You see many tanks that are absolutely packed with mbuna to keep down agreession and you also see a well stocked species only tank...What are your views on stocking africans, particualy mbunas, regarding under or overstocking. I personlaly have 4 africans in a 29g and i conisder myself stocked perfectly.
Views on overstocked tanks
- Thread starter Tstove15
- Start date
In the wild rift lake cichlids live in a very crowded enviorment. Overstocking disipates the aggression over many fish so just one is not singled out. It works well and is recommended by many hobbiests.
it works as long as the tank is of reasonable size, the species are compatible, and the filtration/water changes are above average
right now i have a mixed tank of mbunas, peacocks, and a hap.. 13 in a 55 gallon
aggression is mild... but was way worse before i took out my kenyi...
however, in retrospect i kinda wish i went for a species tank... i do love the colors of my fish, but species tanks just look so sleek imo
only drawback is harem pairing of the fish (1M4Female) and for some reason I couldnt and still cant find any female africans at my lfs's..
aggression is mild... but was way worse before i took out my kenyi...
however, in retrospect i kinda wish i went for a species tank... i do love the colors of my fish, but species tanks just look so sleek imo
only drawback is harem pairing of the fish (1M4Female) and for some reason I couldnt and still cant find any female africans at my lfs's..
ya i have really no aggression at all with having 5 fish in a 29g. Ive always liked the overstock look with mbuna but i dont think i am going to add anymore in. Its just interesting to see how people like to keep their fish
Its a good approach for managing the aggression of africans because it doesn't let them develop a strong sense of being territorial. But it requires a strong commitment on cleaning and water changes because the nitrates can build up fast with all that fish - too much for most busy bodies like me.
I have 40 Mbuna in a 240 and agression is minimal. Cleanbio is right about the Nitrate
as my first modification was a 24/7 water changer to eliminate weekly water changes.
as my first modification was a 24/7 water changer to eliminate weekly water changes.