Cichlid breeding help

[Viperchaos]

Hi everyone just checking out yor guys opinion on my 100 litre or 30 gal Mbuna cichlid tank that im in the current process of building.

what I want to know is :
how much water a breeding pair of Nmuba Cichlids need or will consume for terriory ect.?

Heres what i know already:
The tank is 35" long, 10" wide, 12" tall
Now my actual stocking levels for typical malawi species is 20 litres per fish or 1 gal per inch of fish.

Typical maximun length of mbunas are 6".
Which means i can stock 5 fish.
I want to have them breeding and the genus im looking at breed at P.H 8.5.
Providing caves and live foods will help.

I dont want to stock a breeding pair only to have them rip the other 3 apart whilst theyre being territorial.
Hense why im looking for advice.,
thanks Alex

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

the 1" per fish doesnt apply to cichlids. either they have to be overstocked to reduce aggression, or they have to have limited numbers to prevent murder!!

mbuna are best with 1m 3f ratios, and are best over stocked to stop them making territories and getting mean. so i reccomend maybe 8 instead of 5, with 2 of them males. they wont make breeding pairs, they prefer groups.

which mbuna do you like? you have to keep them fairly similar in aggression levels x

 

[Viperchaos]

Wow thankyou for the swift advice.
i was thinking Zebras,auratus, labs, chipokae, johanni, trewavasae, fwelleborns, slender mbuna

Ooooh maybe even tropheops

i figured overstocking would be the key.

what could you tell me from that list

 

[toddnbecka]

Forget about keeping those mbuna in that size tank, it simply isn't big enough to work long-term. Start with a 75 gallon (48"x18") if you want to mix mbuna, bigger is better. In a 30 you might get by with a group of electric yellow Lab's and a single zebra.

 

[Fishie]

Wow thankyou for the swift advice.
i was thinking Zebras,auratus, labs, chipokae, johanni, trewavasae, fwelleborns, slender mbuna

Ooooh maybe even tropheops

i figured overstocking would be the key.

what could you tell me from that list

I like your choices !! I love labs and got a zebra right now. Good luck on your tank! They like it rockey!

 

[Viperchaos]

Forget about keeping those mbuna in that size tank, it simply isn't big enough to work long-term. Start with a 75 gallon (48"x18") if you want to mix mbuna, bigger is better. In a 30 you might get by with a group of electric yellow Lab's and a single zebra.

To start off with , you presume im putting all the listed fish in.
Secondly your verbal approach is terrible.
Although yes your advice is greatly apprecciated it does not mean you can assume a right to tell anyone to forget about their dreams.

By rights i have chose Johannis for their calmer nature.
I can still get some variety in colour through this choice, the tank is going to be SUMPd.