Originally Posted by newbeefishlover

Hi Everyone!
I need the oppinion of those of you who have kept mbuna or african cichlids before. I have been messing around with the stocking scheme for my african cichlid tank (40 gallon breeder). I started out by just going to the LFS and bringing home 9-10 ramdom cichlids- bad idea. Anyways, I ended up taking them all back and replacing them with 6 yellow labs and 2 synodontis catfish. I have fooled around and researched a lot of stocking options, but I am just curious as to how much I can overstock the tank. I know that africans need to be overstocked in order to disperse aggression. I am going to go to the LFS to complete my tank within the next week, so I need your oppinions. Here is what I was thinking:

6 Yellow Labs (4-5 inches)
3 Pundamilia Nyererei (4 inches)
5 Cynotilapia Afra (3 inches)
2 Synodontis Catfish
I like this combination because it is colorful, and all of the fish have similar temperments and dietary needs.

This puts me at a total of 16 fish in my tank and I am not sure if that is way to much or right on target. I am very diligent about water changes. The nitrites never get above 5.0 in this tank.

Originally Posted by steveangela1

Do you mean nitrates of 5? becaue nirtites of anything above trace amounts really stress the fish out.... I would strive to keep the cichlids in that tank to be about 12 at the most. We have a 55g and our limit is 15 africans. I keep our ammonia at -0-, nitrite -0-, nitrate 5-0, ph 8, and temp 78 I have a eheim ecco rated for a 60 gallon, and a penguin rated for a 70 something gallon also attached to it. I also do twice a week water changed, including one of them being a vaccum session.
Our 36 bow we have 5 peacocks we have 2 to add to it, and we will as soon as they reach the same size as the others. I have a biowheel rated for twice the size of that tank, and then I have a ehiem ecco for it in shipping right now (ups says tuesday I can't wait!!) that will be our limit for that tank....

you want to overstock them but not overcrowd

Originally Posted by Allie

That combo sound good. The right amount of fish But no one can really predict who is compatible with who. Certain species which are suppose to less aggressive end up being meanies. If you want males and females in the tank, then the ratio should 1 male to 3 females for each species. Trust me a male mbuna with one or no females will be cranky. I hav elarned this the hard way. Just b/c they aren't aggressive when you first get them doesn't mean they won't be when they become adults....then it all changes.

Originally Posted by newbeefishlover

Okay, hold on, I just added up the inches and I got a total of 69 inches! Is that really a good amount? I could take out two of the yellow labs when I figure out what gender they are and take out one of the Cynotilapia Afra. That would bring me down to 56 inches. Would that be better or should I stick to the original stocking scheme?