mbuna questions

[deadman]

ok so i havent kept many mbuna in my years in the hobby but i decided to give them a shot. but have a few questions
can they be kept in community wih other mbuna? male female ratio, pairs or harem? tank decore? diet? how big do they have to be before they color up. and how fast do they grow? victorians i know predators i know, but not these thanks in advace for the help.

[masroberts9]

mbunas need to be overstocked, they are typically vegetarians, but enjoy the occasional brine shrimp and lots of fresh vegetables. They like pH in excess of 7.8 and lots of caves (holey rock tend to kill these 2 birds with one stone). I forget the ratio.... something like 1 male to 3 females (i have had plenty of success with 1 to 1, but it really depends on the species. They are not harem breeders. They are monogamous. Most are colorful from the get go... but some change color from female to male coloration upon reaching adolescence.

[h0ngkn0t2]

Wow, good job on condensing everything into a paragraph Mason.

In addition to that, if you are mixing Mbuna, mix those with different patterns and similar temperaments. I tend to not mix too many that have similiar patterns... because they tend to become more aggressive towards each other and it also increases the chances of cross breeding.

Which types of Mbuna are you looking at getting?

[kewlkatdady]

Mbuna are notorious for cross breeding....

I know that you are a true conservationalist with the Vics...
the best way to keep Mbuna in line are smaller species tanks with 1m-2f ratio until they pair up....then they will kill off the odd female or you can move her if you catch it in time.

[deadman]

i had fishman get me some metriacima zebra ob blue berry and the same but ob slims, im keeping them in seperate tanks and they will have thier own tanks for the long haul. can any one speak for the growth rate and breeding size and a little more on diet and tank mates. and conspecific aggression and intra specific aggression.