# Least aggressive and most aggressive of the Mbuna



## lotsofish

What Mbuma are least aggressive and which are the most aggressive?

I know that yellow labs are not very aggressive.


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## noki

Pseudotropheus "Acei" , Rusty, and Yellow Labidochromis always seem to be the mellowest common Mbuna.

Melanochromis species always tend to be very obnoxious, can be a pain in the behind. Do best in large groups.

Crabro have a bad rep and overgrow absurdly in captivity
Kenyi (m. lombardoi) have a bad rep, I think somewhat because so many people buy them for too small of tanks.

All mbuna can be aggressive. Most are best kept in a crowded tank. One of the big problems is that a lot of the Mbuna that are very attractive as juveniles can become a big problem when adults, many becoming much less attractive to boot.


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## DJRansome

Maybe yellow labs most peaceful and Auratus most aggressive?


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## Joea

The nastiest, most aggressive mbuna I've ever kept were _Tropheops _sp. "Chilumba". These guys made _M. auratus_ look like guppies.

They weren't just aggressive in a territorial sense, the male I had just seemed angry and wanted to kill anything and everything in the tank. He used to attack filter intake!

I've always found _Ps_. sp. "acei" to be the most passive of mbuna. _Labidochromis textilis_ are supposed to be very peaceful, but I've never kept them.


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## smellsfishy1

Melanochromis species are NASTY! All of them! Demasoni, socolofi, fuelleborni can also be relentless. Yellow labs are very nice and my experience with red zebras and blue cobalts are not so bad. Always remember though that if a fish resembles another, it could make for a problem. So stock with that in mind as well as potential adult sizes and size of tank as well as setup of the tank.


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## dementedarego

Labeotropheus Fuellebornii, are not aggressive, when in comparison to Trewavasae, in my experience. *many times it just depends on each individual fish*. We have afra cobues and E.B. Johannis that arent aggressive also.


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## Lioncov

I would just like to add that all mbuna behave much better if they are kept in groups. One male and a couple of females at least. Trouble begins when you have two males of this and a female of another etc. If you are stocking unsexable size fish go with 5 or 6 and cull out extra males as they grow until you wind up with groups of 1 male and 2 to 3 females. I agree with the other comments as far as the usual suspects for bad behavior but you can never tell who is going to turn out to be a terror. I had a Yellow Lab male once that was a very nasty dude, even in a 125 gal tank. Agressive and Mbuna go hand and hand but a lot of rock work and a well stocked tank helps. Hope this helps


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## BurgerKing

females are almost always nice fish but *can* be plain in color. most labs are pretty good, as long as they have caves, food, and sexy ladies, lol. I'd stay away from melanochromis. Try to make two trips to a LFS before buy a fish, the first time for finding fish you like, go home and research them then make another trip to buy them. I'm pretty new to cichlids and so far i've learned everything i just said.


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## JDman

smellsfishy1 said:


> Melanochromis species are NASTY! All of them! Demasoni, socolofi, fuelleborni can also be relentless. Yellow labs are very nice and my experience with red zebras and blue cobalts are not so bad. Always remember though that if a fish resembles another, it could make for a problem. So stock with that in mind as well as potential adult sizes and size of tank as well as setup of the tank.


 I wouldnt say socolofis are nasty but the others you mention are pretty mean. !TERRITORIAL! Red Zebra can kinda be aggressive as well but probably the least of any aggressive mbuna. Yellow Labs, Cobalts, Acei, socolofis are good fish to keep from my experience. My P. saulosi's arent that bad either but i wouldnt risk with peacful fish unles you have a good sized tank. :thumb:  :fish:


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## Variable

lotsofish said:


> What Mbuma are least aggressive and which are the most aggressive?
> 
> I know that yellow labs are not very aggressive.





lotsofish said:


> What Mbuma are least aggressive and which are the most aggressive?
> 
> I know that yellow labs are not very aggressive.


In my experience, it is important to understand that poor water quality can affect the attitude of fish making them seem more or less aggressive than "normal". So the basis for any discussion on behavior might assume good water quality when the opposite may be true.


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## marten

How do Chindongo Saulosi stack against with Labs and Acei? Obviously you wouldn’t stock them with Labs, but in terms of aggression towards tank mates?


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## EricTheRed

I have successfully kept and bred yellow labs and raised Acei as well. I agree they are only mildly aggressive, unlike most mbuna. I have never had saulosi but am now interested in them after seeing a number of favorable threads about them on this forum. I would think you could successfully keep these three species together in a 75 gallon or larger tank since all are relatively mild mannered as long as you were willing to remove any of the larger labs or Acei if they became too aggressive.


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## marten

EricTheRed said:


> I have successfully kept and bred yellow labs and raised Acei as well. I agree they are only mildly aggressive, unlike most mbuna. I have never had saulosi but am now interested in them after seeing a number of favorable threads about them on this forum. I would think you could successfully keep these three species together in a 75 gallon or larger tank since all are relatively mild mannered as long as you were willing to remove any of the larger labs or Acei if they became too aggressive.


The trouble would be cross breeding between Labs and Saulosi


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## DJRansome

IDK if labs and saulosi would crossbreed, but it would be a LOT of yellow. I would not mix them, but only for aesthetic reasons.


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## Colzilla090

Are you planning on getting acei or do you have them already? Saulosi, pure labs and white tail acei would look mint.
Are the males blue with saulosi?
I'd say there all around sa.e temperament.
Normally pick fights with there own, although labs can get nasty.


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