Who Gives A Fish Forums

I'm thinking of making a change to my tank, considering getting rid of all my malawis and just keeping MonixO. If I had around 15-20 of them, no females, do you think it'd work or would it be better to have some females in the mix?

Honestly, it's pretty surprising how little info is out there on MonixO.

I've done some reading on MonixO, they're a type of Metriaclima sp., which puts them in the same category as Red Zebra - think Maylandia estherae or Metriaclima estherae. I'm not an expert, but as far as tank setup and care goes, I'd treat it like a standard Mbuna tank - same pH, same deal.

Ideally you want females in the mix for a more stable social dynamic.

Thanks for the info, I've already got a breeding pair in my tank and I let the babies grow up with the others. I've got 2 young males changing color now and 3 little females, plus the breeding pair, so far so good. I love these fish, thinking of selling off my other malawis and setting up a tank just for them, maybe 30-40, we'll see.

I've had a breeding pair in my tank for a while now, and I've let the babies grow up with the other tank mates, so far I've got 2 males changing colour and 3 females, along with the pair. I really like these fish, thinking of selling off my other malawis and setting up a MonixO only tank, 30-40 of them, what do you think?

30-40, huh. Tank size better be massive. Those are some great-looking fish, no major red flags jumping out at me. Assuming you've got top-notch filtration and care in place.

Average size, if I recall, is around 5.5 inches. One thing to keep in mind, inbreeding isn't ideal - brother to sister is a definite no-go, and even father to daughter should be avoided if possible. You might want to think about swapping out a few to keep the bloodline healthy.

As for tank specifics, I'm still in the dark - dimensions, equipment, the works.

My tank's a Juwel 450 Vision, been running for 2 years now, no major issues. I've got 2 Tetra Tec 1200's for filtration, seems to be doing the job. Currently, I've got around 40-50 mixed in there, no deaths, so everything's looking good.

So I'm assuming that's a 100+ gallon tank you've got going on there. You seem to be doing everything right, and it shows in the health and quality of your fish. I'm a bit jealous, I won't lie - you've got some amazing specimens that I've been struggling to get my hands on. Your attention to detail and care is clearly paying off, and I can tell you're passionate about what you do. Keep us posted on how everything goes, and please, for the love of Rift lake fish, keep sharing those incredible pics. That last one, "Feeding time", is still my favorite.

Thanks for the kind words, I'm really impressed with your setup. Glad to hear the fish get along well. Shame I'm not closer to help with the sell-off, I'm sure it'd be a blast.

Looking forward to more updates and pics, especially of that crazy feeding time - sounds like they're always starving. What's your tank setup like and what fish do you keep?