Mbuna Mountain: EPIC Cichlid 4ft Aquascape Tutorial 

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Wonderful setup, MD! You’ve inspired me and my 2 boys to set up a third 29 gal tank, currently in the process! You gave me the confidence to set our aquariums as eco systems. Love your positive attitude and the work you do!

That tank keeps getting nicer! As for your remark about it looking like you've "chucked a bunch of rocks in" - EXACTLY. That's how every underwater picture of lake Malawi looks. The lakes formed as part of the Great Rift Valley, so basically earthquakes, plate tectonics, and water currents "chucked" a bunch of rocks into the lakes, and the rocks settled to a point of relative stability where they wouldn't tumble or fall further. I've seen too many cichlid tanks with neatly or precariously stacked rocks that just wouldn't occur in nature. It's pretty hard to pull off that natural look in an aquarium - but you've done it. Also, you've inspired me to redo the rockwork on my 55g mbuna tank, and re-up the stocking. I got a reef tank and was thinking about phasing my mbuna tank out, but I've learned that one is not a substitute for or better than the other. Maybe the new just wore off the reef and I've found I love both of those children equally! Keep up the top-notch content!

18:20 learned something new about lighting . thanks

Wow… perfect timing for this video.. setting up a 55 gallon Mbuna tank today! Great video 😂

I get new knowledge in every one of your videos which is why i love your videos so much ❤❤

Looks awesome! But i liked it with the plants, with the anubias much more 🙈😅

Would love to see a cpo/mexican dwarf crayfish nano tank one day

I love your planted tanks, but this one looks really, really cool!

One of your best, love the clean look of this one.

Great build MD, R u going to build a axolotl tank? My two young sons want to see you do it....... So do I😊

Awesome tank but don't bristlenose plecos need to munch on wood??

Looks wonderful Just one question - you put the bristlenoses back in - don't they need wood to munch on?

My anxiety everytime i see the top rocks , hopefully you have stuck them 😊

I just use car vinyl wrap it only taken a few minutes a tank and super easy to remove later if needed.

Love your tank! They have grown alot. Not sure if u are aware African need to eat African specific diet of mostly agle/plant based food. We use african pellet food just for our african tank. Community food isn't really adequate. Think it can cause digestive issues.

Please recommend what type of overhead lighting to enhance the colours of the fish

I’m wondering if there’s any reason you don’t use plastic eggcrate light diffuser under the substrate to distribute the weight evenly. Serpa uses it in every tank whose build includes heavy stones. It’s cheap and available at every “Home Depot” type store.

Hi, videos are fantastic, what tank is this? in the market for a new one just getting back into the hobby and this looks perfect.

Have you thought about filming your fish and setting them up as back grounds or screen savers to sell?

I’m confused, no water changes necessary? That’s a HUGE bioload and no plants

Love this!

If you are going to have chiclid tank at your home. please consider tanganyikan. murago would be so nice.

Simple is Best😎

Can you do a feeding of all your tanks for a vid ❤

holy shit i was early for the release without realizing xD

Sick!

why paint black why not black foil?

That's a lot of rocks

i dont understand why the rocks are put in before the sand.

the top kinda looks like a skull

Can you tell me the names of the fish you have in this tank?

MD, like you said at the start of the video, the Bristles need wood, they eat it. Now they have none, just the algae weavers you feed them.

This setup makes the tank look so much bigger. This might be my favorite tank. Excellent design!!

The mbuna cave structure is amazing. I am going to try it on my 125g mbuna setup. You can definitely see how the caves provide hiding places and territories for your fish. I was wondering what kind of rocks the top ones are and if you can include a link to the dimmable led lights. Congrats on the beautiful rebuild ❤

This is the best so far video you have made (its mostly cuz I have a soft spot for mbunas)

I love you MD Fish Tanks you inspired me to get into this hobby and watching your videos lowers my stress, gives me brilliant ideas for future tank set ups

Your understanding of what makes each species of your fish happy is amazing. Another great tank setup

fantastic tank MD, can you tell me about the lights you got from Amazon. Cheers John, Queensland, Australia

That is beautiful! Great idea! The cichlids look so happy. 😊

This setup will look beautiful when covered with algae, it looks great now! 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

I had a set up similar to this year's ago, high rock structure, it was a lot of work. Water changes every week was needed, plus was getting a lot of aggression, it's probably because I didn't have near as many fish in the tank as you. Planted fish tank is the only way for me to go. I really am not a fan of doing water changes.

