Malawi's and barbs

[jamesw]

Qiuck qestion can you have malawi cichlids (yellow labs, powder blues) in with barbs, because i was thinkin of doing a tank that had somthing like a rocky bank on one side that went down into a planted area.

please tell me what you think.

thanks.

 

[Weezer]

I was wondering that myself, i have seen setups with barbs and labs but they were 55 gal.or bigger.from what people i talked to said is ,barbs ushally keep to them selves in groups of 4 or more,As you know barbs don't get near the size of a lab...Maybe someone who acually has both will post.......

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I've seen it done, though i'm personally not a fan of it. The tiger barbs in a cichlid tank are mainly used as dithers, meaning a fish used as a target for aggression, or at least to spread that aggression out. Kind of like a distraction from other cichlids in the tank. So they can and do get beaten up.

At a young age they should leave each other alone. But when the cichlids grow you're barbs might become targets and could be beaten up or killed.

Just know going in that when the cichlids grow your barbs have the potential to be killed or beaten up, so you may want to keep an eye out. Doesn't happen every time, but it could. The Mbuna you've picked arn't the most aggressive on the block, so thats good.

 

[jamesw]

ah thats great thank you

 

[big54bob]

I say if you want malawi get rid of all your fish then go Mbuna.

 

[jamesw]

Mbuna?? what is that

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Mbuna is a term for a type of fish in Lake Malawi. Rock Dwelling fish. Yellow labs, cobalt blues/powder blues, red zebras, etc are all examples of Mbuna.