+1
I've had luck with 40 breeders and 33 longs with breeding groups of smaller species, but these have large footprints for their volume. I do not recommend it for anyone with no experience with mbuna, and definitely not for a random mbuna community.
If yer limited to a 10 gallon tank, ya need to explore some other options. A single apistogramma or other dwarf SA species (
Nannacara,
Taeniacara candidi,
Dicrossus, etc.) as a centerpiece fish and a small group of tetras. A group of 4-6 Tanganyikan shell dwellers can work as long as ya have plenty of shells and an outlet for fry, or are not abhorrent to disposing of the young fish. One or a breeding pair of any of the West African
Congochromis species, but these are not especially easy to get a hold of and tend to be expensive, with a small group of tetras for dithers.
Ya may look into other fish with cichlid-like behavior. Pygmy sunfish of the genus
Elassoma from the southeast United States, for example. Maybe Badids from southeast Asia. Any of the species in the genus
Badis would be limited to a single fish with a small school of tetras or rasboras, but the scarlet badis (
Dario dario) could be kept in a small group of up to four individuals.
Any of the combos I listed will be pushin' the bioload on a 10 gallon tank; good filtration and good husbandry practices will be a must.
WYite