Nice to see Anette making an appearance the last two episodes! 😄

I miss MD doing smaller tanks…

how is your water so clear with wood in it? i’ve boiled the wood in my tank for multiple hours and i’ve let it soak but no matter how many water changes i do my water is still brown

Beautiful tank MD. You should do a video where you rate other tanks

Hi do you do anything to buffer the water hardness for them?

Wow beautiful! The shimmer is like tank jewelry. Id love to see one of your rockscapes in a single species tropheus tank

Their colors are really popping in the new set up, they feel this is a natural environment.

You know what would be better than this Mbuna tank!?! Two of them. That way you could split half of these fish into another aquarium and you still get to keep them all! It’s a win win 😀

What is the advantage of a black paint vs a black background wrap? Certainly not time.

Your display tanks look better than most peoples best aquascapes XD

Solid rocks displace too much water IMO. I use hollow rocks made from ceramic that have holes in them that way each rock is also a cave and they don't displace all of the water volume that solid rocks do and they weigh practically nothing compared to solid rocks so you don't have the bottom glass supporting all of that weight of solid rocks.. Every rock is then a home for any fish that claims it. You can stack them in such a way so the holes are facing to the sides and back and a few that face forward. They look like real rocks in every way.

Realistic. From this scape I could see you do a biotope, I mean a proper biotope sooner or later😅

The aquarium is pleasing to the eye. Great lighting. What model and wattage is it? Could you send a link?

Does anyone happen to know which link is for the lights in this video?🙏🏽😅

We have cichlids been wondering what to do got 5 of them in a 3ft tank they been getting very aggresive but this has helped thank you

Bros like the bob ross of fish tanks

That yellow tail has me howling taking that crevas in the rock as his territory 😅

Awesome set up , too much rock for me though . Too each their own , that’s why our hobby is so great

A nice change for your usual setups. It's good to see, thank you! I've got a 60L semicircle tank I want to set up in the living room, really struggling to know how to scape it, using your scapes for some inspiration ❤

yeaaaaaaaa definitely got a new subscriber. Damn thats a beautiful tank. And....... now I have to go hunt for seiryu stone lol

I like a black background on my Mbuna tanks (Back in the day when I had them) was glad when that happened. I bet in a couple years one male Pseudotropheus Zebra morph claims that central cave as his entire territory and thats that. All those little caves will offer some cover but I often find less is more when it comes to territory. Even ONE rock will be territory. One things for certian I plan on tuning in to find out, love Matts chanel.

What plants are those?

Looks great. Anything new with the saltwater tank? Maybe I missed it, but I feel like there hasn't been a look into that one in a while.

Nice 1 MD i liked the old set up but this just looks amazing. If you posed this 6months ago i would of definitely created something simlar. Well done sir give yourself a pat on the back

Where do I find these tanks? The link above only gives the 80cm version? Loved watching these videos, keep them coming! 👍🏻👍🏻

Luks great 😅

You said this doesn’t require maintenance, but what about nitrate buildup? There aren’t any plants, so do you still do water changes regularly? Also, the colors really do pop with this setup and light shimmer. Beautiful fish.

Hello! Super cool channel, greetings! I want to ask you, started a new aquarium 480 liters / 125 gallons. I have installed 2 FX 6 filters, 2 wavemakers, 1 FX UVC In-Line Clarifier. I have upgraded the media with matrix, Glass ceramic Bio-MAX White Fluval, Carbon with zeolite and Purijen by Seachem. Can I put the following fish in the aquarium: 2 Oscars 2 Parrots 1 Jack Dempsey 1 Green Terror 3 Blue Acara Cichlid 1 Polypterus

Nice setup mate. Looks so natural. In no time you'll have fry growing out in all those hiding spaces.

