Mbuna cichlids

[Whitey]

How many could i put into a 29g, iv heard its about 10 but then i heard its about 5, can i have some of your opinions coz i dont wanna get too many, Im thinking about the yellow lab and powder blue esspecially.

Thanking u.

 

[BOD]

depends on there adult size..id say about 5-7 max...(for an average 4 inch adult size)

 

[vantgE]

None, but there are some lake tangykian options shelldwellers will work great and brichardi may be an option as well

 

[sylvia]

Keep in mind that the footprint of most 29 gallon tanks is the same as that of a 20 and, as it is this area that is important for cichlids (arguably more so than volume in itself), this means you cannot keep that many. I think about 5 would be reasonable for your average mbuna. I'm not realy sure what the 'powder blue' cichlids are - I'm guessing it's either p. saulosi or p. socolofi (that's what I seem to vaguely recall)? To be honest, if it is one of these, I would think it is best left for at least a 40 gallon. Yellow labs would be fine though and you should be able to keep about 6 max. in there. though I would personaly go for 4 and get a (smaller) syno catfish and/or bristlenose plec to put in with them as well.

 

[Whitey]

None, but there are some lake tangykian options shelldwellers will work great and brichardi may be an option as well

What do u mean none? Ive seen mbunas in a 29 gal so it can be done, just dont want to overstock it.

ratemyfishtank.com have a beautifall 29g with 3 electric yellow labs which sounds good?

 

[BOD]

sorry i didnt realise you said powder blue i thinking of my own blue cichlids duh!, whoever said none thats not true....whitey could have the more peacful species of mbuna like my yellow labs and cobalt blues....like i sed about 5, in stocking issues thats not bad plus you can over stock mbuna with adequte filtration, but in smaller tanks this usually isnt a good idea, as with lack of space agresssion will surface...

edit - yellow labs only get to about 4-5 inches which overall will be around 20-25 inches of fish, and i know this rule doesnt work for every fish species..but this will be fine in a 29G with the lesser agressive species

 

[Whitey]

4-5 sounds good to me, thanks for the help guys!

 

[freddyk]

a 29 'can be done' but if you understood what they're like you'd realize it's like a cell to them. Good luck, but there's better ways to use the tank.

 

[vantgE]

None, but there are some lake tangykian options shelldwellers will work great and brichardi may be an option as well

What do u mean none? Ive seen mbunas in a 29 gal so it can be done, just dont want to overstock it.

ratemyfishtank.com have a beautifall 29g with 3 electric yellow labs which sounds good?

Don't you want to keep your fish comfortable, happy, and healthy. I've seen a goldfish in a bowl but mine are kept in a 300+ pond. The bottome line is they will survive but why not keep something that can thrive. Shelldwellers are very similar to mbunba in personality, and are a good substitute brichardi like I said are gorgeouse and only stay a little smaller then mbuna