How many ?
- Thread starter Big Dempsey
- Start date
If you have enough filtration and are willing to keep up with water changes you could have probably around 40, but that would also depend on what fish you are choosing. If they are all mbuna that would be fine, but if you start adding haps or peacocks then the number drops.
With 40 fish it would be a very busy tank, so make sure you know what you want. Also you want to make sure to have lots of rock work, there needs to be hiding spots and sight breaks. Also be careful what species you choose. Try not to mix real aggressive species with less aggressive species. You will likely have nipped fins, which will quickly become body damage and probable death to the less aggressive species. This website is a great resource on the different species <http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2>
With 40 fish it would be a very busy tank, so make sure you know what you want. Also you want to make sure to have lots of rock work, there needs to be hiding spots and sight breaks. Also be careful what species you choose. Try not to mix real aggressive species with less aggressive species. You will likely have nipped fins, which will quickly become body damage and probable death to the less aggressive species. This website is a great resource on the different species <http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2>
40 fish will be a very busy tank and it actually does not look all that good...I vote for about 25...
25 sounds good i would like a mix but there is variety in one genus right? are there more colors in haps or mbuna's ? thanks
Well, I would say that mbuna have more color, but I could be wrong (you can use the website I mentioned in my earlier post to look at mbuna, haps, or peacocks). I just added some haps to my 125 mbuna tank for a nice size difference. Also, I would try not to add different species from the same genus. You are much more likely to get cross breeding and the babies usually don't look that great. So it doesn't really matter your opinion on hybrid fish, if you want to keep a nice, bright, beautiful tank of fish then try to pick species that are unlikely to interbreed.
Anyway, you are all correct that 40 fish would be a very (very, very,very...) busy, but he asked for a max number. I like a busier tank, but agree that 40 fish would be quite crazy. I only have about 30-35 in my 125g and like the colors and activity level.
Anyway, you are all correct that 40 fish would be a very (very, very,very...) busy, but he asked for a max number. I like a busier tank, but agree that 40 fish would be quite crazy. I only have about 30-35 in my 125g and like the colors and activity level.
Is yours a 90 tall, as mbuna tend to like longer tanks to spread out their territories so I might go with 15-20 in that setup if its a 4' tank. It also depends on how often you want to do maintenance because if you go from 10 to 20 fish you will most likely need to clean it 2x as often to keep up.
As far as color you could do a mixed male mbuna/hap/peacock setup to get various sizes/colors. I have had my 75 setup like that for about 4 years now, of course the first 1.5 years was some headaches dealing with compatibility issues but (knock on wood) its been very stable since then.
As far as color you could do a mixed male mbuna/hap/peacock setup to get various sizes/colors. I have had my 75 setup like that for about 4 years now, of course the first 1.5 years was some headaches dealing with compatibility issues but (knock on wood) its been very stable since then.
I would say 15-20 as well, I have 20 various mbuna in a 100 gallon 5 foot tank and it seems like a good number. When I had them in a 55 I had 11 in there and bumped up the number when I bumped up the tank size.
Yes it's a 4 foot tank , so iwas thinking 15 to 20 also ,& thanks wrslrcichlid for the web site there are some beautiful fish on it !