77-gallon Cichlid Stocking Question

[pbr_chick]

I have a 77-gallon aquarium and am putting African cichlids in it. I've already cycled the tank (have a ton of swordtails in there right now keeping the bacteria alive), have most of the decor in (I'm making a 3-d rock wall... will post a guide in DIY when I finish), and now it is time to start adding fish. Will the following list be appropriate?

5 each of:
Jewel Cichlid (Hemichromis sp.)
Electric Blue Haplochromis
Yellow Labidochromis
Yellow-tailed Acei

Any suggestions/changes are more than welcome (otherwise, why would I be posting this?)!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Had you thought about only doing mbuna or hap?

 

[pbr_chick]

Thought about it, but my lfs kinda blows so those are just about the only ones I can get ahold of unless I want to pay out the nose. lol I rhymed.

 

[spoonman]

The hap could be very aggressive toward the more docile mbuna. Would be something to keep an eye on if you decide to go that way.

 

[pbr_chick]

So if I nixed the electric blue hap, what would you suggest adding instead? Also, are the Jewel cichlids ok? The jewels and the aceis are my favorites.

 

[mfdrookie516]

hmm, id be more up on the idea of keeping the electric blue and yellow lab and nixing the jewel...

 

[pbr_chick]

Ok... what would you replace it with? If i call around, I might be able to get some in. Also, do you think the numbers are ok?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Its all opinion, basically what you want thats compatable. I have bumblebees, auratus, kenyi, and venustus. the venustus are haps, they get along great with the mbuna. The kenyi seem to be very pretty fish. You could actually do more than that, not much, but a few more. i have a 1:3 ratio of males to females, its always recommended to have several more females than males. The bumblebees are neat fish, and i LOVE auratus as you can see from my avatar. None of mine have any aggression towards any of the others. could be because i have a 150g tank and only 9 fish so far lol... Its always a good general rule to not have too many fish of the same color. If youre doing yellow labs, id stay away from other yellow fish...

 

[Sicklid]

Jewels can become like convicts in aggression when they are spawning... I wouldn't put them in with mbuna.

 

[spoonman]

If you have your heart set on Acei I wouldnt go with any of the Haps. Thats just me.

 

[mbuna Brandon]

I would' nt go with the jewel it likes different water conditions than the malawi cichlids. Also mixing mbunas with haps is usually not a good idea due to diet differences. But if you are going to mix mbuna with haps then yellow labs are a good choice because they are more omnivorous then most mbuna. Another good mbuna to mix with haps is the bumblebee cichlid they also have a higher protien diet than most mbuna and are not too aggressive.