New to cichlids help please

Check out cichlid-forum.com for species compatability and other concerns.

This is from the owner of Live Fish Direct. Some of these suggestions surprise me, but I'm no expert.

African Cichlids

1. Stocking Levels VS How big is the tank in gallons

a. These notes explain how many fish can fit into the tank. For example the first line is explaining that in a 30 gallon tank 8 would be lightly stocked, 12 would be average stocked, and 15 would be densely stocked.
i. 30 gallon = 8, 12, 15
ii. 50 gallon = 15, 20, 25
iii. 75 gallon = 25, 30, 35
iv. 90 gallon = 30, 35, 40
v. 125 gallon = 35 , 45, 50
vi. 150 gallon = 40, 50, 60
vii. 250 gallon = 60, 80, 100
viii. 500 gallon = 100, 130, 175

b. Stocking levels will determine a balance between water quality and aggression
i. The lighter you stock the less you will have to change the water but the more the fish can damage each other due to aggression

ii. The heavier you stock the tank the less likely your fish are to damage each other due to aggression. They will still chase each other around all day but this method of dense stocking I have deemed “chaos theory” and it works.

3. Compatibility
a. Mbuna and Victorian Cichlids are more colorful at a small size. They are the heartiest, cheapest, and most colorful. They are also the most aggressive, but can be kept with peacocks and haps with no problems as long as they are introduced with a size disadvantage to the less aggressive species. A really nice look for a cichlid tank is to have a bunch of smaller mbuna and Victorian cichlids running around with some bigger showier male peacocks and haps.

b. Cichlids are more compatible if they are all added when young and are raised together. If you have a larger tank I usually recommend going in 6 packs of small fish to reduce costs and increase the chance of getting a nice cherry male of the group you will be proud of because you raised them yourself. By starting all the fish off young and raising them together I have seen fish tanks that would be considered completely incompatible but they have no problems. This is just like raising a puppy with a kitten.

c. Cichlids get along better in larger sizes if there are smaller more aggressive fish around to distract them from picking on each other. You can keep a batch of aggressive male haps and peacocks from hurting each other by adding some small colorful but aggressive mbuna cichlids that are hardy. We call these “dither” cichlids as they help create the “chaos” mentioned above.

d. Males that look just like each other will quarrel the most. This will bring out their best color but may be stressful to watch as they go at it. As long as you use the tricks mentioned earlier such as stocking densely and using dither fish similar males should not do any real damage to each other. However the aspect of Male dominance must be accepting in Cichlid tanks. Fighting is just what they do!

4. Sex
a. Mbuna cichlids in the Green color code category have colorful males and females.
i. Female mbuna can be mixed with more mild species. Larger female mbuna can help add color to a tank and will technically keep the peace.

b. For the best color aim for an all male tank. There is nothing wrong with going for an all male tank if you have no desire to breed fish.

c. If you do want to breed fish you want at least two females to one male. For the record there is nothing wrong with 6 females to 1 male if you really want to breed fish that is how it is done.

Great post jannika. My 80g mbuna houses the following:

2m:2f blue acei
1m kenyi
2m:3f red zebra
1m rusty
1m blue dolphin
1m:2f albino zebra
1m red jewel
1f albino ice blue zebra
1 featherfin syno catfish

Chaos theory proves 100% in this tank but for the novice cichlid owner I do not recommend it. I change decor once every 2 weeks or when I see any signs of individual aggression, which is very, very, veeeerrrryyy rare. Good luck!

I have a few things I disagree with in the above article.
First I think you need to decide what type of malawi cichlids you want. There are 3 main types, mbuna, peacocks, and haps.

Mbuna are usually smaller, more colorful and more aggressive. They are the most commonly seen malawi cichlids seen. They like tanks with lots of rocks and usually need to be stocked in higher levels to help disperse aggression. I think the cap for stocking largely depends on your filtration and how much maintenance you are willing to do. I think the most I would go in a 75 is 30 but aiming for around 20 would be fine. The most successful mbuna tanks are ones that have fewer species. For a 75 gallon I would pick 3-4 species at most. You can do less. With each species I would aim for 1 male per 3-4 females. More aggressive species usually need more females to keep them busy. The best (and cheapest) way to achieve this is but very young fish and let them grow. Usually a group of 6 or more will give you the best results. Just remove extra males as they show themselves. An all male mbuna tank usually doesn't work out, they are just too aggressive.
Some good beginner species are Labidochromis caeruleus, Psuedotropheus acei, and Iodotropheus sprengerae. There are many many more out there. I would just look around and see what you like then form a stocking plan around those. Be sure to avoid bumble bees( Pseudotropheus crabro), Kenyi( Metriaclima lombardoi) Golden cichlid(Melanochromis auratus) and Chipokae(Melanochromis chipokae). These species are commonly found but are THE most aggressive mbuna you can come accross. Once mature they have been known to kill off entire tanks of fish.

Now for peacocks. Peacocks are more mild mannered than mbuna. The females of this group are usually brown or silver. It's best not to mix breeding groups of peacocks because the females look so similar that cross breeding may occur. Peacocks can be mixed with haps and don't need as much rock work. An all male set up is usually very nice. Just be sure to pick males that don't look alike. I honestly don't know as much about peacocks as I do mbuna. Some nice and commonly found peacocks are OB peacocks, Sunshine peacock(Aulonocara "baenschi"), Ruby Red peacock, and Eureka Peacock(Aulonocara jacobfreibergi). As with mbuna there are many many more.

On to Haps. Haps get bigger and generally need a bit more swimming space than peacocks and mbuna. They can't be crowded quite as much because of that. Most haps are open water predators. They can be kept in an all male set up with peacocks. Some commonly found and gorgeous haps are, electric blue hap(Sciaenochromis fryeri), blue dolphin(Cyrtocara Moorii), My favorite Placidochromis sp. ''Phenochilus", Nimbochromis livingstonii, malawi eye biter(Dimidiochromis compressiceps), and red fin hap(Copadichromis Borleyi).

I agree with Blue's post, and not with a lot of the article Jan posted. That article suggests 15 cichlids in a 30g...craaaaazzzzyyyy. Also, mbuna with peacocks/haps often results in dead peacocks/haps. Vics are also very aggressive, even my latifasciata, who are the mild mannered vics, were quite aggressive, though they worked with my peacocks.

36 mbuna in a 75g is a crazy amount. I don't know why you'd assume some of the fish will die. Will they let you trade some in as they get bigger?