mbuna tank.

would agression be lower in an all male mbuna tank? or should i have some females in there? i am not planning on saving any more fry than i already have. i just want lots of color and low aggression. I already labs, acies, kenyis and 1 auratus with at least 4 females in that mix. if the agression would be lower with all males i would get rid of the females. if its lower with some females in there would i want to get some more females along with the other fish i want to get or is 4 enough to keep in the whole tank to keep the aggression down?

Also i have heard that it is good to over crowd mbuna tanks to keep agression down. what would be a good number of fish to keep in a 72 gallon tank?

curtis miller wrote:Also i have heard that it is good to over crowd mbuna tanks to keep agression down. what would be a good number of fish to keep in a 72 gallon tank?

In a 72 gallon tank you could have about 25-30 mbunas depending of the footprint of the tank and species you choose.

Curtis,

It is always less aggression without females.
It will be less color as males show the best color.
When showing for the females. Problem with mixing
in a non-species tank is hybrids.

Best to crowd the tank to spread the aggression around and keep them from picking on 1 or 2 particular fish.

I would go for mbuna species where both male and females have bright colors. There are just a few of them but enough to make any tank glow.

when adding new fish, should i get fish that are smaller than the ones i already have or should i get ones that are the same size.

Get juveniles that are just too big to be eaten (if any of your other fish are large enough to do that.) Juvies are generally ignored where as adult fish can cause immediate fights for "rank."

awesome, thanks fedex

if my fish i have are around 4 inches would it be good to order fish that are 2-3 inches?

2 inch fish will probably be fine. The closer to 3, the bigger the aggression chance. When you introduce them, you should do it all at once, as well, to minimize aggression to any individual fish. It is also sometimes helpful to re-aquascape and/or introduce the fish after your other fish are asleep.

If your going to keep females allow at least 2-3 per male for each species of male your going to keep. Having just a few females in a tank full of males to bring out breeding color is fine if you want to consider the females sacrificial fish.

Most Mbuna will readily breed with any female in the tank if he doesn't have females of his own species to court. A few lone females in a tank full of males will not have a healthy lifespan and could actually lead to more aggression among the males.

Many males will color up if they feel they have to defend territory. In a crowded all male tank there is almost always someone displaying as a warning to other tank-mates.

No matter how you decide to go just remember you will experience some almost unavoidable losses due to aggression. It's part of what makes Mbuna so unique to those of us that love to keep them.

thanks guys, will their fins always be ripped up?

Not always, but that will vary greatly. For example, I usually see some damage with some of mine around the time spawning takes place.

What species are you going to go with?

well right now i have some yellow labs, aceis, and kenyis.
i just ordered: 2 Flavus, 1 Elongatus Chewere, 2 Yellow Fin Mbamba, 2 Afra Mara Lion, and 1 Red Top Ndumbi.

You might consider dropping the Kenyi. They are highly aggressive and can easily take over a large part of the tank. I had a lone male in an 84g that controlled fully 1/3 of the aquarium for a couple of years and would not allow anybody within his bounds.

The auratus should also come out. They are psycho when they reach maturity and can make life miserable for the other tank mates.

The aceis pretty much get along with everybody and prefer to hang in groups.

I don't know to much about the other species you plan to get. Hopefully someone else can jump in with their experience.

i would definetley like to get rid of the auratus and at least the male kenyi...my females are pretty laid back.
but i dont know what to do with them because my lfs doesnt take trades.

I have never had problems keeping just one male auratus with no females in the tank, but I know most people have bad experiences with them.

If you are keeping the female kenyi, you aren't planning to go all male mbuna? Ordering just two of a species might be a problem. A larger group of each would be better and that way you have a greater chance of getting a working ratio of male to females.

my problem is that i have no where to take my females that i already have, so i was planning on just picking up some females along the way that i thought looked. im not plnning on keeping fry so i thought that if the females were different species than the males it wouldnt really matter.

Is this a bad idea?

Here is a link to help you figure out stocking numbers.
http://www.riftlakecichlids.com/helping-you-get-started-f22/overstocking-numbers-for-mbuna-t217.htm

thanks micheal

Mbuna are notoriously promiscuous.... if they don't have a mate of their own kind they will mate with whatever is available, lol

If you can find some nice I. sprengarae (Rusty cichlids) and some nice yellow labs, they will look good with your Acei. I don't keep Acei, but I have a breeding group of Rusties, and a breeding group of labs with a breeding group of A. latifasciatak, and they all do very well together. They are in a 55, and I even have had bristle nose plecos breed in that tank.
I have plants in there, too, these fish are not diggers, so they do well.
J

cool, thank you