# How many cichlids in a 90 gallon tank?



## anythingfishylady1

Hi, I'm sure this has been asked a million times, but i can't find any posts that pertain to my question in particular, so i'm wondering how many african cichlids, not dwarfs, can i put into my 90 gallon tank? I have ten now, because i read that you should have at least ten to spread the aggression around a bit, but they are so beautiful and i would love to have more, so how many? thanks for looking!









my babies


----------



## bearded lab

If you are talking about mbuna, which is what the species in your picture are, I'd say 18-24. Bear in mind that this is a rough estimation in every sense of the word, and if you are going to have demasoni (which is the blue one in your pic, and considered by many to be dwarfs, so you may not be keeping them), then more than that. I completely understand that you need at least a general number, just please know that it is not exact and depends on many factors such as water changes, feeding, filtration, etc.


----------



## 702Cichlid

What are the dimensions of your 90? That will really make all the difference as footprint is more important than total volume.


----------



## shaguars7

well i am sure the 90 will be 48x18x24 .... i think it will depend if you plan on having all different fish and also how aggressive they will all be. I know auratus which is in that pic is never mentioned to be a pushover.


----------



## anythingfishylady1

OK, Shags demensions are correct, i have two emperor 400 filters, and weekly 25% changes. I didn't know that the demasoni's were dwarf's!! but after a little research it looks like some people do consider them as such! so if i have to i will move the two i have into another tank. The mbuna's are the one's i am interested in. I've actually been wanting to add some of the red top guys, and 'bearded lab' your number is great! A general guestimate is perfect, i just don't want to have so many that people will tell me that i am keeping an irresponsible number of them in one tank. So i'll probably go with the lower side of the estimate and stick with 19-20. thank you


----------



## anythingfishylady1

Here is a tentative list of my current cichlids, if you have any suggestions about what i should add

3 albino socolofi 2 male 1 female
2 cobalt blue's (mbuna) 1 male 1 female (i think)
2 Demasoni's 1 male 1 female
3 Auratus's 2 female 1 male

gender is tentative, i did vent them all, but i am new to it and was terrified to hurt them. But I am about 80% sure that I have them right.

I also think that i should have a higher female to male ratio? but am not sure? I am not interested in breeding them, but i do want them to be happy and not mad at each other all of the time. I've already had to break up the male and female albino.


----------



## bearded lab

I don't think you have nearly enough females in there, and for the demasoni you need at least 12, because of their aggression toward their own species. The auratus are also very aggressive, too, and you might have a problem with 2 male socolofi, unless you have a lot of females. I am not saying your mix wouldn't work, rather that you will need a more experienced person to give you specific advice on the species. That being said, if you add more females to your existing groups, you might be just fine. Best of luck!


----------



## shaguars7

well if you are 80% correct about your venting then what i would do is just get more of what you have. I would get 2 or 3 more socolofi and 3 or 4 more cobalts and the same for the auratus. if you are going to keep demasoni i would get atleast 6 more, but 8 more would be much better. The auratus will be the trouble makers likey in the end with other tankmates...


----------



## anythingfishylady1

that's what i was thinking, more of the same, i bought my guys from the LFS and the people working there were asking ME questions about the fish, so i had no idea of weather or not i was getting a male or a female with any of them besides the obvious auratus. So more of the same, but female. Going to order special from a website this time though, as they seem more able to send a preference of male or female.


----------



## allgoodh

Was wondering the same thing anythingfishylady1


----------

