many small Mbuna can you put in 40 breeder tank

[@oceanworld9510]

Tank dimensions..? Glass thickness..?

[@MuhammadYasir-2526]

Whether gallons is important or size of the tank is important for keeping mbuna? 55 gallon is 4 feet long, and 60 gallon is 3 feet long but width is high. Which one to prefer?

[@jaihamilton7458]

I keep two pairs of Lombardoi cichlids and one pair of red jewel cichlids in a 6ft 90gallon tank. Either of your tanks for a pair should be okay temporarily until they have babies, unless you get different species that cannot hybridise. If you ask you local fish expert at your pet store, they will usually let you know tank size, tank footprint (area of birdeyes view of tank), and tank mates for your preferred species. They will usually ask if you already have fish in the tank you want to add to, to help you decide on appropriate tank mates. Cichlids do fight for territories, so blocking off sections with fake or live plants, and heaps of caves and hides so they feel safe helps. The Lombardoi is an algae eater, but they will eat anything you feed other cichlids too eg. Blood worm and Cichlid pellets. Mine like to steal the plecos wafers so I break them into small pieces so they can chew it better. Hope this helps your research journey, though I gave a tiny sliver of what there is to learn about these amazing creatures.

[@nagaraghavendrasarmamalapa1025]

What is the best substrate for mbunas as of now I'm having aragonite sand

[@CichlidBros]

That’s my go to

[@nagaraghavendrasarmamalapa1025]

​@@CichlidBrosthanks for the reply I will use only aragonite for all my mbunas

[@beat_2008]

I have 3 Mbunas Lemon, Citrine and Bumble (Yellow labs and Auratus) along with Blue Acara Icey, Rare Turkana Jewel, Cookie (OB Peacock) and Loonie and the rest (Convicts)

[@CichlidBros]

Very nice

[@LegendsAquatics]

Any-tips on getting these guys to colour up faster? I have a male halo reef that is dull. It’s not sick or anything. Would I need to get more females? Currently have 1

[@joseCalderon1976]

I have a 75g African chiclid tank. My big pleco gets picked on by my Mbunas but the pleco ain't scared. He fights back. Luckily it doesn't last long. The pleco is like an armored tank.

[@MarievaPsa]

I have little to no experience owning fish and yesterday my mom brought home two electric cichlids because the aquarium at her workplace broke. Since it was not planned for us to get fish I dont even own the basics. Basically im looking for low a budget aquarium setup to begin with and advice regarding pH and water conditions. Actually this morning one of them died propably because of the shock or change in water??

[@tyler8322]

I have a colony of 15 Saulosi that I plan to move from my 55 to a 75 soon and I’m not in love with my substrate. My substrate is a black african cichlid sand but I don’t like how coarse it is. What kind of substrate did you use for the classroom Mbuna tank?

[@ianm659]

Awesome video. I currently have a 125 with various mbuna species. I have one male and one female OB and they breed every few weeks. I separate the holding female into a 20 gal and have her release the fry when ready

[@CichlidBros]

Sounds like an awesome tank!

[@KINGSAME4444]

So should the whole substrate be crushed Coral or the aragonite sand 100%?

[@CichlidBros]

Either works. I like all aragonite

[@lesliehobbs1440]

can Mbuna and convict cichlids be tank mates?

[@CichlidBros]

Probably, although typically not “ideal”

[@michaelboles2424]

How do I tell the difference between male and female electric blue johannis, I also ha e two Electric yellow cichlids, and a orange chromide cichlid, I have tried the pellets but their mouths are to smash to eat them, si I ha e been using fish flakes

[@CarterQuibell]

Is it better to keep all African cichlids in all male tanks unless trying to breed them? In groups aswell?

[@CichlidBros]

All males for peacocks/haps is recommended for most setups. Higher ratio of females to males in mbuna would be ideal

[@CarterQuibell]

@@CichlidBros thank you!

[@alfredodeeric]

I'm getting ready to tear down my 55 Gallon planted tank. And I'm gonna go back and do a mbuna settup. What would you aim for, for a total number of fish?

[@ranjanty]

I'm having problems feeding my all mbuna tank. They will not come to the top to get the food. Is that normal? Also what do you call over stocked for a 55? I will be adding 2 more white labs bringing the total to 11. Should I add more and is that close to being over stocked for a 55?

[@LayrssaClapper]

Can I keep a demasoni cichlid with a angle fish in a 50 gallon tank

[@CichlidBros]

I wouldn’t recommend it. Demasoni are very aggressive

[@PULAG]

I put pvc pipes in my tank and my mbuna won't leave it often, other than searching for food. Might be because i have a Jack Dempsey in with him, who likes to annoy the mbuna. Had a question; i also have many rocks but i need to remove them for now swim space for the Dempsey. Will it be ok if i took out all the rocks and left the Dempsey's cave and the mbunas pipes only?

[@CichlidBros]

I would probably leave decor for the mbuna. But yeah, this is one of the reasons it’s not ideal to mix them with American cichlids

[@aliclucifera8353]

Mbuna is a ridiculously aggressive fish that I have, they are fearless fish and even charge and damage my Blood Parrot fish nip fins/tails, etc, I highly recommend not keeping them on a 4ft tank they need more space and hideouts otherwise only the great fighter will survive. Last year I bought 15 Mbunas now I only have 1🤪

[@fayaazalibhai4665]

It's not east africa

[@CichlidBros]

Wut

[@g35gazayouth92]

In a 55 gallon Ambuna tank only species how many can you keep