Please help me ID these fish

@Dillon as Ryno said table salt is a definite no no! You get special Malawi salt which gives you the exact amount to use per liter but I cant think what it is off the top of my head. Just remember that you only add salt when you do water changes, not when doing top-ups. I know its simple but many people tend to forget that when water gets evaporated from your tank the salts remain behind and increase the pH substantially. If you were to add salt every time you did a top-up you would end up with incredibly salty water You do an initial dose to get your pH to around 8.0 which is where lake Malawi generally is, then all you do is add what ever you take out on a water change. Always test the pH of your water after every water change to ensure that you have the correct levels. The nice thing about Malawi's is that they tend to be very hardy so you really don't need to stress too much if your water parameters are not 100% correct but always ensure that you add dechlorinator to any water going into your tank and also heat the water in advance to avoid rapid temperature changes. Alternatively you can just fill the tank up really slowly, allowing the temperature to remain at a reasonable temperature. These guidelines are especially important in winter when the tap water is much colder and often has increased levels of chlorine in order to counter the lack of rainfall to wash away algae etc. Hope that helps?

 

Okay so I went to to my lfs and I asked the lady there if they sell aquarium salt for malawis or jst aquarium salt in general. She looked at me as if I was confused and simply said they use ordinary salt! So ja does anyone from Durban knws where I can get it? Or is there a substitute I could use?

 

Just to clarify, salt as in NaCl will do very little to affect your pH. It will however increase salinity and hardness.
Your malawis need a pH around 8. To do this you have a few options:
1. Buying malawi "trace elements" which increases your hardness, pH to the desired levels. (Expensive)
2. Adding Bicarbonate of Soda with the NaCl to increase hardness and pH. (Cheaper option)
3. Use shells, or calcium based gravel like coral chip as a substrate which will maintain the water at the desired levels.

R

 

I didn't find the Malawi salt expensive? It was R50 and it has lasted me over a year already. Other than that Rowland is spot on you can achieve the same water chemistry with alternative methods if you can't find any Malawi Salts.

Another tip is that you should avoid putting wood into a Malawi setup as it softens the water which is obviously not what you want for Malawis.