Stocking levels.

[Spoor3773]

I have a 65 gal tank at home with a fluval 305 filter and two u3 filters running, I also do large regular water changes. How many Malawi cichlids do you think I could keep???

 

[Malawi Freak]

Between 20-25

 

[Spoor3773]

Cheers for reply. I always seem to get mixed opinions on this. One of my colleagues at work who's had his tank for years said he's had 50 cichlids in his tank. It's the same tank as mine too!!! Why has it worked for him. Or are the fish suffering without him knowing.

 

[kay-bee19]

Overstocking mbuna tanks (I'm assuming it's mbuna's when you mention 'malawi's') is an option used to diffuse aggression. Mbuna tank's, however, do not necessarily require overstocking (what's important is that they shouldn't be understocked).

What species are you intending to get? A 65gal is only 36" in length; ideally you'd want at least 48" in length. A tank shorter than 48" can enhance aggression and could somewhat reverse the aggression-reducing affect of overstocking with 20-25 fish.

You could probably go with the low-end aggressive fish, such as rusties, yellow labs and maybe some saulosi's (4 to 5 each with one male per species); or try a demasoni-species tank with 15-20 with lots of rocks. Due to tank length you may want to avoid the more aggressive types.

...One of my colleagues at work who's had his tank for years said he's had 50 cichlids in his tank. It's the same tank as mine too!!!

50 cichlids in a 65gal tank..for years? Overstocking is one thing, but if those cichlids were full grown (~4"-6") that's wall to wall fish.