Non cichlid in mbuna tanks?

i dont why people do do this mbuna should be in species only tanks they're not very good with other kinds:nono: i wouldn't try it and your set-up sounds good but you good try a mix of blue johanni and yellow labs that would be awesome!

It's definitely possible. I keep tiger barbs with Tanganyikans, but my Tangs are nothing like Mbuna. It may be possible with Labs, since the Labs will occupy the lower areas of the tank. Acei are kinda all over so you may not see as much schooling out of the barbs. If you decide to try it, I'd reccomend adding the barbs first, before any Mbuna have a chance to stake out territory. I really think it will depend on the individual personalities of your Africans, and going with an all female group of Labs may help lessen aggression.

Tiger Barbs have a reputation for nipping at the fins of slow fish with lots of finnage, like bettas or angels. If kept in a large enough number ( at least 6 ), they really don't pay much attention to other fish in the tank and are more concerned with keeping their status in their own pecking order. Not aggressive at all if kept correctly.
Mbuna will chase down fish they see as a threat to their territory, and if not in a big enough tank, with a large enough group of mbuna, will eventually kill the intruder.

hey kevin i too have seen alot of setups were folk mix everything in them and it worked for them, now its not my cup of tea in a smaller version setup, but in the spring and summer i place tetras, live brearers and assorted cichlids in a 500gal and i am getting ready to upgrade to a 700gal but with this size my fish can flee from each other, next year i am placing my frontosa in there thats why i am upgrading to a 700gal setup to get them to breed for me and eventually i will have a built in 1000gal basement display, well for your 55gal i would say it can be done with the listed malawi species you are talking about above, a redtail might be killed real easy but those tiger barbs in large numbers will do nicely in there, goodeids livebearers are an ideal cichlid tankmate they can handle tough situations plus they get bigger than some livebearers.. good luck buddy and if you do keep us posted aye..

Honestly, I think you'd be fine with lesser aggressive Mbunas. If you're concerned still, try to minimize the amount of Mbuna you keep that have stripes. Barbs aren't very similar body shape-wise, so the Cichlids most likely won't have a reason to see them as a threat. That being said, some Mbuna are just killers, and with the mass crossbreeding of them, it's difficult to tell what an individual's personality will be like.

I set up a 55 a few months back and wanted to keep it a yellow lab species tank. I started with a breeding group of seven and as suggested to me I added lots of rocks, caves, and hideouts for them. After a few weeks all they did was hide out and scatter when I walked into the room, the tank looked so bare with them hideing. I gambled and added six tiger barbs to the tank hoping that might help. The change was immediate, my labs are out in the open more and don't dissappear when I walk up to the tank. I couldn't be happier with the mix, they look awesome together and have meshed very well with no aggression between the two groups as of yet. So I say if you really want to try it, go for it!