How should I go about stocking my cichlid tank

[sliderfish]

I have recently gotten a new tank that I am devoting to African Mbuna Cichlids. I will have a slate cave that runs nearly the length of the tank and around half the height of it (standard 55 gal).

My question is whether I can go about slowly adding the cichlids one or two at a time or whether it best to add them in larger groups (say 6 or so). I plan on making sure all the fish are around the same size and have been planning this for awhile; determining what types can go with each other. I want to hand pick them rather than walking into my LFS and saying "gimme 10 cichlids". Is this a good move? Will it cause more aggression as they struggle for dominance and territory?

 

[nhitch20]

It depends on how big they all are.
A 55g tank is a pretty big tank so if their was any aggression they have room to run and make their own territory. But a lot of fish stores have disclaimers on their Cichlids warning people that if they add a few at a time their could be aggression, ie. dead fish. I would recommend that you add them all in together, this gives you time to think of what you want and to make any final decisions plus It's usually less stressful on the fish to add them all once so you don't keep putting new stuff into a tank with fish that aren't settled yet.
If you want to add a few in at a time I would recommend adding 3 at the very least if you plan on adding 10 total. so if their is any aggression it's spread out.
Also you could add 2 or 3 first and see if you like that than add the rest. You shouldn't have any problems with that.

 

[izzasy]

Hi! I agree with nhitch20 that we should put them altogether to avoid less stress. Try doing a little research about the type of fish you're going to put in your tank. Most cichlids are territorial and love to hide and cover. Convicts for one are observed to territorial and aggressive and is really not the community type of fish. You can check this site out:

Aquarium Tropical Fish Experts-Aquariums-Coral

They have a site dedicated to chichlids and their behavioral descriptions. Chichlids are easy to take care of and LFS may tell you lots just to make a sale, but reasearch well on the behavior so you can have a happy aquarium.

 

[mfdrookie516]

i would not add them all at once. this is only my opinion, but adding 10-12 fish at once is a big hit on your bacterial colony... especially when youre talking about mbuna. I would get 3-4 to start off, then slowly over the next few weeks, add one or two at a time. You shouldnt see any aggression issues, especially if you re-work the tank each time you add new ones. Ive added new ones to my 150 a month or so after others, with 0 aggression towards the new guys, and i have what are considered the more aggressive mbuna. Changing your rock work around will help with any aggression problems you have at any point, as it does away with any established territories and they have to find new places to hide and claim. Just remember that mbuna are super messy and will require alot of cleaning and heavy filtration