Malawi Mbuna Questions (55 Gal)

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Nolan

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
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Connecticut
As I am moving soon, I will be waiting to set up and stock a brand new Cichlid tank for at least a couple of months, but I figured I would get started planning everything out with everyone's help. I have had freshwater community tanks since I was a kid, but have never ventured into Cichlid territory. The only tank I currently have is a 37 gallon tropical community -- mostly Platies and neon tetras, but a couple of mollies and a couple of cory cats as well. I have been lurking for a couple of weeks now and trying to figure out everything I will need to get to successfully set up when I'm finally setteled in my new place.

So for stocking, I have been looking at Mbuna. I really like the Lake Victoria Cichlid as well, but it seems all of the colorful males I enjoy would be surrounded by colorless dull silver females.

I forget which forum or post I saw this information, but this is what I wrote down:

If all fish are under 5" long full grown, 18-22 would be lightly stocked, 23-26 would be medium stocked, and 26+ would be overstocked. So here is the stocking list I have landed on currently. I'm fairly certain all of these fish are co-existable (thats a word, right?), but am open for other ideas, critiques, discussion, etc. Also, I'm not sure what the "rules" are on the amount of species per tank, even if the numbers add up. (I think maybe the rule of thumb is 3 species suggested for a 55 gal)

4x - Pseudotropheus saulosi (1m / 3f)
4x - Labidochromis sp. "Hongi" (SRT) a.k.a. Red Top Kimpuma (1m / 3f)
4x - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) a.k.a. Yellow Tail Acei (1m / 3f)
4x - Peudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Ngara) a.k.a. Ngara White Tail (1m / 3f)
4x - Cynotilapia sp. "elongatus mdoka" (1m / 3f)

Is 5 species too many for a 55 gallon tank? Can all of these species co-habitate? Will the two Acei be able to get along?

All insight is greatly appreciated.
 
I may be wrong but i just feel like over 20 is overstocked in a 55 gal. And i believe that acei's may get too big for a 55 also. But i'm pretty sure the 2 acei's would get along fine. I had them together and they were okay.
 
Thanks bmarine. From what I understand, the footprint is the limiting dimension? Would that mean the minimum size tank for Acei would be a 120 gallon?
 
Kinda, i'm not an expert, but i would think a 75 is okay for them because its just wider. Someone else would know better.
 
Ah, okay I guess the depth is a little more, so that makes sense. I also am not sure if the Saulosi will mesh with the others, as it is listed as "aggressive" and the rest are "mild aggressive" on the cichlid-forum profiles.
 
I would say 21 max. People before you have to move a bigger tank. I went and Craigslist got a 55 gallon 4 foot long. Regretted it after seeing other fishes I was interested in. Now I have a 6foot long 125 gallon and can more options of fish

image-316850123.jpg
 
Ah, okay I guess the depth is a little more, so that makes sense. I also am not sure if the Saulosi will mesh with the others, as it is listed as "aggressive" and the rest are "mild aggressive" on the cichlid-forum profiles.

The saulosi is aggressive and will most likely chase around your other fish. The Acei are both really calm and pretty peaceful.
 
I would say 21 max. People before you have to move a bigger tank. I went and Craigslist got a 55 gallon 4 foot long. Regretted it after seeing other fishes I was interested in. Now I have a 6foot long 125 gallon and can more options of fish

View attachment 191029

An that looks very nice. As I won't be moved in to my new place for a couple of months, I'm looking on Craigslist. I'll definitely go bigger if I can get a deal. What do you think a reasonable price is on a used 120+? I'm seeing 55gal right now near me for around 75-100$ but I'm hoping for a better deal.
 
The saulosi is aggressive and will most likely chase around your other fish. The Acei are both really calm and pretty peaceful.

Like chase the others as in shouldn't put them together? Or chase them around until the go hide somewhere? Haha
 
An that looks very nice. As I won't be moved in to my new place for a couple of months, I'm looking on Craigslist. I'll definitely go bigger if I can get a deal. What do you think a reasonable price is on a used 120+? I'm seeing 55gal right now near me for around 75-100$ but I'm hoping for a better deal.

I just recently got my 125 with the tank, stand, 50 lbs Texas Holey Rock, and a Fluval Fx-5 for $300, which is the best price i've seen in my area. I think the average for my area for price is about $450 for a 120+ gallon.
 