Hello! Love you videos! I have a question, I would love your help 🙋🏻‍♂️ How successful do you think this stocking list would be in a 125 gallon tank? 125 Gal Tank X2 Angel fish X2 Electric Blue Acara X2 Geophagus Tapajoes X1 Geophagus Altifrons X1 Red Belly/Eye Spot Severum (Heros Liberifer) X1 Super Red Spot (yellow) Severum (Heros SP) X1 Red Tiger Severum (Rio Curare/ Heros Severus) X6 Congo Tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus)

I know you are a plant guy but this is youre best set up in my opinion. Less is more in this case, worked out really well. Might actually try and replicate it

i definitely think google is listening. I've been having conversations with my wife about changing up my scape to this. Exactly like this!!! lol what a crazy coincidence either way. What kind of sand did you use for this? Thanks!!!

One of my favourite fishes ....lots of character ❤....i think by adding more caves they will start there breeding behaviour i have seen some females in your tank

Just curious - do cichlids typically not work with plants? Love the look but wondering if it’s more than just an aesthetic choice. :)

I've bad Mbuna Cichlids my entire life and love them as well! They will breed very easily in a setup like that too. If the females have a shrunk belly, hiding away and have an enlarged mouth then they're holding eggs/fry. You've taught me so much about plants, glad you're enjoying Cichlids!

Great video again!!! I have a question… I have watched a lot of your videos . I have never see you use air on tanks. Airstone or something like that. Plants release oxygen, so you don’t need external air. Correct?

why don't u use egg crate light diffuser for pressure equalizing ? and fine mesh pouches for substrate ? I think it will be more assuring and will take the guess work out of trying to find which stones create pressure points .

@MDFishTanks How much water volume do you think you lose using such a large amount of rock?

Are you happy with those pendant lights?? I'm looking to replace my cheap 4foot led strip light

Did you have to cycle the tank again MD? Or just put the guys back in straight up? I'm looking at doing this as well.

😂😂when scaping tanks is your job but your tanks are all done....let's rip up n do again. 😂😂😂

Loving this tank scaping MD, the fish stand outside much with the simple and effective backdrop. Please do some more tanks like this. Would it work for a guppy tank?

This is a future goal for me it is really outlandish but i want a HUGE tank maybe 20-30 feet going around a majority of my house i want to plant it and make it a river biotope ecosystem.

Hi md, I love this aquascape. Can u please tell us what the tank dimensions are? Can you also tell us where you can get the real big white grey basalt rocks? My apologies if you have already answered these questions as I am registered blind and I may have missed any responses. 👍 huge thumbs up I am planning on doing something similar on my next tank.

A steamer would help take that film off real quick and it help remove it without leaving that stick residue.

🐟🌱=👍

Despite being simple, this is the most breathtaking tank I’ve ever seen you do. Your planted tanks are incredible don’t get me wrong but there’s something about this that just cannot be topped in terms of freshwater imo and I need this tbh

Nice work! Got the light now too:) Could you reveal on which settings you running it for this setup to prevent algae?

Workout Aquascaping with Rocky layout, haha

You must struggle with ideas for content if you tore appert perfectly good tank to kame another scape....

The size of the fish clearly shows that the aquarium is far too small to keep Mbunas. At this age, based on their sexual characteristics, the fish should be much larger. A habitat that is too small limits the fish's growth.

If the fish dies and gets stuck In the rocks then again will you be doing the aquascaping ?

Wow what a set up do you know what types of mbuna they are please Sorry hi just found your channel by accident but WOW

Greta setup, and the fish are spectacular! Any chance they could jump out though? They seem to be able to gather some speed.

Hey MD how many Mbuna in a 50 liter tank you suggest? I know is small :)

Great vid. Enjoyed it very much and learned a lot too. Keep up the great work.

I think a mild plantation would be the cherry on top

I always wonder how all these tanks are so clean and so thriving healthy and as if the fish never poo or no plants ever melt or …. Must be professional filtering going around all tanks or some magic potion and hocus pocus we never hear