My second tank is setup and cycling. What is the most popular Malawi fish to buy and breed? My tank is 50 Gallons. Now this should be good!

It's all a matter of preference!

If you like a lot of action and constant activity, then go with the Mbuna. fishy

If you like a little more subtlety, then maybe peacocks and haps. fishy

If you like a peaceful tank with no aggression, forget about african cichlids! dumb dumb

In terms of sales, I would think that the Yellow Lab would be the number
one selling fish because of its compatibility with many species of african's.

It is also a beautiful looking fish, if you get a high quality strain.

Cool, nice info...but still need to think i think Hmmmm and then think some more i think Hmmmm

defintly most popualar is the yellow lab. high intensity colour right from when they are young, easy to breed, and although they go for cheep there is always a damand for them

Ps. demasoni tend to sell for good prices all over the world, and are always in high demand. The best thing about them is that they need to be kept as singles, or groups of 12 +...No "in between"...So, you can move several at a time to individuals! When we kept them, I sold my little ones 12 for $50.00. That's pretty good for fish that aren't even an inch.

You want to look at species that will grow out quicker, as well.

LFS don't like to take juvies off your hands unless they are showing colour. And as a customer of a LFS, there is nothing anymore disappointing than to see a tank full of drab tiny fish that shouldn't even be for sale yet.

For most mbuna, you can count on having to keep them until they are 1 1/2 - 2 inches. (Many of the Cynotilapia variants are in high demand in this area...I love Yellow labs, but I would want the perfect breeding group, and you probably won't get much for them.)

Peacocks are great, but the grow out period is really, really slow, and alot of people won't bother with them because of the drab ugly females.

I would go with the monomorphic species to start out!

For your grow out tanks, feed frequently - a good quality food, and do crazy frequent water changes to aid them in growing out quickly.

Kim

as far as Mbuna go Demasoni are huge sellers in this area same with yellow labs.
I would say Kenyi, saulosi, follow closely here just due to their colors as fry. I get or got $6.00 each for 3/4 " Afra Jalo reef on trade ins at the LFS. demasoni got me close to $to $5 each if they did not have any in stock , I have not traded in any fry lately but when I had tanks breeding I could not give enough of the above to keep the stores happy they sold them so fast. blues and yellows are great colors in the tanks. Drooly