How many mbuna cichlids for a 100 gallon tankp

[Fisharewet]

How many mbuna cichlids should I have to cut down on aggression?

 

[Frank the Fish guy]

Like a million!

This is soooo expensive to try and fill up a tank with fish.

Can you start with a breeding pair and grow your own school!! Let them work it out as they grow up together. Sooo much more cost effective!!

 

[Fisharewet]

Like a million!

This is soooo expensive to try and fill up a tank with fish.

Can you start with a breeding pair and grow your own school!! Let them work it out as they grow up together. Sooo much more cost effective!!

No for real lol. I read 25-30 I was going to do 20

 

[Frank the Fish guy]

You need so many fish that nobody can maintain territory. It will help to have simple rock formations that don't have too many 'good' caves to claim. If you have 20 fish and 20 good caves for each to claim and defend they will get aggressive. But 20 fish with only a few spots for territory claiming, then there will be fewer aggressors. You can make it work with the right rocks! And keep changing it up to mellow it out too.

 

[Fisharewet]

You need so many fish that nobody can maintain territory. It will help to have simple rock formations that don't have too many 'good' caves to claim. If you have 20 fish and 20 good caves for each to claim and defend they will get aggressive. But 20 fish with only a few spots for territory claiming, then there will be fewer aggressors. You can make it work with the right rocks! And keep changing it up to mellow it out too.

I was going to put some dragon stone and maybe some driftwood in the tank to break line of sight

 

[MacZ]

I was going to put some dragon stone and maybe some driftwood in the tank to break line of sight

Breaking lines of sight: Good!

Dragonstone is not suitable for these fish, the chances of injury for a chased fish are too high. Driftwood is also not suitable for a Malawi tank. I recommend granite or limestone (NOT holey rock, they can get stuck in it!). Build a so-called reef along the back from rounded or blocky rocks between 15-30cm diameter along the back, up at least to half the tanks height or to the surface, and taking up about 50% of the footprint. Then put some bigger rocks in front, that can separate the open space in front of the rock wall into 2-4 areas. That should be sufficient.

And sorry Frank, it's not as easy with Mbuna and territories. While some Malawi cichlids do claim caves (mostly Labidochromis), many do not, instead they claim open spaces in front of caves. If these open spaces are not separated by bigger rocks that break the lines of sight, havoc breaks loose.

@ the OP:
It is also advisable to only add identified species. Buying "mixed african cichlids" is a clear no-go and will end in at least some deaths.
In a tank that - what I assume yours to be - is about 150cm long, you can keep 2-3 species of smaller Mbuna in groups of 5-9. An uneven number of males (3, 5, 7) helps disperse aggression, especially away from the females (if you choose to keep any).
When it comes to genera that would fit I would recommend Labidochromis (e.g. L. sp. "Hongi"), Chindongo (e.g. C. saulosi or C. demasoni), Iodotropheus sprengerae, Pseudotropheus and Labeotropheus. Stay clear of Metriaclima/Maylandia, Melanochromis and Cynotilapia.
And a hint: Look up the most recent listing of Pseudotropheus, as the bigger species of that genus have been moved to Metriaclima/Maylandia.

For more info: malawi-guru.de (you can switch the site language to English)