Need opinions!!!

[OscarHook]

Is 18 cichlids to much for a 75g? they will be:
5 Yellow Labs-1M-4F
5 Red Zebras-1M-4F
4 Snow White Socolofis-1M-3F
4 Kenyi-1M-3F
Is that to many or should i get some more? i did the math and 75g=15 fish at 5in. If i over stocked it by three fish is that going to really hurt anything. I know more water changes but i have heard its better to overstock your african mbuna tanks to cut down aggression. I'll post pics once i get all the fish and decor mostly set-up.

 

[fote03]

As soon as your kenyi male colors, he will go after the red zebra male and yellow labs male. I have a kenyi male kill a hold colony of labs and red zebra even the females, so watch out. My kenyi was about 1.5-2" thick and a good 5” long. How big are your fish right now? Who is boss of the tank right now? I had them in a 125 long with a ton of rocks but that did not stop him.

 

[OscarHook]

they are all 1-1.5in and the male socolofi kinda of runs the tank, but i havent got the kenyi yet, if you can suggest another type of Mbuna to put in there, what about Aratus(sp)?

 

[SinisterKisses]

Auratus are just as bad as Kenyi. As for the kenyi male...well, its not so much a matter of he'll go after individual males because of their species (like the suggestion that he'll go after the estherae and lab males), so much as he'll go after any dominant fish in the tank. I would try it, and see how it goes. I think it will be fine, but you can always pull fish and change things around if its not working out.

Anyway, the numbers should be fine. Although I'd recommend adding another female kenyi or two if you go that route, to make things easier for them all. The biggest consideration when trying to find stocking numbers for a tank though, is filtration...so, what do you plan on having for filtration on this tank? That will affect how many fish you should keep in there.

 

[OscarHook]

i have 2 aqua clear 110s on it, i think i am good filter wise. i need a blue/purple color for the tank thats why i said kenyi and i can get a bunch for pretty cheap.

 

[Ash]

trial and error my friend, thats how I got all my mbuna into an equllibrium where they all had territorys and didnt kill eachother off. I think it would be something to try, just watch it closely.

 

[Scotty]

I had some lombardoi, 1m and 2f, in a 3ft tank with about 20-25 other fish and had no problems. Male was one of the bigger fish.
If you are looking for the blue/yello combination why not try and source the Pse. saulosi. Females are yellow and the males turn a blue. Have you also thought of the Pse acei? Especially the blue with yellow fins. Try and get 1 male and 5-6 females.
Your numbers are ok. If you stock a few more fish you will need to do some additional cleaning, either by added filtration or more regular suction water changes. I do 20% weekly and have around 30 fish per 3ft tank.