[CrazyPaul]

i have
2 bumble bee cichlids
2 Pseudotropheus lombardoi
1 electric yellow
1 albino aurutus i think
1 cobalt blue
well and some red jewel cichlids but dont no if i am going to keep them our not

i want some more what u think i should get i want alot of personality and maybe differnt color

ps i have a 55 gallon

 

[copasetic]

jewel cichlids and malawi's dont mix well.. so id loose them.. also ad more electric yellows and hope for mostly females. malawis dont make good "pairs" so try and have high female to male ratio's.

 

[iceblue]

If your going to try to keep the more aggressive of the Mbuna clan I would suggest having just one male of each of the species you named. Any female you end up with will not last long.

If you want an aquarium that gives you a more natural feel of how these fish live then I would suggest going with just 2-3 groups of the less aggressive Mbuna. Ideally you would want one male for every 2-3 females of the species you go with. That still gives you a lot of choices.

Most of what you have listed are commonly found at the fish stores and unfortunetaly are also some of the most aggressive. Imo a 55g is just not suitable for them even in an all male tank. The "bumble bees" in particular can get very large and nasty.

Yellow Labs, Acei, Saulosi, maingano, and Rusties are also common and can make for a very lively tank with proper male to female ratios. Thier are a lot more Mbuna that could work but off the top of my head these are some of the more frequently found milder Malawins in my area.

 

[cichlidaholic]

The auratus, crabro (bumblebee) and kenyi (lombardoi) all need a larger tank.

I agree 100% with iceblue. I would remove some of the fish that you have and build on the Cobalt and yellow lab groups. That would be an amazing looking tank without adding anything else, but you might get away with a 3rd group if you choose carefully. Both the Rusties and the aceis are excellent suggestions.

Kim