I have a 55 with 10 Mbuna, 1 pleco, 1 cat, 1 chinese algae eater and one strange shark. they all do well together but I have extensive rock and root work for them to hide. Always remember... Fish are like people, some of them are just JERKS.
Beginner Malawis?
- Thread starter boosh96
- Start date
IMO go for mbunas. both have good, if not great colors and alot of personality. while haps are less aggressive they get bigger quicker, unlike mbunas who are more aggressive but dont get as big and grow slower. idk about haps but you can overstock the tank with mbunas, and to me the more fish the better 
mbuna grow to full size and maturity much faster than haps, they just do not get as big as most haps do.
I do not know much about Mbuna chiclids, nor do I care to keep them. I do have Peas and Haps. Not all Haps are 7-10 inches either. I have several that are 5" at adult with tons of colors, way more then Mbuna's have. In a 55 assuming you are housing peas and/or Haps 5" at adult I would say 13 would be max. I also agree all Males is both more colorful and way less aggression. Lots of high decor and/or tall plants will serve as sight blockers and more rock caves then you have fish all across your tank is also good. Lowering your temp to 76-78 can keep aggression down also. Small feedings 2-3 times a day is another good thing to do. If your planning on breeding I prefer one species per tank, even in the 55 gallons. It keeps your fry pure and no chance of hybrids. Just my opinion here and hope it helps.
If you choose to mix Mbuna and peacocks and/or haps. I'd recommend the Peacocks, with the Labs and Acei being very mellow, you wouldn't have an aggression issue mixing the peacocks. PLUS, going with a 55, peacocks generally do not get very large length wise, they are more stubby. If I may make an example tank:
L. Caeruleus-1M-4F
Ps. Acei-1M-2F
M. Estherae-1M-2F
Aulonocara Rubescens (ruby, or german red) 1M
A. Stuartgranti (sunshine) 1M
A. Jacobfreibergi (lemon jake) 1M
A. Hybrid (O.B., or O.B. Blueberry) 1M
I tried to make an example of diversity in colors as well as fairly common types you'd find with minimal effort at a LFS.
Hope this helps a little
L. Caeruleus-1M-4F
Ps. Acei-1M-2F
M. Estherae-1M-2F
Aulonocara Rubescens (ruby, or german red) 1M
A. Stuartgranti (sunshine) 1M
A. Jacobfreibergi (lemon jake) 1M
A. Hybrid (O.B., or O.B. Blueberry) 1M
I tried to make an example of diversity in colors as well as fairly common types you'd find with minimal effort at a LFS.
Hope this helps a little
