120 cichlid tank?

If you want rift lake cichlids, go with a synyo, if you want SA ciclids, go with the pleco like you said above. The only reason for this is that plecos come from SA, synyos from the rift lakes and similar. No reason why they wouldn't get along though, I just think any tank over 50g should be limited fish and plant wise to species from one continent, so it looks like your tank was much more planned out than it really is.
 
well darn but the as far as the pleco goes I would like to get one that will not get any bigger than 12". I am very new to the cichlids so I'm leaving it up to everyone to help me with the right combinations.
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:cool: There are quite a few. Try http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/175.PHP . As far as the african cichlids go, often better to stick w/ one specific lake of inhabitants. Aquascape the tank naturally & enjoy the interaction. (IMO) Good Luck
 
Africans are a tricky bunch, experiences and opinions vary, but you will be better off if you do alot of research for each new addition and not just toss in whatever looks pretty. Blue dolphins are a nice choice and are commonly kept with mbunas. As said you should pick a lake, most likely Malawi, and go from there. In my experience peacocks do not mix well with mbunas. The mbunas dominate and the peacocks never show their true colors. For the best color variety and most interesting behavior (breeding), I would keep 3-5 species of mbuna in groups of six or eight with 1-3 open water species (haps other than peacocks). Blue dolphins, giraffes, borleyis, and electric blue haps are easily kept with mbunas in a 120 gallon tank and along with a synodontis catfish would reduce fry survival rates. Borleyis are nice because they stay at the top of the tank and do not compete for territory at all.

It is important to maintain color variation to reduce aggression and hybridization between species. For a solid blue I would go with a group of blue dolphins before I would choose to keep a single male electric blue hap. With the mbunas, keep only one species that is blue with black vertical stripes but you can also have johannis with whatever vertical striped species you choose.

But like I said, do a lot of research. One wrong fish and everything could go bad. My favorite cichlids websites are www.malawicichlidhomepage.com and www.cichlid-forum.com.
 
my opinoin

i actually have quite a few peaceful malawi cichlids right now.yellow labs,rusty cichlids,blue dolphins,red peacocks and yellow peacocks,and frontosas from lake tangerine or whatever(cant remember how to spell it)i can put anything in that tank as small as an adult feeder guppy and not one fish will attack it.though i once put a juvenile red devil in the tank he started a fight with my dominant male yellow lab and got his butt kicked by every fish in that tank once the yellow lab smacked him around they all went after him.had to rescue the red devil...anyway ive also been told that aroura(sp?)cichlids are very peaceful and im looking to get some,but cant vouch for them yet.for the record only the yellows and rustys are big enough to breed.the dolphins are 4" or under and the biggest front is about 5" there is also a 1.5" - maybe 2" black belt in there with them,a 5 inch pleco and one lonely cory cat.i have kept guppies,chocolate cichlids,young oscars,baby- jack dempseys,convicts,green terrors,firemouths,dinosaur fish,clawed frogs and snails in the tank and the africans have never ever bothered another fish,except the red devil who bit off more than he could chew,oh and the smallest front chased a very young sunshine peacock nonstop just that one fish and never did figure out why since there were two other sunshines in the tank and the front left them alone.this is just my experiance with these few species ive worked with. hope that helps.oh and alot of books will tell you that bumble bee cichlids get to about 4 inches and are peaceful.there full of @#%$ ive seen em 6 inches and smackin the crap out of alot bigger fish.
 
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i actually have quite a few peaceful malawi cichlids right now.yellow labs,rusty cichlids,blue dolphins,red peacocks and yellow peacocks,and frontosas from lake tangerine or whatever(cant remember how to spell it)i can put anything in that tank as small as an adult feeder guppy and not one fish will attack it.though i once put a juvenile red devil in the tank he started a fight with my dominant male yellow lab and got his butt kicked by every fish in that tank once the yellow lab smacked him around they all went after him.had to rescue the red devil...anyway ive also been told that aroura(sp?)cichlids are very peaceful and im looking to get some,but cant vouch for them yet.for the record only the yellows and rustys are big enough to breed.the dolphins are 4" or under and the biggest front is about 5" there is also a 1.5" - maybe 2" black belt in there with them,a 5 inch pleco and one lonely cory cat.
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:cool: Ummm 'god' exactly how big a tank are we talkin' here?? Do you mean you've had all those various fish together at one time or another or together in the same tank at present? Both lakes Malawi & Tanganyika have hard, alkaline water so I can see some possible mixes but I'm not certain about maintaining aggression levels & territorial dominance upon maturity. Some of those guys are gonna want to stretch out (dolphins-8", frontosa-12", ect.) I'm not knocking your success!! I'm just looking further down the road in an attempt to avoid a possible nitemare.
 
Also remember when they say average sizes, that's the mean/median size...Just like the fact that 5'9" is the average height for human, there will always be the Shaquille O'Neill's of the fish world...A fish might say Avg. size 5", doesn't mean you might not end up with an 8" overachiever...
 
actually all the juvies are in a 55 gallon and doing great but the dolphins and the fronts are moving to a 125 ive got everything but the filter then that tank will be up and running,leaving 4 yellow labs,4 rustys,and 4 peacocks in the 55.my south americans are also in a seperate 55 now,2- chocolates,1 oscar,1 marbled goby,1 blackbelt,1 firemouth.all my fish are young so space isnt an issue YET.but at one time all i had was that 55 gallon and all my babies started out in there,but now my mbunas are big enough to breed so i dont think i can use that tank as a nursery anymore.
 
i did forget to mention that i do about a 40% water change weekly on the crowded 55 gallon,and 25%on the sa cichlid tank.i have never had any health issues in the african tank no matter which fish i put in there.(yes i know that means ive probably just gotten lucky).and i want to point out all my fish were very very young i have never bought an adult fish.so im sure that is part of my success,and putting large cocentrations of fish or mixing south american and africans would never work with adults.
 
Clean up, Aisle 2!
 
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I'd go with some C/A tank busters! A pair of Jags would work or RD/Midas, Trimac etc. Think big fish, cool personality. Go C/A and you'll never look back. You could do a front tank but I hear they pout too much!
 
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