[brinkles]

I've had my new tank running for a month, and I was advised by a local breeder to put around 80 fish in it. Does that seem high? It's a tall, 24" deep, 30" tall, 48" long. There are a mix of types, but maybe 3/4 mbuna. I'll be adding more rocks before they get much bigger. Thanks!

 

[gmaschke]

First what kind of fish? 80 seems high though for a 48" tank for most any species.

 

[brinkles]

I have mostly mbuna now, plus a few venustus, a frontosa, a tropheus, and some obliquidens. 37 cichlids plus two synodontis eupterus total so far. I've been picking fish pretty haphazardly, so I'm sure I'll have some rebalancing to do. I'm trying to stock it up while I can still afford what I like, and before they get too nasty.

 

[DJRansome]

If you consider that 15-20 are good for a 55G footprint (48" x 12") and you have about twice that much, it seems that 40 fish are plenty (unless you are stocking demasoni as one of the species).

But then, your tank has more width and less length. So there will be less distance between male territories and too many species could be troublesome.

I think 80 sounds high. Maybe if you were not stocking Africans and the fish would use the height more? For Africans, you could cut off the top half of that tank and probably still stock the same # of fish.

 

[brinkles]

That's the downside of this tank, it's a tall. The upside is that the boss let me put it in the living room! I think I'll shoot for about 50, and pile the rocks high.