# PLEASE HELP!!! How Many?



## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

How many individual fish can I put into a new All Male Malawi 60 gal (48"x13" footprint), if the max size for each is between 5" and 6"?
I don't want to overcrowd, but I also do not want to encourage fighting.

Also, any recommendations on species of the 5"-6" max range that go well together, preferably mbuna and peacocks?

I am new to cichlids and don't want to start off with a disaster!!!


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## Ramseydog14 (Dec 31, 2013)

I will take a shot at this and give you some general advice that has helped me. That is a nice size tank but may not be quite big enough for you if you want to do Peacocks, as they get quite a bit bigger than most Mbuna. Not that you can't do Peacocks in that size tank but you may not be able to do very many. Read articles from the library section here and they will give you all of the reasoning and whys and why nots with Mbuna and/or Peacocks and Haps etc. As a rule you don't want to mix Mbunas with Peacocks due to aggression level and hyper activity of the Mbuna,..as it stresses out and eventually kills the Peacocks, unless you have a really large tank with a lot of open water area. There are several Haps that do well with Peacocks but these get big also.

With your tank I would recommend Mbuna, since they stay on the smaller side,..most less than 6" max and closer to 4-5".
Doing an all male Mbuna tank in a 48" width setup is possible I guess, but you will be really limited in the number of total fish you have since you want to pick only dissimilar looking species/males,..and unless you want to custom order each fish as a guaranteed Male (which is rare to find offered) you may have a hard time finding any selection.

I would go with a 'Harem' style tank with 2 main species and a possible 3rd..depending on what your first 2 selections are.
There is also a "cookie-cutter" setup area on this site that recommends combinations based on your tank size etc., so check that out also. If you can order your fish by mail and aren't limited in selection,..look at the species-profiles section here and scroll down and look at the list of all the Mbunas with their information and pictures. I would recommend around 15-20 total fish. Personally (only) I would go with Yellow-Labs (1-2 males/4-5 females),.. Cyno Zebroides (White Top) Hara (1 male / 4-5 females),.. and either Rusties (1 male 3-4 females) OR Lab sp. Perlmutt (1 male 3-4 females)

I think either of those combinations would be awesome and would work well..but are by no means your only choices, just what I would pick if I were stocking it. Getting your male/female ratios the way you want will take some time and money but it is well worth it to pay it up front and try to get your stock as close as possible from the start,..but it's best to get too many and then "rehome" extra males. Again, these are just my opinions on your stocking choices. I hope it helps some and good luck!


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## Burner460 (Jul 24, 2014)

48x13 sounds an awful lot like a 55G. If thats the case, your options are somewhat limited to 2-3 species.


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## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

It does have a 48"x13" footprint, but it is 24" tall. Its basically a 55g with a little extra height.


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

smiller613 said:


> It does have a 48"x13" footprint, but it is 24" tall. Its basically a 55g with a little extra height.


Height isn't really useful when it comes to mbuna. I would stock similar to a 55 or 75.


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## Burner460 (Jul 24, 2014)

james1983 said:


> smiller613 said:
> 
> 
> > It does have a 48"x13" footprint, but it is 24" tall. Its basically a 55g with a little extra height.
> ...


+1 on this, i'd stock as a 55. Depth is more important than height, and some would argue even more important than length.


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## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

I'm leaning toward a 55g harem stocking. Thanks for all the advise!!


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## scooter31707 (Aug 24, 2012)

3 species max. some options could be Rusties, Saulosi, and White Labs. you have 3 species and 4 colors.


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## smiller613 (Aug 3, 2014)

scooter31707 said:


> 3 species max. some options could be Rusties, Saulosi, and White Labs. you have 3 species and 4 colors.


I am not familiar with White Labs.


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## Ramseydog14 (Dec 31, 2013)

Labidochromis caeruleus Nkhata Bay ''White Lab''

I've not kept them but several of the site-sponsor / online dealers have them. They would be a great alternative to the Yellow-Labs, to go along with the Saulosi (Bright yellow females),..to avoid cross-breeding due to both being yellow.
You wouldn't want to keep the Yellow and the White Labs together either.


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## africasdeadliest_88 (Aug 14, 2014)

Its not impossible African cichlids are aggressive fish but it still takes awhile for the to accualy kill each other its not as extreme given that all your fish is around the same size hopefully. The cichlids are more aggressive when its time to breed not food. Pay attention to your fish its not hard to see who your dominant male and males are trying to breed with remove them from your tank give it to some one that breeds. The key is paying attention remove the females replace with males but you are still limited to how many because of the size of your tank


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