bb1252

I guess you could say im a newbie to aquariums, but I have had the occasional tank here and there. I have been doing TONS of research so I can start a 90g africn cichlid tank. I understand that overstocking can reduce aggression but I was wondering if anyone could give me an estimate. How many small/medium cichlids should be kept in this size. also, I have found many fish I am interested in but dont know how to find out if they are all compatible. even using the chart at http://www.cichlidrecipe.com/cichlidchart doesnt help much because it doesnt include so many species I have seen. This is so overwhelming-help!

macroman

Hi bb,
First let me say 90g is a great size for an African tank so thats a
good start, you don't say if you want to keep mbuna, Tangs
or victorians, this would be a help, also if you could post up
some of the cichlids you have researched we could try and help
you with compatability. have you decided what rock work and
substrate you are going to use? and you are right overstocking can
reduce aggression levels, as can lots of rockwork and hiding places,
but you can't overstock a tank untill it is cycled and matured.
Sorry for posting all this stuff but i'm just trying to help as there
are a lot of things to be considered when starting a new community.
Cheers Mike

Allie

Here's a site that I have use for the past 2 years of keeping Lake Malawi Africans.
http://cichlidforum.com/articles/afr...us_gallery.php

I have learned a lot of which species are compatible and which aren't. The hard way. So if you have some specific questions about LM cichlids. Ask away, I should be able to help.

Allie

bbbbWith LM africans you should have 1 male and at least 2-4 females per species. IN a 90g start with 3-4 species 6-7 fish per species.
Two zebra types or any species which have the same first scientific name should not be kept together:
For example: we have a 120g LM set up with 7 acei, 6 cobalt zebra, 5 yellow labs and 2 hap ahlis. We are adding to the breeding colonies and adding one more species if we can find it. This combo is working for us. All mild aggressive species.
What species are available in your area?

steveangela1

I will give you advice on two species you don't want, kenyi and mel aurartus they are very aggressive and when starting out w/ a cichlid tank they are both very tempting fish to buy from their colors.. I actually have a breeding pair of kenyi, and about 20 plus kenyi fry total. They are even mean at fry stage.

I just bout 7 cynatilapia afra hai reef cichlids, they are more of the peacefull cichlids, and very beautiful! I just got them via ups today.
another species that is great is the yellow lab, they are bright colorful and on the peaceful size......

some little tips, don't mix peacock cichlids w/ mbuna cichlids, don't put haps in w/ peacocks.... the haps get along w/ the yellow labs really well (well my hap ahli's do)

also, in my 55 I have about 15 cichlids, and my 36 about 10. I have a 58 cycling right now to put the new cichlids in

also when you overstock you need to make sure you are overfiltering too they put out a lot of waste when overstocked and keep up on waterchanges and vaccuming (I might be obsessive but I do 2 waterchanges a week on all my tanks, and one of those is a good vaccum)

bb1252

Thanks everyone! Allie, very helpful site! I am planning to use pool filter sand mixed with a little bit of black sand to break it up. I live in Texas and have been collecting and cleaning texas holey rock and may go get a little red lava rock. I will have minimal silk plants also. Here are my favorite cichlids so far. By the way, I planned to mix species from the three lakes. Is that okay? I know that all of these wont be compatible, nor can I fit them all in my tank, but I will list all my favorites and see what imput I get back on compatibility. Also is it ever possible to keep just one fish of a species? Okay heres my list:
-chalinochromis ndobhoi
-cynotilapia afra
-cyphotilapia
-yellow lab
-melanochromis johanni
-numbochromis livingstonii
-rock kribensis
-red zebra
-demasoni

steveangela1

the demasoni is another "demonfish" If you end up w/ them make sure you get at least 6 together.

I wouldn't mix cichlids from the three lakes, they would have compatability problems (attitude wise) and then the feeding requirments, etc would be different

Allie

Go with yellow labs, an afra species & red zebra for a mild Malawi tank
OR the johanni, livingstoni and another aggressive species.
I wouldn't mix any species either...tho the rock kribensis could go with the aggressive species if you want.
Cyphotilapia aka Frontosa need a HUGE tank they get up to 15" each and do best in a species only tank.