how many?

[mwm]

how many mbuna can fit in a 55g?

 

[fish_r_great]

Depends what kind you get

 

[freshmike]

If you are planning to go with regular Pseudo size type fish, such as demasoni, acei, mpanga, msobo (those types) and such type fish, then I would at least put 20 in there....depending on your filtration of course...they like heavy flow, being as they can get quite dirty....the reason I say 20 as a minimum is due only to aggression. They will fight and kill each other if there are not enough "targets" in the tank. Also, rocky caves are also very important. If one is getting picked on excessively, it would be nice for that fish to have somewhere to retreat to....not to mention that mbuna means "rock-fish". I also would not go any higher than 20 either...don't want to get too crazy, they do grow...it may look a little empty, but take my word for it, I have gone through it when I started with my 90....lots of fish going back to the store and of course the beginnings of my multi-tank disease.

Maybe give us an example of what kind of mbuna you are looking at, what you like and what is available to you. Then maybe we can offer you a little more help.

I have around 60-70 fish in my 180....75% of them being mbuna.

 

[TheeMon]

what about a 40gal breeder freshmike? i forget the specs but there in another of my threads...(demonsi + yellow labs +others)

+ sorry for hijacking the thread

 

[thecichlidaddict]

You will want to stock as few fish as you can, while still providing a crowded enough environment to disperse the aggression and prevent any specific fish from becoming overly harassed. Remember, over-crowded aquariums can foul up rapidly, and events like a power outage, vacation, etc. can cause rapid deterioration of conditions. It will also create more work for you as the frequency of maintenance routines rise with the stocking levels.

Specific numbers will vary depending on what type of mbuna you choose. As freshmike has mentioned, we often have no choice but to keep the hyper-aggressive species in extremely high densities in order to prevent fatalities. On the other hand, for many mbuna, this type of dangerous overcrowding becomes less necessary. Physical size can also be a concern. Some mbuna barely reach three inches, while others can top more then eight.

I personally believe that it would be wiser to avoid the mentioned hyer-aggressive varieties unless you have a very large aquarium, this way space alone would help deal with the aggression, and crowding becomes less vital.

TCA

 

[jtyce]

You can do it two ways. You can have very few, so that they can stake out territories and keep to there own. The other way you can do it, is to put no caves are rocks at all so that they have nothing to use to setup territories. You then slam about 20 or 30 (regular psuedotrophs) with alot of filtration. This makes it impossible to form territories. This later approach is called controlled over crowding. If you do not know much about African Cichlids, check out some others. There are alot prettier types of cichlids that are more peacfull and will look prettier in your tank than a bunch of mubunas. The all of the peacocks (Lawanda Redtop, Jakes, etc; protomelous varieties (Red Empress, Tangerine Tiger, Liuli, Mara Rocks); cyrtocara moorii (Malawi Dolphin); and ,many ohter varieties are more peacfull and much more beautifull than any of the mubunas. There are many Cyprichromis that are breath taking. Shop around before you settle for the common psuedotrophs that you find at the pet store chains. Look for specialty shops are order them off the web. But if you just happen to like mubunas, do like I said above.