Cichlid ID and hindsight stock advice

[Guppy Named Oscar]

I have a 55 gallon with rocks, driftwood, and plants.
Water is 0, 0, 5, pH 8.2, GH 6
It has two bristlenose plecos, 13 rosy barbs, and seven male cichlids:
Iodotropheus sprengerae (rusty)
A. stuartgranti cobue (blue regal)
A. stuartgranti mdoka (flametail)
A. jacobfreibergi (eureka red)
A. mamelela (lemon Jake)
Labidochromis caeruleus Nkhata Bay (white lab)
And a mystery bonus that was shipped but not listed.

Can you help me ID the extra? Picture shows the rusty in front with the "bonus" fish behind. Is it possible they're both rusties? Also, which is which between the blue regal and the flametail?

I was aiming for as peaceful a mix as possible. Now I'm second-guessing everything! Do the blue regal and flametail look too similar? Are two stuartgranti okay together? Is 78° too warm for rosy barbs?

Everyone seems happy and active so far, but I just added the cichlids a week ago and they're not full grown yet.

Thanks

 

[DJRansome]

I would not keep jakes in a 55G so I would remove both of those. IDK what that black/white fish is with the giraffe spots on his tail. You could have a problem with the rusties as tankmates with the stuartgranti peacocks in any tank let alone a smaller tank like this. Rusties are often more aggressive than people think.

Really it is hard to do all male in any tank, but mixing peacocks and mbuna as well as doing it in a 55G makes it even more challenging.

 

[Guppy Named Oscar]

I would not keep jakes in a 55G so I would remove both of those. IDK what that black/white fish is with the giraffe spots on his tail. You could have a problem with the rusties as tankmates with the stuartgranti peacocks in any tank let alone a smaller tank like this. Rusties are often more aggressive than people think.

Really it is hard to do all male in any tank, but mixing peacocks and mbuna as well as doing it in a 55G makes it even more challenging.

Sigh.
I did a ton of research online, read three books, and thought I was ready. There's so much conflicting (or just plain wrong) info and SO MUCH of the same superficial info over and over. I've really struggled to find in-depth info about behavior. I'd be more comfortable with a trial and error approach if they weren't live animals! I was aiming all male because I didn't want to worry about them reproducing.

How soon do I have to make alternate plans for some of these guys before they're likely to hurt each other? They were listed as 2-3" medium size online, but most seem a little bigger than that. Just got them a week ago.

Does it look like I have two rusties? (I ordered one) Here's another picture of the polkadot tail dude if that helps. Thought he must be the blue regal or the flametail, but the spotty tail throws me too. I can ID the Jakes, the lighter rusty, and the lab. That leaves blue regal, flametail, and bonus fish.

 

[DJRansome]

I am terrible at ID so hopefully someone else will chime in. IME it is easier to deal with reproduction than all male. Let the moms spit in the tank and get a trio of Synodontis lucipinnis instead of the bristlenose.

Will you continue with all male or switch to mixed gender? Mbuna or haps and peacocks?

 

[Guppy Named Oscar]

I'm not sure yet. There is zero aggression among them for now; they even hide together in the same cave when startled. I'm going to try to learn more about each one of them and take a few days to decide which change to make. Hopefully I can come up with a long-term solution. Maybe I'll take the excuse to get a 125 gallon tank!

I'm still leaning all male-- these are pets that I don't want to intentionally feed to each other. I know it's the circle of life, lol, but I'm tender!

I have a couple more questions (so far). Can two male rusties stay in the same tank with no females? Are the flametail (assuming he is a flametail) and blue regal too similar to get along? One is more blue-black and the other other more blue, but they are still a lot alike.

I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. I'm open to other thoughts or suggestions you might have, since obviously I'm still in the rookie mistake stage!

 

[DJRansome]

Even in a 72" tank I would not combine mbuna with haps and peacocks. Or jakes and stuartgranti. The jakes actually get too large for a 55G IMO.

The flametail (stuartgranti Ngara) is the most timid and may or may not color in the presence of a blue regal (stuartgranti Cobue).

Yes multiple stuartgranti aulonocara can be in the same all male tank, but usually you want a red, a blue and a yellow. Red includes red, orange and pink.

Same with 2 male rusties...I would expect them to fight but you never know.

Once you do get aggression, you need to act within a couple of days. The exhausted fish tends to lurk high up in the tank...under the surface or behind filter intakes or heaters...even with lots of hiding places. The longer they are up there, the more their immune system is compromised and the more likely they are to get sick and infect the others. Have a hospital tank ready and a place to rehome fish as necessary. If they are already 3" then it could start happening as soon as they are comfortable in the tank...a month or two. Or it might take a year before you start to have aggression from some of them.

 

[Guppy Named Oscar]

Thanks for the added details. I do have a QT tank in case of emergencies. If I get a larger tank, I'd split these guys up, not just move them all together. I appreciate you pointing that out, though, because I've had worse "duh" moments, so you never know, lol!
Other thought is to talk to the owner at my LFS about rehoming some. I'll let you know what I end up doing

 

[Guppy Named Oscar]

Checking back in. I got a 75 gallon tank, but need to set it up and cycle it. Suggestions for how you'd split my guys up?
Leave the lab and rusties in the 55, and move all the peacocks to the 75?
Not sure if the rusties are two males or one of each.
I'll make a new post to see if I can get multiple opinions, but wanted to follow up here too. Thanks.

 

[DJRansome]

See the other post.

 

[The Morning]

I have a 150 tank with a mix of mbuna, Haps and peacocks. Surprisingly the mbuna ar e the least aggressive but I only have 3. All other mixes are a crap shoot in my opinion. I tried to do all male but know a few females have snuck in. Africans are so hit or miss and I have had to move so many fish due to aggression. I have also lost a good amount for the same reason. I have no plans to add any more fish to my tank and will eventually switch it to a single or two species tank.