Mbuna cichlids and if they’d be compatible for my tank

FishEs2978

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Hi all !! I have a 190l set up with 9 yo yos , 3 clowns , 1 male ( I think ) keyhole and 2 female convincts. I know that the clowns will need upgrading soon so don’t worry !
Someone near me is selling powder blue socolofi cichlids as 2-3cm juveniles could I get a few or not ? And if not what other cichlids are compatible for my tank ? Thanks !
 
I'm afraid this will not work. First issue is water parameters; the fish you now have are soft to moderately hard water, whereas the mbuna are hard to fairly hard water. Aside from that though, there are real compatibility issues. And you are already at if not over stocking for this tank.
 
I would agree with @Byron --> Mbuna need a minimum 55g tank (208L) with hard water, tons of rockwork and honestly many of their own kind or they will bully and stress eachother out to the point of death.

I am surprised that you are successfully keeping Convicts with a Keyhole due to temperament, but I suppose if they are non-breeding females they may play nicely.

I would recommend imagining that you tank was empty - what do you want it to look like? What types of fish match your water parameters? What types of fish that you like can go together?

You will find much more success with that method than just finding fish that you like and tossing them in.
 
Okay thank you for the advice - I’ve always wanted a cichlid tank and I’m happy to sell a few of the yo yos , if I did this what other larger sizes fish could I have ( around Pearl gourami size ) that would be compatible? It’s also worth mentioning that rather than an almost square shape the tank is long and thin which I was told was ideal as then the fish can have lots of room to swim up and down the tanks length
 
As I also do have my heart set in appistogramas and I’m happy to sell some fish to make that dream come true
 
If you re-home the present cichlids, the situation becomes very different with various possibilities.
 
Okay , so I’m happy to rehome my convicts but I’m really attached to the keyhole is there any way I could keep him ? He’s a really docile guy ? I’d like to keep apistogrammas but I’m not sure how tbe temperaments would work
 
Okay , so I’m happy to rehome my convicts but I’m really attached to the keyhole is there any way I could keep him ? He’s a really docile guy ? I’d like to keep apistogrammas but I’m not sure how tbe temperaments would work
Yes. Question not yet answered, what are your water parameters (GH and pH particularly)? Once we know these, it will be easy to suggest tankmates for the Keyhole, species Cleithracara maronii, see data:

Origin and Habitat: Rio Orinoco basin (Venezuela) eastward through Suriname, Guyana and as far as the Rio Ouanary in French Guyana; possibly Trinidad. This species is not abundant, occurring in small populations within this geographical area. It is found in slow-moving, shallow coastal forest streams that are often stained brown from the tannins of decaying wood. The population reported from Trinidad has not been encountered since 1965 according to Kullander.

Compatibility/Temperament: Very peaceful except when spawning. This is a very shy and retiring species, easily frightened [see additional discussion under Description] and should not be combined with other more aggressive cichlids. Peaceful characins, rasbora, and substrate fish are ideal as "dither fish" to lessen this species' natural shyness. In larger tanks, it may be combined with discus, angelfish and some of the dwarf cichlids.

An ideal cichlid for a community aquarium of non-aggressive fishes. Kept on its own, it will likely be very shy and retiring, and prone to stress. The presence of other fish (termed dither fish) will keep it more settled and relaxed. This is certainly not a fish for a barren tank, in which it will be highly stressed.

The aquarium should have a dark substrate, with some flat stones and several chunks of bogwood, and floating plants to shade the light that should not be bright. This would replicate its natural habit, but additional plants will also be suitable especially as they will provide more cover. Keeping in mind its natural habitat, the flow from the filter must be minimal, something that will also suit most forest fish that make good tankmates. Cichlids other than discus, angelfish and the South American dwarf species should not be kept with this species to avoid stress.
 
Sooo , I don’t know what these are yet , I’ve ordered to tester kit and everything but I’m not sure
 
Sooo , I don’t know what these are yet , I’ve ordered to tester kit and everything but I’m not sure

You may (should) be able to find the GH and pH on your water authority's website if you are on municipal water. If it is a private well source, then you will have to test. Once you know the GH, it is not going to change much in the aquarium.
 
Just about all English water companies give GH in numbers though some make it harder to find than others. If you tell us the name of the water company I'll see if I can find the page on their website.
Very few companies give KH though. If they do, they'll call it alkalinity.
 

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