Tank Composition Question/ Feedback

[Matty__B]

I have decided to start up a 55 gallon African Cichlid tank, but I am not sure what I should be doing in terms of how many of each kind. I will have something between 15 and 20 cichlids in the tank. Any feedback on how many of each I should have as well as gender.
Tank composition:

Bumblebee Cichlid
Rusty Cichlid
Demasoni
chinese Algae eater.

I have also been considering Electric Blue Johannii and Auratus.

Thanks for any feedback and help. Cheers.

 

[signde]

bumblebee get pretty big, possibly too big for a 55 african community. they are also ferocious. i would stick with smaller mbuna like zebra, afra, lab, and rusty if you want more than a dozen fish.

 

[Matty__B]

bumblebee get pretty big, possibly too big for a 55 african community. they are also ferocious. i would stick with smaller mbuna like zebra, afra, lab, and rusty if you want more than a dozen fish.

thanks for the feedback. I just realized my tank idea does not work anyways because I misread information of Demasoni, which should be in groups of 12 of their own kind.

Are bumblebee's too big period for a 55 gallon tank? or would I need to adjust my selection to factor in a bumblebee counting as two fish. So if I was going with 3 bumblebees then it would count for 6 fish? Also, does the fact I am looking to start a tank with young fish impact my decisions?

 

[Mokujin22]

I used to have a bumblebee that was 8" long. Extremely mean and capable of lots of damage to whoever got in his way. I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to snag a demasoni here and there. While they are not carnivores, they are opportunistic feeders.

Also, just remember that Chinese algae eaters typically stop eating algae when they get about 2" long. For smaller tank mates, get an albino bristle-nose pleco. For larger tank mates, go with the standard bristle-nose. Besides Otto cats (which will get eaten by cichlids), they are the best algae eating fish available. You could also try nerite snails for algae control.