Starting a first time Cichlid....Advice please

[Bullnugget]

So I just unloaded a 55 gallon and stand onto my sister. I wanted the space in my small house, it was just some community fish. I have re arranged the living room and found a nice small area that can fit a 36" aquarium without being in the way of anything.

I want to get either a 65 Gallon or a 40 Gallon Breeder. Which is better suited for the cichlids? I prefer a 65 for the added height, which I personally think a tall tank looks great as long as the fish use the space.

I also would like to use a LED fixture, as it doesn't use a lot of electricity. Would a Marineland Double Bright LED Fixture, 36", work well?
Will also use a canister filter, unknown which at this time.

Ok so now onto fish. Me, Wife and Kids all like African Cichlids, very colorful and fun to watch. I was just browsing around on Liveaquaria.com and getting ideas of which breeds we like. I prefer to stay with the Lake Malawian breeds as they seem to grow to a max of 5" or so according to the site.

I do not know the breeds all that well. But have a few that I prefer....
Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus)
Cobalt Blue Zebra Cichlid (Metriaclima callainos)
Red Zebra Cichlid (Metriaclima estherae)
Maingano Cichlid (Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos)
Blue Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara nyassae)
Red Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp.)
Yellow Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara sp.)
Demasoni Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni)
Fuelleborni Cichlid, Marmalade (Labeotropheus fuelleborni)


they also have this listed: Mbuna Mixed Cichlid (Pseudotropheus sp.
Which appears to be just a mix of different colors?

I will also add in a Bristlenose Pleco with the fish....

Ok guys, about how many of those listed above could I fit in a 65?

If the 65 wont work well, how about the 40?

 

[CoronaBlue]

Peacocks are more peaceful than Mbuna's so you might have issues with Mbuna's picking on them. More than likely you will need to decide if you want a Mbuna tank or a Peacock/Hap tank.

 

[CoronaBlue]

I forgot to address the tank. Width is better than height but if your stuck with 36 inches then get the 65gallon. When you make your caves just stack it as high as you can to give them layered areas to get away from each other.

 

[Bullnugget]

Ok Thank you. Unfortunately until I move into a bigger house (within 2-3 years) I am stuck with a 36" tank for the space. I loved the 55 and I even have a 90 sitting the basement, but I just don't have room to put it comfortably.

I was doing some more reading, Mbuna's are pretty aggressive, some articles were saying to actually overstock the tank a little and have heavy filtration. 2:1 Female to Male ratio. I am worried though they may get a little to big.

Haps require a bigger tank than I can accommodate right now. But Peacocks could easily be done.

How many varieties of peacocks are there exactly? If I got a bunch of different ones that topped out around 5-6" how many do you think I could keep?

Should I also overstock the peacocks a little? I have always heard on here to overstock cichlids a little to help keep the aggression down.

 

[Bullnugget]

Ok so bottom feeder question. Will one Bristlenose pleco cut it? I know they are very active as I had some. I was reading something else that says Synodontis catfish are best kept with Cichlids due to the hard water, which is good because we have hard water. But they look to get way to large for my tank. Any other ideas?

 

[gilpi]

I think you can be ok with some of the less aggressive not so big mbuna in a 40g breeder. Yellow lab and rusty can be a starting point. With some of them you don't need to be heavily stocked but you still "might" have to weed out a trouble maker, some pecking is normal.Going with haps and peacocks will be ok temporarily but they are bigger fish and could also show some aggression but you'll need a bigger tank later or rehome them. If you like mbuna, I can recommend doing a research on the net on what can be compatible to your tank.