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MELANOCHROMIS
AURATUS (CARRYING FEMALE)
What
you can see in this photo is a carrying Melanochromis auratus (she
released two days later) hiding in the dense vegetation of my tank (here is a Cryptocorine
secies, while the plant in the foreground is
an Amazon swordplant). In this vegetation (which can very nicely
substitute rockwork in your tank) the fish feel secure and relaxed
since they can easily avoid the other females or males. If you watch
this picture closer you will even see a 40 days old Melanochromis
chipokae to her right.
The
small fish, in an empty tank would be readily chased if not killed
on the spot by the carrying mother or during the spawning procedure.
Here it can stay within 5 cm from the mother and be invisible. Bear
in mind that these are two of the most aggressive species available
in the hobby - most aquarists clearly avoid them for community
Malawi tanks. Both, when grown adults, will fiercely attack fish
double their size. That is the reason for many hiding places in such
tanks and plants provide lots of them. You will need the rocks
because most mbuna will just choose them for spawning but you don't
need them as hiding places.
You
may arrange your tank chemistry to suit that of your fish and let
the plants find their own way. You will be amazed to see how easily
some plant species adapt to these conditions. Carbon dioxide
injections should be performed very carefully. The elevated pH of
the tank is needed for the fish therefore a continuous supply of CO2
is not recommended. Heavily planted mbuna aquariums are the
exception rather than the rule and this is because vegetation in
their original habitat is not dense at all. However, the mbuna most
of us buy are born in captivity and, as a hobbyist once said,
"they wouldn't recognize Malawi habitat even if someone dropped
them in the Lake". This is true and I can ensure you that the
fish will live happily and spawn readily in such a tank. Survival
rate will be also high since the fry can hide for the first couple
of months when they are more vulnerable, still enough food will come
to them because of the water movement.
As
long as you keep the chemistry suitable for the fish and NOT the
plants you will have the advantage of a more pleasing outlook of
your tank. Most mbuna will also feed on the soft edges of the leaves
(as it can be seen on the Amazon's leaves) or the young leaves of
most plants. Another reason for a planted aquarium is the removal of
the toxins, most importantly nitrates. Though biological filtration
transforms ammonia to nitrites and then nitrates (much less toxic
than ammonia) still there is nothing to remove nitrates from the
tank (hence the need for frequent water changes). The addition of
plants reduces that need because they will use nitrates as food. |