Like chase the others as in shouldn't put them together? Or chase them around until the go hide somewhere? Haha

Maybe both. It could be fine, but it just depends on the exact fish you get. My saulosi were definitely the most aggressive in my tank, but my acei's were both bigger than them and so the aceis wouldnt bother them. If you want a calmer yellow one, you could do the Yellow lab. They are a little more docile IMO.
 
Yea but the Red Top Kimpuma are Labs as well and I thought you weren't supposed to mix Labs.
 
I started out my africans with mbuna, but i did it wrong and experimented with everything rather than research, so i have personal experience with the ones i owned, and they all actually did pretty decent, but i'm definitely not an expert on mbuna. I have started to do better with the peacocks and haps. If you want to do a peacock, they are pretty peaceful and there are quite a few yellow ones!
 
I am a sponge filter for aquarium advice haha. I really fell in love with the Pundamilia nyererei (Python Island or Igombe Island), but I realized that the females are silver and boring. So I started leaning towards Mbuna as the females are usually more colorful, and I really like the Red Top Kimpuma coloring, so I started to try to build a tank around them. Ultimately, I would like a rainbowish colored fish and then some other species for different colors like blue/yellow/red/green. I guess the beauty of pre-planning is that I can change my mind a thousand times before pulling the trigger.

And I've been watching videos on DIY 3D backgrounds and want to make one so much! The other Malawis wouldn't enjoy it nearly enough
 
Gotcha. You should take a bigger look at victorians! Some are actually pretty compatible with mbuna! I have some victorians and they did excellent in my tank! Plus many of them are excellently colored! I'm looking at getting another 55 just so i can have a tank for a victorian species! I'd also suggest just looking at cichlid-forum.com at their species profiles, and you can look at mbuna, victoria and many other cichlids and see if there are more you like! Hopefully someone else with more experience with mbuna can chime in too.
 
forget which forum or post I saw this information, but this is what I wrote down:

If all fish are under 5" long full grown, 18-22 would be lightly stocked, 23-26 would be medium stocked, and 26+ would be overstocked. So here is the stocking list I have landed on currently. I'm fairly certain all of these fish are co-existable (thats a word, right?), but am open for other ideas, critiques, discussion, etc. Also, I'm not sure what the "rules" are on the amount of species per tank, even if the numbers add up. (I think maybe the rule of thumb is 3 species suggested for a 55 gal)

I'd like to see where you seen this list. I've never came across it before.

- Pseudotropheus saulosi (1m / 3f)
4x - Labidochromis sp. "Hongi" (SRT) a.k.a. Red Top Kimpuma (1m / 3f)
4x - Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli) a.k.a. Yellow Tail Acei (1m / 3f)
4x - Peudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Ngara) a.k.a. Ngara White Tail (1m / 3f)
4x - Cynotilapia sp. "elongatus mdoka" (1m / 3f)

- The acei needs more swimming space then what a 55 can offer. They also get bigger than 5" and interbreeding will be a problem keeping the two stocked together.


is 5 species too many for a 55 gallon tank? Can all of these species co-habitate? Will the two Acei be able to get along?

All insight is greatly appreciated.

This article will help you a little better than the other one you came across. Please read the whole thing as there is side notes that's very important.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/lake-malawi-mbuna-stocking-dcor-hardware/
 
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Thanks Andrew!

I'd like to see where you seen this list. I've never came across it before.

This article will help you a little better than the other one you came across. Please read the whole thing as there is side notes that's very important.
Lake Malawi Mbuna stocking, décor and hardware - Aquarium Advice

Now that its wrong, I probably saw it on yahoo answers or something, haha. I do have that link in my bookmarks, I've been reading so much it's hard to keep it all straight.


- The acei needs more swimming space then what a 55 can offer. They also get bigger than 5" and interbreeding will be a problem keeping the two stocked together.

Do you know of any compatible species with looks similar to the White Tail or Yellow Tail Acei? I'm really liking both of them.



That's the first post I saw that got my gears turning. I love the arch that you did that extends forward into the tank.


Double posted sorry about that

Triple with your apology, but they were very helpful so I'll let it slide. :ROFLMAO:
 
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