African cichlid varieties

[Maridia]

I know it's been preached that new world and old world shouldn't mix, but are there certain Africans that shouldn't mix with other Africans?

 

[jahonnimyfav101]

No all Africans are aggressive just make sure to study before you buy them.

 

[DragonFish71]

They say you shouldn't mix the different lake species. Or, if they are from the same lake, you shouldn't mix the deeper water species with the shallow water species, like zebras and peacocks. I know some of it has to do with aggression and dietary differences. Mbuna should be fed more of a low protein diet whereas peacocks are higher protein.

I'm not too well versed on all the different species, I just know the ones that I like and their requirements.

 

[Cecil2010]

Dragon fish pretty much sums it up. If you have any questions about specifics just ask.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

It's quite complex, every species is different and can or can not be mixed. In my experience most work together given room! I mine a lot of room and under stocking. In a tank less than 100 gallons I'd say stick to the same lake, so Malawi with Malawi, tanganiyka with tanganiyka, and victoria with victoria. Further I'd try to stick Malawian peacocks and haps together and mbuna together. Then we can get more complex some mbuna are notoriously aggressive like auratus and can be tricky to mix with other mbuna. There are rules and every rule has an exception.

 

[Iamtechno13]

TheCommunityCichlid has it dead on. My brother has 60+ species of African Cichlids and I've learned quite a bit from him and I couldn't have put it any better. People do sometimes put Tropheus, which graze algae all day and put them in with Calvus which are carnivore's and these are both found the Lake Tanganyika but have totally different diets and the tropheus eating so much protein, can have a hard time digesting it and develop bloat. People can do this, if like CommunityCichlid said, you have enough space and I would also say some familiarity with these fish first.