Stockind Advice Needed

[angelmouse]

just doing some research before setting up a 55 gal malawi and need some advice about which fish, want plenty of colour
Fish i like:
p.soulosi
m.estherae
yellow lab
p.acei
p.greshaki
m.callainos

fish i like but not sure if i can mix or be too big so need advice
Auloncara Baenschi
sciaenochromis ahli
p.polit
p.socolofi
otopharynx lihobates
blue dolphin

can you recomend any other i could possably keep and how many can i keep in 55g with two large external filters
THANKS sorry its a long list
Advice appreciated angel

 

[dthoffsett]

Fish i like:
p.soulosi
m.estherae
yellow lab
p.acei
p.greshaki
m.callainos

fish i like but not sure if i can mix or be too big so need advice
Auloncara Baenschi
sciaenochromis ahli
p.polit
p.socolofi
otopharynx lihobates
blue dolphin

You'll want to aim for about 12 adult fish, you can go with four groups of three (1m/2f) or three groups of four (1m/3f). All of the fish in your first list would work out nicely (obviously you'll need to pic the ones you like best). As for the second list, all but the p.socolofi would grow to large, and are carnivores, needing a different diet than mbunas.

If it were me, I'd go with
4 l.caeruleus - m/f ratio doesn't matter
4 m.estherae - 1m/3f
4 m.callainos - 1m/3f
That would give you a nice mix of yellow, red/orange, and blue, and an active but not too aggressive tank.

 

[angelmouse]

Thanks for your help, so peacocks won't mix with mbuna. i will probably be asking lots more questions as i get to the next stage of setting up
Angel

 

[Ferris]

so peacocks won't mix with mbuna

They can but it gets complicated - As dthoffsett says, Aulonocara are carnivores so feeding is tricky. They also tend to be far less aggressive than Mbuna and sometimes struggle to cope with them as tankmates.

I have 2 in my Mbuna tank - i feed plenty of spirulina enriched brineshrimp, which gets round the food issue and caters for both dietary requirements. I also added them at a good size and they do OK. I have had to return peacocks in the past though, where they simply couldn't cope with the aggression and were getting severely bullied so there are no guarantees.

 

[mark7616]

just doing some research before setting up a 55 gal malawi and need some advice about which fish, want plenty of colour
Fish i like:
p.soulosi
m.estherae
yellow lab
p.acei
p.greshaki
m.callainos

fish i like but not sure if i can mix or be too big so need advice
Auloncara Baenschi
sciaenochromis ahli
p.polit
p.socolofi
otopharynx lihobates
blue dolphin

can you recomend any other i could possably keep and how many can i keep in 55g with two large external filters
THANKS sorry its a long list
Advice appreciated angel

Go with 1m2f of the following with loads of filtration

p.soulosi
m.estherae
yellow lab
p.acei
p.greshaki
m.callainos or p.socolofi.