How many Mbunas is too much

[chmielio54]

Hello all, i just went to my LFS yesturday and picked up 9 Mbuna Cichlids, they were young only about 1-1.5in. each, and then at home i already had 4 adult cichlids around 4.5-5in. each, and 4 baby cichlids around .5in each. Plus i have a Pleco, and a red-tailed shark, now this totals to 19 fish in a 55 gallon tank. But i was told that you must keep a mbuna tank overcrowded to keep aggression down. I know i must do a lot of water changes and keep a close watch on the tank and have good filtration, but would this be okay to keep this many Mbuna's in a 55 gallon tank?

-Thanks a lot everyone*twirlysmi

 

[sweetpickles7]

What type are they? If i were you i would take the pleco and red tailed shark out.

 

[chmielio54]

Well there's a bunch that i'am not sure of, but i do know i have 3 Kenyi, 1 male, 2 female, 1 yellow lab, 2 johonni cichlids, 1 male, 1 female, i believe i have 6 trevase red-finned but i'am not completely sure because 5 of them are really young, 1 mpaga red, 1 rusty, 1 blue fish with yellow fins, 1 very brightly colored orange cichlid, 1 blotchy cichlid, and then my red-tailed shark, and my ple*co

thanks for your help!

 

[sweetpickles7]

The kenyi alone almost overstocks your tank. So im going to say you have too many.

 

[Big Vine]

Your best bet would have been to hold off, see what was available in terms of mbuna selection in your area, and then post them here to get feedback from more knowledgeable, more experienced mbuna keepers (I am not one of them) before actually making any purchases.

Chances are that you are in a situation where a great number of tankmates are incompatible for a variety of reasons, so you'll probably need to remove some and exchange for whatever would be more suitable (and in the proper male:female ratio). Either way I agree completely with sweetpickles in that the pleco and RTS need to go.

Which of the Africans is your favorite?
Surely someone can recommend a suitable stocklist based around whatever your favorite is.

BV

 

[Hamburgler]

Play it by year...i've heard nothing but bad things about how aggressive kenyi are but my own experiences have shown otherwise.

Load your tank with rocks, driftwood, and plants. The RTS will do fine, the pleco may get nipped up a bit. Setup the tank the best way possible, and remove fish as/if needed. At this point no one can tell you if it will work or not...

 

[Orion]

Plants are generally not a good idea with mbuna. If you do plants, they would need to be on the tough side like java ferns and anubias.

But 17 mubuna in a 55 isn't overly stocked if done with the proper fish, and the right male to female ratio's. When most people buy from the 'mixed african' tank at the LFS a lot of the time it is a crapshoot as to what species you might get out of it.

 

[Hamburgler]

I have a load of java fern anchored down in my tank. They rip it out now and then, and it floats around until the roots are able to grab onto something else. Haven't seen them eat it...and they seem to be light on the plants compared to CA/SA's.
But by plants i do mean fake as well...

 

[chmielio54]

thank you all for the replies!