Thank you! I didn't know I would be able to keep that many. I did know that you have to overstock cichlids to an extent, but the one male I've had in there for about 2 months, do you think he has already established the whole tank as his territory and would try and fight the other fish to get out of it? I bought him not knowing what exact species was, and after finding out he's a male KenyI that eliminates most other tankmates. I can get 5 or so females from the store but they'd be maybe 1.5 inches, and the one I have now is around 3-3.5. Would that be a problem?Demeter said:The rule for mbuna is pretty simple, only other mbuna. In a 37gal tank you should be able to easily keep a breeding group with 4-5 females and then the one male kenyi. Mbuna kind of need to be overstocked to spread aggression anyways so having a slightly crowded African tank is no problem. So long as you have plenty of rock-work for the females to hide in I think it would work pretty well.
That being said, bigger tanks are always better for African cichlids so if you get the change to upgrade to a 55gal or larger I'd do it. You would be able to keep more species of mbuna, creating a more eye catching tank.
I can't post a picture right now, and I only have one rock pile right now, but this weekend I have been planning to go down to the lake and pick up some rocks to put in there. It's just white coarse sand for the substrate. Do I need to add all of the females at once? They are kind of expensive at PetSmart (I know, it's the cheapest, and oddly enough, best kept fish store in my area), like $5/fish, so I would need to go in and get 5 at one time, because if I added them in gradually, the male would harass them, right? Either way, I'll save up enough to get them all at once, which might be a while (have no job / am only 13 ) But hopefully that will work out. Thank you so much for all the help!Demeter said:Can you post a photo of the tank? Mbuna cichlids are rock dweller, meaning they prefer piles of rocks for hiding places. In my African tank I keep a rock pile on either end of the tank. Mostly the younger fish and female hang out in the rocks but when one male gets too aggressive everyone hides in the rocks where they're safe.
I don't think the size difference will matter too much but when a fish is only 1.5in there's a chance you may end up with a late blooming male. If you aren't too bothered about returning any males you may end up with then I'd say go for it.
