Inspired Choice Or Recipe For Disaster?

[LeeAberdeen]

I'm cyling my new 270-litre tank at the moment and, with four or five weeks to go until that's finished, have been
thinking about how to stock my first cichlid aquarium. I'm going for Africans, and was thinking of adding 20 in
one go to obey the overstocking rule for cichlid aggression. That seems like a reasonable number, although
I'm happy to go for as few as 12 if people think that's preferable? They'll hopefully all be in the 5-7cm range
when added so, initially at least, it wouldn't be an overstocking.
 
I was thinking of an all-male tank to add the maximum amount of colour, and also because I'm not interested in
breeding fish. I've put the onus on the more peaceful cichlids, so have narrowed it down to:
 
Yellow-finned acei
Rusties
Ob Alonocara
Greshakei
Yellow lab
White-tailed acei
Placidochromis phenochilus (can grow to about 25cm, so might be too big for a metre-long tank?)
Otopharynx ovatus
Copadichromis borleyi
Alonocara baenschi
Cynotilapia afra
 
Was thinking of getting all of the above, because they're all peaceful types who in theory should get along fine.
Some of them would have to be in twos or threes to make it up to 20, and was I was thinking that could be the
yellow-finned aceis, afras, rusties and the yellow labs?
 
Does that sound feasible as a mix? Am I overstocked, understocked? Do any of them need females to keep
them peaceful?
 
All help much appreciated.

 

[RRaquariums]

Hey first off congrats on choosing African cichlids they are my favorite fish for ease of care and color.
I'm in the US so I use gallons and your tank is roughly 70 gallons so 20 fish is a good start I have a 65 gal that I have 40 cichlids in male and female.
I wouldn't get any fish that gets bigger then 6 inches because they really take up a lot of room and need more swimming area.
The yellow labs are one of my favorites to have in larger numbers they look amazing.
One thing to keep in mind is that African cichlids are a very territorial fish and even with the more peaceful ones there will be fights and aggression if you add lots of rocks and hiding places it helps a lot.
If you have other questions just ask

 

[LeeAberdeen]

Hey first off congrats on choosing African cichlids they are my favorite fish for ease of care and color.
I'm in the US so I use gallons and your tank is roughly 70 gallons so 20 fish is a good start I have a 65 gal that I have 40 cichlids in male and female.
I wouldn't get any fish that gets bigger then 6 inches because they really take up a lot of room and need more swimming area.
The yellow labs are one of my favorites to have in larger numbers they look amazing.
One thing to keep in mind is that African cichlids are a very territorial fish and even with the more peaceful ones there will be fights and aggression if you add lots of rocks and hiding places it helps a lot.
If you have other questions just ask

 
Thanks. Yes, they do look like fascinating fish. Blimey though, 20 as a start! I was thinking of that as the top figure. There are 11 species in that list, so maybe I should be thinking of two or three of each?
 
There will be lots of rocks and hiding places, just sorting that out now. In terms of size, they're mostly 15cm or less, so nothing's too bulky other than the placidochromis phenochilus.

 

[RRaquariums]

I'd start out with the 20 then maybe add 10 more later depending on how the others act aggression wise.
Do you have a pic of the tank?

 

[LeeAberdeen]

I'd start out with the 20 then maybe add 10 more later depending on how the others act aggression wise.
Do you have a pic of the tank?

 
20 seems like a sensible number. Always understood, though, that they had to be added in one go to stop the new entries being picked on?
 
No pic of the tank yet, because still sticking the caves together before adding them.

 

[RRaquariums]

No you don't have to add all at the same time what I do when I add new fish is move the caves and rocks around right before I put them in this starts everyone over with new areas to claim and the new guys get a chance to take some of the tank to you can move everything back into the right place after 1 or 2 days.

 

[nut4clife]

Consider having 3 groups of a species.  Create cave structures separated by plant medium or another source (can be artificial), as the groups will gather and become territorial at the chosen cave structure.  If the structures are separated enough it will quell some of the aggression.  Whatever your choice for cave structures keep in mind they have to be moved around when doing gravel cleaning (with cichlids more often than not!)...I found large rocks to be cumbersome and eventually changed to something lighter (artificial structures). 
 
Another consideration is adding males and females of the same species will create an environment for breeding...is that your intention?  If so are you prepared by having an additional tank for the fry?  keep in mind when breeding occurs and reintroduction of the fry back into the main tank your population will quickly grow beyond your tanks ability to stay cycled.  You have a 70gl in US terms...I think your ok for a while but just food for thought.
 
consider also several algae eaters along with your primary pets to help keep the algae down.  Just out of curiosity what is the depth and length of your tank?  Cichlids should have "run room" especially when escaping aggression, the longer the tank the better to escape an attack.
 
Good luck and share some pics soon!

 

[LeeAberdeen]

Consider having 3 groups of a species.  Create cave structures separated by plant medium or another source (can be artificial), as the groups will gather and become territorial at the chosen cave structure.  If the structures are separated enough it will quell some of the aggression.  Whatever your choice for cave structures keep in mind they have to be moved around when doing gravel cleaning (with cichlids more often than not!)...I found large rocks to be cumbersome and eventually changed to something lighter (artificial structures). 
 
Another consideration is adding males and females of the same species will create an environment for breeding...is that your intention?  If so are you prepared by having an additional tank for the fry?  keep in mind when breeding occurs and reintroduction of the fry back into the main tank your population will quickly grow beyond your tanks ability to stay cycled.  You have a 70gl in US terms...I think your ok for a while but just food for thought.
 
consider also several algae eaters along with your primary pets to help keep the algae down.  Just out of curiosity what is the depth and length of your tank?  Cichlids should have "run room" especially when escaping aggression, the longer the tank the better to escape an attack.
 
Good luck and share some pics soon!

 
Thanks. The tank's about a metre long, 60cm high, so ideally could've done with being longer and shallower, but I've now decided on a mostly-alonocara stocking with a maximum size of about seven inches to accommodate for the lack of length.
 
Was planning on a pleco for algae-eating purposes, as you suggested, and I think they'll hoover up a bit of stray food too. Also, wanted some yellow labs for snails, and I think they'll mix well with the alonocaras. Did want a red-top hongi, also, because they look great and are at the more peaceful end of the mbuna spectrum.