martynmarion

After 2 mos. of research here and on the net, I have decided to stock my new 75 gal. tank with african cichlids (lake malawi). After all of the excellent info I have been able to get from the folks on this forum, such as mixing the correct # of males/females, to compatiblity of the lakes, mbunas, etc. I still have one question that I seem to be getting different answers to.
If....I want to keep a healthy tank, and I realize that these fish all get 4-6 inches in length and are aggressive, does the one inch per gal. rule apply to these type fish? I have read anywhere from 4-20 fish should be kept. My guess is that 10 or so would be a decent number to spread the aggression, but I just wanted to see what some of you people thought about the total number-assuming I am smart enough to choose the correct mixing of types. Once again-thanks to all who have responded to my many inquiries in the past. If it matters, I do have rocks, caves, a piece of driftwood and some floating plants for hiding places.

COBettaCouple

With the cichlids, the 1 gallon per adult inch guideline isn't really one to follow. It's really a matter of looking at the space requirements of each species and if you have multiple species, making sure they're compatible.