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I currently have a 90 gal. mbuna tank with 4 yellow labs, 4 blue cobalts, 3 red zebras, and 2 albino soccolofi. They're still juvenile. A couple of weeks ago I lost 2 acei and 3 bumblebees to ich. I've treated the tank with temp and salt and seem to have the ich licked(sorry).
I want to wait 2 more weeks to make sure, but than I think I want to add something else. I think I'm sort of in that gray area where the tank may either have too many or not enough to control aggression. 1. Should I add more fish?
2. What additional species would work out? I kind of like the c. afra species, but don't know if I'm asking for agression from the blue cobalts due to coloration similarities. I like the idea of something with a barred pattern instead of solid colors, but maybe different from the bumblebee.
Looking for some ideas guys....

Last edited by fishfool35 at 04-May-2005 11:06

Ihave an mbuna tank also with the same fish except the soccolofi.I've find that the kenyi,auratus,and johanni have made nice additions to my tank.All have stripes.The only aggression is during breeding and is pretty much limited to the pair which are breeding at the time.Others also suggest a few haps for added color but i didnt want to the mix them because the haps in my other tank like llive foods now n again.Pictus also make an excellent addition with mbunas

Be very careful adding kenyi,auratus,and johanni they are very agressive mbunas. Some great looking afras are the cobues. They are more of a yellow and purple than the other blue afras.

If it were me, I would "up" the groups you already have. Since they are juvies they are hard to "sex". Get more of each group, let them grow until you know the M/F ratios,and then look to add other species if your still interested. Keep in mind out of the 4 groups you have, the red zebras "could" become quite aggressive. For most Mbuna do well in 1M/4-6F or 2M/7-10F ratios. You could also add a nice M peacock or Hap now, to let them grow with the Mbuna, if you desire more color. Dont forget about the bottom. Synodontis catfish are a "must" for any African cichlid tank. 90g's is very flexible, although they are usually fairly tall for most cichlids. Taller stacks of rock, would give you more "territory". Good luck.

I would not recommend adding haps to that mbuna tank, especially peacocks. Peacocks do not usually fair well with the more aggressive mbunas.

i aggree that you should get more of what you already have. the more species groups you try to get in there the harder it is going to be to manage.