# Which African Cichlids can live together?



## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

I have had multiple varieties of freshwater aquariums, but I am new to Cichlids. I am setting up a new 60 gallon and would like to put African Cichlids in this one. I have a lot of questions!!

1. What variety live well together and give me the most colors?

2. How many is best for a 60 gal aquarium?

Thanks for any help!!!


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## rennsport2011 (Oct 21, 2013)

What are the dimensions of your aquarium?


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## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

If I remember correctly, its 50"Lx16"Wx55"H.


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## pfoster74 (May 13, 2012)

if you are looking for a ultra colorful cichlid tank you should consider an all male african cichlid peacock setup. I've always kept mbuna so i would not be able to recommend which peacocks would go together in your tank.


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## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

That's exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks for the info. It gives me a good jumping off point. I didn't know how to word my search.


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## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

*** CORRECTION ***
The dimensions are 48"L x 13"W x 24"H.


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Welcome to C-F! Looks like you're working with a pretty standard sized 55G, though you've got a little extra height. Malawi cichlids depend on the footprint more than any other tank attribute, so although they'll occasionally go to the top, the floor and the rockpiles is where they hang out and establish their territories, and thus the footprint limits how many you can keep. An all male peacock/hap tank is undeniably colorful, but at 48", you will be a bit limited to what you should keep, and you'll end up working hard to keep from getting similar looking species. Not having females is important in keeping their aggression down, but so is non-similar coloration. I'm not a peacock keeper, but there are lots here who are, and who can help you sort out a good stock list for an all male tank.

Mbuna, on the other hand, are generally smaller, and seem to live best in harem groups with 1M to 4-5 F. I failed to mention that most peacock females are fairly drab, which is also true of some Mbuna species, but there are many with nicely colored males and females, and some are dimorphic in that you get a completely different colored male than a female/juvenile. In your 55G, you can generally keep 3 harem groups easily, four is often a bit overcrowded, even with the smaller Mbuna. So, when full grown, you'll probably see about 18-20 fish, max. I stressed about how many fish I could keep too, but in hindsight, 18-23 Mbuna is a LOT in a four foot tank, and I'm never lacking for fish to look at. They are generally active, and keeping harem groups lets you see the cool mouthbrooding behaviors, and imo, watching groups of a species interact in the aquarium is pretty entertaining. I AM a bit biased, being a Mbuna keeper currently, but I love the color and activity. I keep Labidochromis Perlmutts, Pseudotropheus Cyaneorhabdos (maingano) and Metriaclima sp Membe Deeps. Pearl/brown barred, blue/black horiz stripes, and dimorphic blue w/yellow females, respectively. There is no lack of action or color in this tank, although there is no really deep striking reds or greens in Mbuna, unlike the haps and peacocks.

You can go either way, but generally they're not mixed, as they're aggression levels are different, and Mbuna will stress out Hap/Peacocks in most cases, opening them up to disease, which is bad for the whole tank. Lots of info in the forums and library sections here. Once you've got a better idea of what direction you want to go, there is lots of help to get you there!


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