I love the venustus, he's gorgeous. The contrast of bright blue against the olive green is beautiful! 
Africans From the Past - Warning pic heavy!
- Thread starter RD.
- Start date
I really want some star saphires!!! Always have but didnt want to pay full price for 4" males and dont have the space to buy 2" juvees!
I agree Kittie Kat, my favorite species from the genus Nimbochromis.
Being an all male set up this tank evolved & changed over the years as trouble makers got shifted elsewhere, but this is what the tank looked like early on. There was over 200 lbs of granite boulders in there.
Ah, Malawis. I fabulously crowded them-- the numbers would make some people here apoplectic, but Malawis are not new worlds-- I still had to do some tinkering every so often to keep the peace. It pays to have multiple tanks when keeping and breeding Malawis ime-- or at least have a lfs handy who makes trades without much fuss. The African era has passed for me also, the kapampas are the lone surivivors of those days.
The days to trade fish with lfs is gone, as independent lfs in US are closing left and right, and big box chain don’t take trade. I’m lucky to be in a region with active fish clubs, so bringing in fish for auction is an option to rehome fish. But the popularity of Malawian cichlid is no where near what they used to be 10 to 20 years ago, as I notice the table for Malawian cichlid items are getting smaller each year. What is new are new species of CA/SA, nano fish and invertebrates, and return of community live bearers, rainbows, tetra and catfish. I have grown out of African fever, but still keep a few selected species from Tang and Malawi, but mixed in CA/SA, and community fish for diversity.
LFS across the globe are not all the same. lol I was able to trade fish in locally for many years, still could if I wanted to travel to the better stores in the larger cities. Malawi cichlids are still very popular locally as they tend to fit into smaller tanks, which are more popular with the vast majority of hobbyists . I'm guessing that for every 100+ gallon tank sold, a hundred smaller tanks are sold.
I have crowded mbuna tanks in the past, but never felt the need to get too carried away with the larger haps and/or peacocks. When I get a chance I'll try and find some pics of my all time favorite species from the Rift Lakes. My Tang pics are pretty limited, most are so grainy that not worth posting. My first digital camera was I think a Sony FD 73. It took a floppy disk inserted in to the side. lol And it was a very expensive camera at the time, I think I pais close to 1K here in Canada. https://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_fd73
I have crowded mbuna tanks in the past, but never felt the need to get too carried away with the larger haps and/or peacocks. When I get a chance I'll try and find some pics of my all time favorite species from the Rift Lakes. My Tang pics are pretty limited, most are so grainy that not worth posting. My first digital camera was I think a Sony FD 73. It took a floppy disk inserted in to the side. lol And it was a very expensive camera at the time, I think I pais close to 1K here in Canada. https://www.dpreview.com/products/sony/compacts/sony_fd73
Don't know where you live, but Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, Chicago and other locations I'm familiar with still have good lfs and many of these places still trade fish. Some of these places have been around for decades and still going strong. Location, demographics, offering better quality and greater variety than chain stores, bringing in new stuff rather than the same thing all the time set many of these places apart and keep them successful.
