I could use some help identifying these pretties.

[Strawberry_Pigtails]

My wife recently bought several chichlids. 4 of them however were too small to go directly into her 55 Gallon tank with the others. I was volen-told to raise them in my 10 gallon for a few months till they get bigger. I'm not really sure what they are. My wife is the type that picks out fish based more on what they look like and isn't to fussed about what they actually are beyond broad categories.
What I do know is that they should really be in a bigger aquarium. And they seem to really like hiding and playing in my plants. I've added frogbit to the tank to help the nitrates.
Cycling isn't going to be a problem as I was fertilizing with liquid ammonia prior. Current test show fine for ammonia, and nitrite. Nitrite climbed for about 4 days then flatlined. Nitrate climbs faster then I would like, causing water changes once to twice a week.

I'm afraid these are the best pictures I've managed to get in the two weeks they've been in my tank. Every time I approach they dart off into the greenery and hide. There are 2 of the long blue one that I was able to catch full body. The big headed blue one hiding in the ship is about half the length of the blue one outside the ship. The orange one hiding in the grass is about the same length at the big headed one just not quite so massy if that makes sense.

 

[Wills]

They are all Mbuna cichlids so should be in a 4 foot tank minimum really and kept in groups of their own kind.

The first black and blue striped one is some kind of Melanochromis - possibly a Maingano or a Johani. The second one could be a couple of species but I think it is a Red Zebra which is a type of Metriaclima Estherae. The third one could be a couple of species but based on them being quite common it could be either a male Kennyi or a a Demasoni both of which are very aggressive even for Mbunas.

You don't really want to keep them in a planted tank for long as they eat a plant heavy diet in the wild and will graze through the plants pretty quick. The reason they are hiding so much is because they live in rocks in the wild so need lots of hiding places to feel confident.

What other fish do you have in the 55 gallon tank? Mbuna really need a specific set up rather than being mixed as a community fish - they come from a lake which is really a dead sea, so while no salt it is very hard water and they need this to grow properly. Mbuna also need a specific diet that is plant based as if they are fed too much protein they get Malawi Bloat which is usually fatal - they dont have proper stomachs so cant digest protein properly.

Within a few 'rules' and a bit of research before going to the store you can kind of mix and match colours of these fish pretty simply - the key is to make sure they dont look like each other - eg one orange species, one horizontal stripe species, one bright blue species etc. In a 55 gallon tank you'd ideally want to keep 3 species in groups of 5-8 with 1 male to 4-7 females depending on the species. Eg your Melanachromis needs the higher ratio but your Metriaclima would be on at the lower end.

This is my go to guide on Mbuna and is probably worth a read - with a nice planted tank like that I can tell that you take a lot of pride in your tanks so can't stress enough the value of researching Mubna properly as they really are an amazing and pretty low maintenance (other than water changes) group to keep.

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/the-mbuna-keepers-survival-guide/

Wills

 

[Strawberry_Pigtails]

They are all Mbuna cichlids so should be in a 4 foot tank minimum really and kept in groups of their own kind.

The first black and blue striped one is some kind of Melanochromis - possibly a Maingano or a Johani. The second one could be a couple of species but I think it is a Red Zebra which is a type of Metriaclima Estherae. The third one could be a couple of species but based on them being quite common it could be either a male Kennyi or a a Demasoni both of which are very aggressive even for Mbunas.

You don't really want to keep them in a planted tank for long as they eat a plant heavy diet in the wild and will graze through the plants pretty quick. The reason they are hiding so much is because they live in rocks in the wild so need lots of hiding places to feel confident.

What other fish do you have in the 55 gallon tank? Mbuna really need a specific set up rather than being mixed as a community fish - they come from a lake which is really a dead sea, so while no salt it is very hard water and they need this to grow properly. Mbuna also need a specific diet that is plant based as if they are fed too much protein they get Malawi Bloat which is usually fatal - they dont have proper stomachs so cant digest protein properly.

Within a few 'rules' and a bit of research before going to the store you can kind of mix and match colours of these fish pretty simply - the key is to make sure they dont look like each other - eg one orange species, one horizontal stripe species, one bright blue species etc. In a 55 gallon tank you'd ideally want to keep 3 species in groups of 5-8 with 1 male to 4-7 females depending on the species. Eg your Melanachromis needs the higher ratio but your Metriaclima would be on at the lower end.

This is my go to guide on Mbuna and is probably worth a read - with a nice planted tank like that I can tell that you take a lot of pride in your tanks so can't stress enough the value of researching Mubna properly as they really are an amazing and pretty low maintenance (other than water changes) group to keep.

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/the-mbuna-keepers-survival-guide/

Wills

Thank you!

I'm not really sure what all my wife keeps in her tank. The only ones I can readily identify are an angel fish of some kind and a raphael catfish. As for the perameters I do check GH and KH. GH is pegged out on my test kit (180+ ppm) and KH is currently at around 40 PPM, PH is right around 7.0

As for them eating the plants, well, they are welcome to enjoy it! I figure it's the least I can do, considering they are stuffed in such cramped quarters.

I glad you like how my tank looks but, honestly, I let it grow wild intentionally as I kinda like that look. If they tear it up some, it won't hurt my feelings. My only concern is that the plants are the biggest part of the filtration system on that tank. Hence, the frogbit in a segregated section. I'd have used duckweed but couldn't get any quickly. It does have a HOB with sponge filters and crushed coral but as over stocked as the tank is, lots of plantlife are a bit of a necessity.

 

[Wills]

Thank you!

I'm not really sure what all my wife keeps in her tank. The only ones I can readily identify are an angel fish of some kind and a raphael catfish. As for the perameters I do check GH and KH. GH is pegged out on my test kit (180+ ppm) and KH is currently at around 40 PPM, PH is right around 7.0

As for them eating the plants, well, they are welcome to enjoy it! I figure it's the least I can do, considering they are stuffed in such cramped quarters.

I glad you like how my tank looks but, honestly, I let it grow wild intentionally as I kinda like that look. If they tear it up some, it won't hurt my feelings. My only concern is that the plants are the biggest part of the filtration system on that tank. Hence, the frogbit in a segregated section. I'd have used duckweed but couldn't get any quickly. It does have a HOB with sponge filters and crushed coral but as over stocked as the tank is, lots of plantlife are a bit of a necessity.

Ah see if you add these Mbuna to Angelfish, you will just be left with Mbuna - the Raphael may be ok as they are tough and can live in harder water. If you're not able to give these Mbuna a decent sized tank of their own, I'd potentially consider rehoming them as they are not a great choice to just add to a community tank.

If you can get a new tank and have hard water (180+ is hard) Mbuna are a good choice for you, you might just need some sand or rocks that will harden and add a bit of alkalinity like limestone.

Wills.