It competely depends on which fish. There is no magic number.
need help stockin a 55 gal...
hey guys im lookin for some help some people have told me i could do up to 30 fishes in the tank but others tell me 20-25 and thats pushin it so wats really a good number i have 8 in there now thanks :-?
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i have mbunas in there now and thats what i want only mbunas.
Again, depends on which mbuna you have in the tank. What species and count are the 8 mbuna you have - then people here may be able to help you.i have mbunas in there now and thats what i want only mbunas.
Check out the cookie cutters in the library section to give you an idea of recommend counts for a 55 gallon tank.
As Goof Boy mentions, it really depends on exactly which species you plan on keeping, as well as the dimensions of your aquarium and the filtration. Without knowing further details, it is hard to say exactly what the best stocking for you is.
ok i have one red zebra,one yellow lab,hongi,calico fulleborni,red top zebra,one pecok,male kenyi and i think the other one is a Cynotilapia afra (Likoma) not sure tho. i would like to do some more yellow labs and maybe 5 or 6 mainganos so how that sounds? and i also have 2 hob filters so please help me out i dont want toovercrowd thanks... :thumb:
you may end up with hybrids.
you may end up with hybrids.
you may end up with hybrids.
I have 30 fish in my 55 gallon tank - I know it sounds like a bit much, but here's what I have...
8 juvie yellow labs (2 inches each now, should get about 5 inches as adults)
15 juvie demasoni (1 inch each now - should get 3 or so inches as adults)
7 juvie acei (1.5 inches each now, should get 5 inches as adults)
None of these fish are over 2 inches long right now... plus I have two filters, but will be adding a nicer filter as the fish start getting larger... I'm new to cichlids, but I'm going on the advice, that if the tank is over populated, the aggression is dispersed - so far so good... Maybe these fish will live forever, but I'm also going on the assumption that they won't all make it until maturity... from what I can tell, the cichlids I have seem pretty hearty...
I have other tanks around the house, so if aggession becomes an issue, I could always swap the 55 out for a 75 and keep the same stock list, or divide them up.
As far as advice for you, freddy, I'd narrow it down to fewer species... but that's just my opinion... I've always liked keeping groups of the same species together, but I know many people have very beautiful mixed cichlid tanks... especially mixed male only tanks.
8 juvie yellow labs (2 inches each now, should get about 5 inches as adults)
15 juvie demasoni (1 inch each now - should get 3 or so inches as adults)
7 juvie acei (1.5 inches each now, should get 5 inches as adults)
None of these fish are over 2 inches long right now... plus I have two filters, but will be adding a nicer filter as the fish start getting larger... I'm new to cichlids, but I'm going on the advice, that if the tank is over populated, the aggression is dispersed - so far so good... Maybe these fish will live forever, but I'm also going on the assumption that they won't all make it until maturity... from what I can tell, the cichlids I have seem pretty hearty...
I have other tanks around the house, so if aggession becomes an issue, I could always swap the 55 out for a 75 and keep the same stock list, or divide them up.
As far as advice for you, freddy, I'd narrow it down to fewer species... but that's just my opinion... I've always liked keeping groups of the same species together, but I know many people have very beautiful mixed cichlid tanks... especially mixed male only tanks.
ok thanks yeah thats wat im trying to do now with the yellow labs and the mainganos i think im goin to do about 20-25 tops and see how it goes and as far as the crossbreed i dont care im wont keep the babies thanks for your help guys i would post some pics tomorrow for some opinions n comments thanks agian... :thumb: 
opcorn:
opcorn:Looking forward to seeing pics
Are you going to let the mums spit in the tank and let nature take it's course?
Are you going to let the mums spit in the tank and let nature take it's course?
Are they all male? If you combine breeding groups with single males, not only will you have hybrids but the few females will also be harassed by the large number of males in the tank.
i cant really tell if they are all males but i know the red zebra is one,also the kenyi and the hongi as far as the rest i dont know but the yellow lab is a female...
You may have some aggression issues with the red zebras, kenyi, and hongi as they are aggressive fish and get larger than most mbuna.
so what should i do i dont want to get ridge of the im attach allready to them ill just stick it out and see wat happens cause they told me the kenyi was goin to b agressive but hes not
I would not add any breeding groups, and I'd remove any females once they can be sexed. And then see how it goes.
I agree with DJRansome. If you want to keep the fish you have, go all male for this tank ( you could probably add even more males of different species) and get another tank for the breeding groups of maingano and labs if you can.
ok but you guys are not gettin me i dont care about breeding the only reason why i want to put females in there because they told me do 4 females for every male but if i could do and all male tank without problems ill do it so please help me out im comfuse thanks... :-? :-?
My kenyi acts like a lab. If you provide many hiding spots your males should be ok. Also overcrowding makes many targets and less victims. I fell in love with msobos. I even have a hump head msobo(deformed). but he is ok in my tank.
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