gonna get back into keeping fish finally!

[COG Commando]

10 mbuna will mean 1 on the left, 1 on the right and 8 in the middle being driven from both directions.

If that's the case, then with 20 mbuna he'll have 1 on each side and 18 driven into the middle...
In all the mbuna tanks I've set up, there is always a boss of the left side of the tank, a boss of the right side, and a boss who governs the entire tank and usually resides in the middle of the tank. The rest of my fish just go about their business and do whatever they want.

I have 17 4"+ fish in my 75 gallon right now (used to have 40+, but I sold a lot of the younger ones that had been breed in the tank) and I never have problems with aggression in my tank. That's not to say that there isn't aggression... there just aren't any beat up fish or conflicts lasting more than a few seconds.

Also, I'd try to stick to only one or two species if you can/want to. I have 12 species in my tank and I wish I had only gone with three species maximum to cut down on inter-genus breeding and just to make the tank look a little more natural (i.e. with all the species coming from one part of the lake). It really doesn't matter, it just looks a little nicer IMO.

 

[theroque55]

So COG, and how many do you recommend? And my tank is 36 inches long, 14 inches wide. And I'm trying to go all male, so all the breeding won't be an issue.

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[COG Commando]

10, because of the footprint. You could potentially do more with a longer tank because floorspace is the only real issue, or if you plan on upgrading later 20+ juveniles will work perfectly fine. These fish will get over 6" long when full grown. Do you have an idea of what mbuna you'd like for your tank??

 

[theroque55]

I'm pretty sure they don't get over 6 inches.. Some may, but not all.. Also I haven't looked into which ones I want yet, I guess that would help you all out. But I was thinking some that max out around 4 maybe 5 inches. And 10 will do for me, and better to have too little than not enough.. It'll be easier to add some than to give them away.. Thanks again for the advice too! And I plan on upgrading eventually but I'd like to just make sure they can live in this tank forever just in case.

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[cant009]

Yes only a few get over 6''. Go with however many you want, if you go with 10 and they fight each other get a few more.

 

[COG Commando]

Most profiles say the max size of most mbuna (aside from dwarf species is around 5 inches) but I've personally seen 7+" Metriaclima callainos, Labidochromis caeruleus, Metriaclima estherae, Labeotropheus fuelleborni, Pseudotropheus crabro and Pseudotropheus elegans 'luwala', so...