Will Thius Work

[Ginge]

Hi in a posts earlier somody siad that they have 13 mbuna 4 species thats around 3 per species? I want to go somthing similar in my 55G and keep getting told that i cant do this.

There are 5 species that i like and i can house around 18 fish so i was going to get roughly 3 of each species and then have more fish in one species if it is needed could this work.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

There's no reason why you can't do this. So long as the species you have in mind are A) Not going to grow massive and B) Aren't majorly aggressive...by cichlid standards. So long as the set up is taking into account the needs of the fish it souldn't be an issue. Would you go with 1 male of each species and the rest female?
Hugs,
P.

 

[Ginge]

Yes i would do this with the fish that you can sex at a yong age because some you cant e.g. Yellow Labs.

 

[freddyk]

I don't know of too many fish you can get young that can easily be sexed - usually it's best to get a couple of extra's at first (you can fit more juvis then adults) to ensure enough females.

Keep in mind that some of the more aggressive mbuna may need more then two females per male to distribute aggression. Also bear in mind that species that look too similar can lead to further aggression so be careful with selection when trying to fit as many species as possible into the tank.