Established 150 gallon with only 8 Mbuna.....advice on adding please

[bcopley]

Established 150 gallon with only 7 Mbunas.....advice on adding please

I've had my tank for a year. It's a 150 gallon with a diy trickle filter. Water quality is consistently good and I feed them New Life Spectrum once daily but usually skip a day every once in awhile. I started with 14 Mbunas (yellow labs, aceis, rustys, and red zebras) and two bristlenose plecos. They all got along great for about 8 or 9 months. One jumped out of the tank while we were away and the others were murdered. Now I'm down to one bristlenose and only 7 Mbunas (2 yellow labs, 3 Acei, 1 Red Zebra, and 1 Rusty) My tank looks empty and I need to add more fish. My fish haven't gotten as big as I expected, but they are bigger than the fish at the pet store. Any tips on what to add? I'm hoping if I add enough, it will cut down on aggression.

 

[CCXGT]

I've had my tank for a year. It's a 150 gallon with a diy trickle filter. Water quality is consistently good and I feed them New Life Spectrum once daily but usually skip a day every once in awhile. I started with 14 Mbunas (yellow labs, aceis, rustys, and red zebras) and two bristlenose plecos. They all got along great for about 8 or 9 months. One jumped out of the tank while we were away and the others were murdered. Now I'm down to one bristlenose and only 7 Mbunas (2 yellow labs, 3 Acei, 1 Red Zebra, and 1 Rusty) My tank looks empty and I need to add more fish. My fish haven't gotten as big as I expected, but they are bigger than the fish at the pet store. Any tips on what to add? I'm hoping if I add enough, it will cut down on aggression.

Make sure to add the most aggressive fish last, ie, Auratus, Demasoni, Johanni...

I wouldn't add a fish smaller than 2" to an African tank.
I'd recommend an albino fish, either Albino labs or Socolofi, it would add a distinct white colour to your tank.
Maingano's, they look identical to male Johannis but are much less aggressive.
Red Tops, a good looking male is very bright blue with red finnage.
Maybe even some OB's, they are very marmite and I don't know if you're a fan, OB Zebras are an option.
Perhaps some dwarf Mbuna?
Saulosi males look similar to Demasoni and females are yellow.
Kenyi males are a very vibrant yellow and females are blue with black barring.

It's up to you really, these are just suggestions.

Also how are you planning on adding fish?
The problem is that the 8 fish left in your tank will all have dedicated territory in there.
You might want to consider rescaping to try and reset the ranks.


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