55 african tank, need advice

[toyomark]

well, ive been into the hobby for about 6months, a friend of mine gave me a 20g tank and i pretty much got hooked. i currently have a salvini, with 2 yellow lab/kennyi hybrids, and a mbamba and a common pleco. after doing some research, i came to the idea of having the salvini, being the lone SA, and have africans to be his tankmates.

After some more research i read(here) that fish aggression is usually african to african, SA to SA, and so on. So by having the lone SA, i can get by with africans in the same tank, right?

I plan on doing more mbunas. throw in a couple zebras, desamoni, bumblebees, and probably get groups of 2-3 of each.

So, i would have:
Salvini
2 lab/kenny hybids
2-3 mbamba
2-3 desamoni
2-3 Zebras

Should this be safe in a 55? i have about 75 pounds of lace rock, some driftwood that has all its tannins boiled/soaked out, So tshould have little effect on softening the water, my pH is right about 7.5-8 and i will have plenty of filtration on hand, using a C360 canister. is there anything im forgetting?

Oh yeah, what is a good synidontis to add to the mix? and will the synidontis get along with a common pleco? i

[kay-bee]

Aggression between the SA and african cichlids may be hard to predict. I personally wouldn't keep them together, but some people have done so with little or no issues (or have had major issues with just african cichlids in the tank). In addition to potential aggression incompatibilities, there are potential dietary differences as well.

In regards to your stock-plan, 2-3 demasoni's won't work long-term due to their extreme conspecific aggression, two or three are just too few. A single one would work, or a large group (dozen plus); when kept in small groups they tend to kill each other off or continuously attempt to do so.

The rest of the stock plan seems ok.

A pH close to 8.0 is good, as well as one that is slightly lower but stable.

The syno and pleco should be ok, what species of syno?

[toyomark]

so just get one desamoni?

i think i was looking at a syno. petricola.

any advice is greatful!!

[toddnbecka]

A common pleco will outgrow a 55, provided the mbuna don't kill it first. Sometimes pleco's are fine, sometimes they're trashed, your mileage may vary. If you want a single Syno, go with a eupterus or similar species. Petricola, lucipinnis, and multipunctatus are all social species, best kept in groups.
Incidentally, if you don't have the 55 yet a 75 is a much better size for an African community.

[kay-bee]

so just get one desamoni?

Yes, if acquiring a large group of them isn't feasible then a single demasoni will do.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Would you consider 8-10 to be a decent size? When I asked before, many folks were saying 15-18.....

[Coler]

I believe 8 - 10 is considered sufficient where there is no more than 1 or 2 males. Adjust the ratio upwards accordingly. I havn't kept a group myself though.

[toddnbecka]

The problem is, you're not going to find anyone selling 1-2 males with the rest females. Mbuna in general seem to produce more males than females each spawn, and the only reliable method of sexing them is venting. The larger the number of demasoni, the smaller the likelihood of losing them one by one. You might manage a stable group with 8-10, but 12 or more would significantly increase the odds.

[ChunkyMonkey]

cool, thanks....wasn't trying to threadjack. question just popped in my head when I saw the Demasoni mentioned.