Red Zebra Cichlid tankmates

rahimsach

rahimsach

AC Members
Nov 9, 2006
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Texas
Hi, I recently converted my community tank to all Cichlid tank (55gal). I bought couple of Zebra cichlid(Mbuna). At the time I was not aware that they are very aggresive I thought all african cichlids are compatible with each other so I bought couple of these as a starter fish. Which other cichlids can I keep with them? I would like to keep some colorful one. I also have an option of returning them and buying a different kind. Please help me out.

Thanks!
 
They may be acting so aggressive because they need more hiding places or more fish to break the aggression. In a 55 gallon you could do up to 15 mbuna as long as you have great filtration and do weekly water changes. Here is a page of profiles of other mbuna you could put in your tank: Mbuna profiles. Most people go with either 1 male to 3 females of the same kind or all males all different kinds.
 
DeRo316 Thanks for you quick response. I am planning on adding some more cichlids in there. I made a list of what I want to put in there. Can someone please let me know if these would be a good choice for tankmates. Thanks!

Currenlty I have two Red Zebra Cichlids. I am planning on adding

Aulonocara sp. "Ruby Red"
Aulonocara sp "Lwanda Red Top"
Cynotilapia afra "Chimate"
Otopharynx lithobates Zimbabwe Rock "Yellow Blaze"
Cyrtocara moorii
Scianochromis fryeri "Electric Blue Ahli Iceberg"
Copadichromis azureus Mbenji
Pseudotropheus acei Luwala
Pseudotropheus saulosi

I might not add all of these at the same time but might add some now and some down the road. Would these be compatible with each other?

Thanks!!


DeRo316 said:
They may be acting so aggressive because they need more hiding places or more fish to break the aggression. In a 55 gallon you could do up to 15 mbuna as long as you have great filtration and do weekly water changes. Here is a page of profiles of other mbuna you could put in your tank: Mbuna profiles. Most people go with either 1 male to 3 females of the same kind or all males all different kinds.
Click to expand...
 
you should try to stick with 4 genuses of three to four each and all males or 3 females to one male.
example:
3-4 Pseudotropheus
3-4 Aulonocara
3-4 ???? etc and so on.

Try to keep less agressive species in a 55 gallon you dont want something that is highly agressive stick to mbuma that are peacrful to mildly agressive and you should be fine. As far as filteration with 15-20 mbuma you are going to want to turn your water volume over 10-12 times or more.
 
If you wanted to add all those you would have to go with all males because you dont have room for the 1/3 suggested ratio. IMO all males tanks are better because of the colors. I would watch out for the saulosi and the moori, out of the fish you listed those would be the most likely to start trouble. Sometimes it depends on the fish, Ive traded in 2 venustus because they would nip fins, I gave it one more try and the one I have now is much more reserved and lives great with the group.
 
Thanks a lot for the suggestions. This really helps. I am going to start adding some next week and post the results. The only thing I am worried about is that I was thinking about getting Juveniles cichlids so it's hard to find the gender. If they end up being 1 female to 3 males that would be a problem, right?
 
I like getting juvi's because they're cheaper and you can observe the temperment before it becomes large enough to damage any of your other fish. Just find a good LFS that doesnt mind tanking trades and you'll be ok. I cant tell you how many times Ive returned to my LFS weeks after getting a fish to exchange for a different sex. Trying to get all males is tough sometimes!
 
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