# Newer to Cichlids tips



## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

Hi. I'm newer to the African Cichlid family and to this forum. We have a 90 gal tank with angel catfish and 9 cichlids. Only one for sure type is Acei otherwise no idea what our other ones are. Our tank has always been pretty laid back but couple weeks ago we had sudden death of one.. no bites just died. Since then our tank has seemed little more crazy. We have had a breed for last 6 months. The female was light blue but she had to have been attacked last night and is gone. No idea who is the guilty one. Just wondering do I need more fish? What are the ones we have?


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## thornsja19 (Feb 4, 2017)

Well, treat this as a learning experience. This is why it's best to research ahead of time instead of buying an assortment of randoms and hoping it works. That being said... you have a mix of mbuna and peacock cichlids. In and of itself this is usually destined to fail as mbunas tend to be too aggressive for peacocks and you wind up with all the peacocks either dead or stressed with drab coloring. You also have a very low number of fish for that size tank. African cichlids work best when they're slightly overcrowded in order to spread aggression. So my advice to you would be this... decide which fish you like best and either pick a mbuna tank or a peacock/hap tank. Once you do that, we can help you plan accordingly as to which fish you should rehome, and which other species you can buy/stock up on.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

I'd assume that every single fish in there is a hybrid because that's usually the case with unlabeled "mixed Malawi" tanks. Some may look like a certain species but that doesn't guarantee purity. Never keep just one female with a group of males. The males will kill her if she doesn't show any interest in breeding.


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

Ok. Well we just went off the fish place she picked out the fish saying they would all work together. But got it need to stick to certain kind... how do you tell male female? I'd like to make them all happy healthy.
So we should add more? We didn't because we were told they all need space. I just like the bright colors so which mores have more bright colors. My husband was "giving" me the ocean was the thoughts behind the tank.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

It depends on what species you have, hap and peacock females are generally easy to tell but unless it's a pure Mbuna it may be impossible other than venting the fish. I would avoid that store at all costs, they should not have recommended putting peacocks in with the types of Mbuna you have. Do you want semi peaceful and less action or do you want aggressive and lots of action?


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

I like peaceful. We know the spotted one is female too her mouth had fry 2weeks ago... we have never seen the aggression except the dark blue black with horizontal blue stripes just started chasing different ones otherwise our tank has always been peaceful. 
So to go from here our next step is?


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

It's never going to be completely peaceful with African cichlids, but most haps and peacocks are a lot more laid back and less aggressive than Mbuna. If you want to go that route you will have to get rid of the Mbuna in your tank and if you want a good mix of peacocks then I would avoid getting any females.


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

Ok which on is Mbuna? How do I know I'm getting male peacocks? 
Thanks so much


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Mbuna are a type of African cichlid. The yellow one with vertical stripes, the black one with horizontal blue lines, the two white looking ones and acei are Mbuna. Female peacocks have no pretty colors nor do most hap females. They're usually either brown, gray or silver.


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

So like most animals the males are more vibrant? Is it true males have those egg looking marks on their tails?


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Yes it is true but some species of females have egg spots too.


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

Ok thanks... how many more would be good in a tank this size? Could we add a different type of fish or just stick to cichlids?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like a dozen males in a 48" tank. But you do have to choose them for compatibility. I only see one hap or peacock in your pictures.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> I like a dozen males in a 48" tank. But you do have to choose them for compatibility. I only see one hap or peacock in your pictures.


Actually there's 2 peacocks an OB and what looks to be a ngara and one hap which looks to be some sort of fryeri or protomelas variant. DJ is right about having to choose for compatibility, you can't have too many that look the same and definitely no two males of the same species. Even then it's probably going to require some trading and moving around of fish to get an arrangement that works.


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

Alrighty arranging we will be doing.
Thanks so much


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

No problem and good luck, let us know if you need anything further


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## Strawn30 (Sep 20, 2017)

Ok think I got it too just a Mbuna tank so now I really need more fish. So I don't want more of what's in there correct? What are other Mbuna to mix in?
Thanks 
And forgive me if I've called something wrong just learning all the details


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## thornsja19 (Feb 4, 2017)

The best way to do mbuna is to limit the number of species and for each species have a proper M:F ratio (standard is 1:4 but the more aggressive species require more females). So for a 90 gal tank pick 4 species you like, maybe 5 depending on which you choose, and stock each species with 1M:4F. Now it's pretty hard to sex mbuna accurately when they're juveniles, so what a lot of people do is buy 10 juveniles of each species and then remove the extra males as they mature and reveal themselves


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

The best advice I can give is to find some Mbuna you like, do a little research on them and come back with a new list and we'll amend it for you. It's better if you take part in the whole process so you end up with what you really want and you learn something about the fish you're keeping.


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