75g Mbuna tank stocking

[Iwe]

Hi everyone - used to live in Malawi as a peace corps volunteer and 25 years later I decided to set up an Mbuna tank and I am so excited. The tank is a 75g (~48”x18”x20”), filtered by a Fluval FX6, with sandy bottom, three rock piles with lots of nooks, and a handful of plants (Anubias coffefolia and vallisneria). Tank cycled (fishless) earlier this week and I added my first fish a few days ago - 7 juvenile labidochromis red topped Hongi (from my LFS). Was thinking about adding ~7 juvenile Maylandia (Metraclima) msobo and ~ 7 juvenile Pseudotropheus williamsi north (blue lips), with a hope to end up with 1m:4f of each. Could this grouping get along? Could I add a fourth type of Mbuna, and if so, what would you suggest as tankmates? As we say in Malawi, zikomo kwambiri (thank you very much)!

 

[Iwe]

Meant to say that the tank completed its cycle earlier this week.

 

[DJRansome]

I might add females for each species since you have chosen fairly aggressive species.

If you would rather add another species what about 1m:7f Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos Maingano?

 

[Milingu]

The williansi north is way too aggressive and gets too big for that tank size to keep them permanently.
Even the msobo might be too much. The females can be quite territorial too.

I would go for the cyanerhabdos that were already mentioned. Or some Cynotilapia species.

 

[Iwe]

Exactly the advice/opinions I was hoping for, thank you! I will get more females as suggested and I will not get the Williamsi. I like the Maingano too, and I’m happy to get them instead of the msobo. To clarify - for a tank this size, should I only stock red topped Hongi and Maingano (with 1m:7f of each) or could the tank accommodate a third species? Zikomo!

 

[DJRansome]

FWIW I have msobo in a 75G, they are OK. Msobo, Maingano and hongi would be good with 7 of each.

 

[Milingu]

It depends on how good you are at distinguishing the sexes of the cyanerhabdos. With younger fish this can be quite difficult . If you can get really sure 1/x, you could easily add another species 1/x.

What DJRansome says can work too and might be easier to carry out. My advice comes more from the point once bitten, twice shy.

 

[jjohnwm]

Good-looking tank!

I haven't a clue about any African cichlids, but when I look at that tank the rock structure makes me uneasy. Are those rockpiles entirely free-standing in the centre of the tank, not leaning against the back wall? And are they really just piled up, with no glue or cement of any kind stabilizing the structure? That would be, IMHO, an accident waiting to happen. You knock them with a net or a siphon...and it looks like the whole thing could come down...and if one or more of them hits the glass, bad things could follow. I'd really think hard about building those piles out of dry stones held together with some aquarium-safe adhesive.

Just a suggestion to consider. Enjoy your quarter-century-belated aquarium!

 

[Iwe]

Good-looking tank!

I haven't a clue about any African cichlids, but when I look at that tank the rock structure makes me uneasy. Are those rockpiles entirely free-standing in the centre of the tank, not leaning against the back wall? And are they really just piled up, with no glue or cement of any kind stabilizing the structure? That would be, IMHO, an accident waiting to happen. You knock them with a net or a siphon...and it looks like the whole thing could come down...and if one or more of them hits the glass, bad things could follow. I'd really think hard about building those piles out of dry stones held together with some aquarium-safe adhesive.

Just a suggestion to consider. Enjoy your quarter-century-belated aquarium!

Thanks for the kind words - setting it up was was fun and I’m eager to get some more fish in there. The rocks are free standing - I dry stacked them on eggcrate prior to adding substrate, then I played around until they fit together and felt stable. That said, I appreciate your comment and I’ll see if there are ways to reinforce so I don’t have an accident.

 

[Iwe]

Hi everyone - quick update. I stocked the tank with 7 Maingano, 13 Msobo, and 7 Hongi. So far so good - lots of movement but no hyperagression (yet?). Maingano run the tank, make Msobos are starting to color up, and Hongi seem to be dominated by both Msobo and Maingano. All look beautiful. Would love to hear your experiences on tank management - since the fish seem to be getting along, should I let tank be? Should I preemptively start to rehome males, and if it’s time to start rehoming males, what is your strategy: remove dominant male, remove subdominent males? Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.