My first cichlid tank.

[kjacks]

I had a 55g but my nyererei was soo bad it required a 6ft tank so i bought the 125g. And it helped now my tank is mostly calm.. my vics are a bad group but they are.my fav.. i mixed all lakes bc well i know it all and did it anyway ..lol so i paid the price of having to upgrade coulda been worse i didnt have a blood bath so thats a plus .. if you really want the pilot i think you should try it .. you could always rehome or setup a 2nd african tank.. lol

 

[CameronCade]

What size did you have to upgrade to? I think I mentioned it earlier, but I have a 75 sitting in my garage waiting for a good reason to put it to use, so I can always upgrade to that if/when needed. But for now I'd like to keep things on the smaller side and simple. I suppose I'll skip the pilot and then see how many of the other 3 I can find and see what happens with that. I figure I'll only be able to find a couple nearby anyways, we shall see though!
Fish definitely all do have their own personalities though! It's insane! Hopefully I get some good luck with these guys like I have with most my other tanks aggression-wise.

I personally would use the 75. More options.

 

[Oohitsae]

I personally would use the 75. More options.

I personally don't see there being much of a difference in the options. I would be able to stock a few more fish, like 6ish IMO, but I'd still be going for the same sized fish, and for the same species I'm looking at for the 55.

If I were going SA or CA then I'd definitely do the 75 since I like the large species over there, but all the Africans I like stay pretty small, under 5" so I don't really see the point. Especially with it being my first African tank, I don't want to set up that large of a tank only to tear it down a few months later if I decide I don't like them. Plus doing the 55 first gives me a reason to keep it up if/when I upgrade them to a 75 so I can stock it with some other types of fish I've been wanting to try.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

When I said tweak not all the ones I listed will work together. You want the Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos, right?

Not all the cynotilapia can g together and actually I'm not sure in a 55 if two will work. I have the cobue and the Mara rocks together with no problems. But there is a big tank size difference between mine and yours.

I would just pick 3 = one Pseudotropheus, cynotilapia, libidochromis and maybe one more. The less species the higher numbers of each. That turns into better breeding habits with less of a chance of crossing IMO.

 

[Oohitsae]

When I said tweak not all the ones I listed will work together. You want the Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos, right? Not all the cynotilapia can g together and actually I'm not sure in a 55 if two will work. I have the cobue and the Mara rocks together with no problems. But there is a big tank size difference between mine and yours. I would just pick 3 = one Pseudotropheus, cynotilapia, libidochromis and maybe one more. The less species the higher numbers of each. That turns into better breeding habits with less of a chance of crossing IMO.

I can't remember if I wanted it or not! Lol whatever was on my list that you shortened it to us what I'll probably go for, minus the one KJacks said would likely be too aggressive.
So basically, you would suggest 3 different genus, but all Mbunas, and all with similar aggression levels and sizes. Correct?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I can't remember if I wanted it or not! Lol whatever was on my list that you shortened it to us what I'll probably go for, minus the one KJacks said would likely be too aggressive.
So basically, you would suggest 3 different genus, but all Mbunas, and all with similar aggression levels and sizes. Correct?

Yep, it's best to not get two that look alike as in some cynotilapia and elongatus too

 

[CameronCade]

My point exactly. More options in a 75.