PlanetCatfish.com

I am currently still employed at the Wildlife World Zoo's very very tiny aquarium (all of 30 tanks, ranging from 29 gallons to 325...yes, I know), and come July 1, my boss Beryl will be gone for the next three years. My replacement boss Lance is an awesome guy, but he doesn't know much about fish, which is fine overall since I have the chance to restock some tanks!

There's some basic criteria; my boss' boss wants bright and colorful fish, or at least fish that grab your attention, and fish that are not commonly found in pet stores. Another huge issue to be dealt with are tank sizes; we are looking mostly at 29 gallon tanks that need new stock. (The Lake Malawi junk tank looks like a PetsMart hybrid reject bin, to put it nicely.)

I am limited also by funds; the zoo owner is not looking to invest $100 in a tiny tank when he is spending a few million on a new ride-through flume ride tank for the new aquarium being built.

wow...I haven't to WWZ in FOREVER!

It is going to be a challenge to give him what he wants without going over budget.

I take it each tank is trying to represent certain regions?

This will help a bit on suggestions

BTW great sig line =) One of my favorite books

29G is very very small, and there are virtually no Malawian cichlids to keep in there, usually. especially if you want to keep in more than 1 species.

but if there are more of them, you could set up those tanks as speciestank and put labels next telling about the fish in there.

Zoo's often have "species cages", so why not draw that line into the fish-hall??

Another thing is that manby people -not just zookeepers- feed Malawians regular flake (or even unfrozen crustaceans!) and in general way too much.
wich doesn't hurt them, but they get too big.....

That might help you too: for the Malawians: get a fiberrich proteinlow food. spirulina flake food for example, and skip 1 or 2 days of feeding in the week.

I've found out those things the hard way too in my schooltanks, I keep Malawians at school for exactly the same reason: colorful active fishes!

Currently I got a 40G with only 1 species of cichlid: Labidochromis sp Mbamba.
There's a juvie Ancistrus L144 in there for window cleaning duties (his bright orange color is an asset) and a few Synodontis petricola's for contrast and cleaning uses. the Syno's are going to be removed though; they have grown only a few mm's....looks like a good Mbuna diet isn't great for them.

These Mbamba's are fully grown at 3 inch (!). with the wrong food they can pass 5", wich makes em too big. but at 3" they fit just fine in a 29G

In time I've spoken a fair number of people who actually have been diving in there (Lake Malawi) inmcluding Ad Konings -name might ring a bell- and they all agree: Malawian Mbuna's in the wild are tiny.
fully colored up at 2", breeding and adult at 3", at the most near 4".

of course lots of fishes get bigger the natural way, but these aren't suitable for small tanks.

There's a whole range of Labidochromis species that can be used, but with 1 disclaimer: they hybridize very very easy, do not mix them! and it can be hard finding fishes wich still are 'pure', like the portraited Mbamba.
if for example the dark bands run all the way up to the tailfin and the yellow leans to orange it's a crossbred.

other tiny colorful cichlids include Metriaclima estherae, Labidochromis sp 'Hongi', L caeruleus (wich also should be 3" instead of the 7! we see often), Tropheops spp, some of the smaller Aulonocara species etc.
I suggest taking a peek in Ad Konings "Back to Nature Guide for Malawian Cichlids"

any non Malawian tanks in there as well?

There's no real "region" needed to be covered; we have a Lake Tang tank, though, and I myself think those cichlids are far more interesting than Malawian. My boss and his boss honestly don't care -what- goes in the tanks, as long as the animal is active, can be seen easily, stays small, and isn't common pet store fish.

I was leaning toward some figure 8 puffers myself. If the tank setup allowed it, I would love to do a hillstream loach tank, but alas. 29 gallons is just too small a tank!

Do you have any auctions in your area through local fish clubs? It's a dandy way to find fish off the beaten path. How about a few tanks of North American natives, such as Etheostoma caeruleum(rainbow darters), etc? Some Florida native fishies are quite attractive and small. Just a thought. I know many folks turn their noses up at NA natives because they think they aren't "exciting" enough. 'Tis a shame. Some Killies make a nice impression.
Amanda

Aha!

I thought those tanks were supposed to stay Malawian....

if that's not the case, there are indeed plenty better suitable fishes for 29G tank.

why not hillstream loaches?

a colony of Gastromyzon can live happily in a 29G and it's dead easy of adding overpower in such a tank with a few powerheads.