# And another 180 gallon Mbuna stocking thread.



## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Hi Cichlid Forum.

Im a veteran fishkeeper, and I've usually kept planted community tanks from 5-40 gallons. Bought a new house 2 months ago, and had some room for a bigger tank, and my wife gave the go-ahead for a 75 gallon tank. Of course I wanted bigger, but she was apprehensive. So I picked up started the 75 gallon tank as a Malawi Mbuna setup, she loves it, and agrees that we should have gone bigger. So I'm going to pick up a 180 gallon in a few days, and now I need some advice.

When I started the 75 gallon, I just did a cursory search and read about how well Mbuna work in an African community tank. So armed with that knowledge, I went out and over a week or two picked up about 30 mostly Mbuna, and went from there. After I got them all into the tank, and settled down some after all of my big initial move-in projects, I had some more time to read, and have since spent a couple dozen hours reading/watching videos etc... and have discovered that my initial stocking isn't exactly the best combo of fish long term. I have about 1/4 adult fish, and 3/4 juveniles. They all get along fairly well at the moment, but I'm assuming that as the juveniles mature, I might be looking at a blood bath.

Anyhow, after I get the 180 all set up and running(with plenty of structure and hiding places), I'd like some advice on which fish from the list I should remove, which to keep, and suggestions for more to add on. Im figuring on slightly overstocking, and ending up with maybe 40-50 cichlids, and a few others that I will list below.

So my current stock list.(most of these came from "assorted african cichlid" tanks, and I've done my best to identify them, and sex a few of them, fairly certain that I've done so pretty accurately)

1 - Adult female Red Zebra
1 - Juvenile Red zebra
2 - juvenile orange blotch red zebra
1 - Adult Albino red zebra(this one can't go away, it's my wife's)
1 - Juvenile Snow white zebra(not 100% on the ID of this one)
3 - Adult yellow Labs
4 - Juvenile yellow labs
3 - Juvenile P.Crabro bumblebee
1 - Adult male P. cyaneorhabdos Maingano
1 - Adult male Cobalt Blue Zebra. - He is the largest at about 6" and is the tank boss, with the maingano in second.
5 - Juvenile P. Acei
1 - Juvenile Kenyi
5 - Juvenile Auratus
2 - Juvenile Albino Auratus

Non-Cichlid Species

1 - 7" albino Bristlenose pleco

1 - 5" synodontis nigriventris

1 - 3" common pleco

So there is what I currently have. I'm pretty set on adding 3 clown loaches, and keeping the 2 plecos and the syno. Aside from that, I am totally open to suggestion.

I am kind of figuring that the auratus, and probably the Kenyi will all have to go.

I would like to keep the yellow labs and the acei(maybe adding 2-3 more acei), and then build from there.

A a veteran of the hobby, but totally newb to cichlids, I'm kind of embarassed to have to post this thread, and to have bought a few incompatible fish, but I am happy to learn and take any input or suggestions you have to offer.

FWIW, water parameters, scape and hiding places are all under control, and tank will be overfiltered as I have always done in the hobby.

Thanks for your help, and sorry for the wall of text.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

One fish I'm very interested in is the Jalo reef, or something similar in appearance. Would they be compatible with the acei and labs?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What are the dimensions of your tank?

Are you going for all male with one of each and no look alikes?

Or mixed gender groups. For this you want 1m:4f of the peaceful ones and 1m:7f of the aggressive ones. Smaller number of species, but can't tell until we have the length of your tank.

For my 72" tank I like 5 species.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Standard 180 gallon, 72"x24"x24"


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

And I think I'll be going with mixed genders.


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## Kevin in Ky (Dec 31, 2013)

Welcome Bullets! This will be a very interesting thread. My first question.. will you also be keeping the 75g, or getting rid of it when the 180 is ready?

..Yes, the Jalo Reef would be great with the Yellow Labs and Acei.

I agree on getting rid of the Auratus and the Kenyi..and would add the Crabro (Bumblebee) to the get rid of list also.

I would be tempted to get rid of the Red Zebra also,..if you like the Yellow Labs (I wouldn't keep both together..i.e. crossbreeding etc.)..plus there are SO many great Metialclima types to choose from, I would take a look at all of those and choose a great one for a 180g!Leave the Red Zebra in the 75g if the wife insists.

Also the Maingano would go great in that mix in the 180g.. giving you the Y-Labs, the Acei, a Jalo Reef (Cyno. Zebroides), the Maingano and then a Metriaclima group. You could probably add a 6th species in that size tank (possibly a Labeotropheus type).

I wouldn't do the Clown Loaches personally (Never kept them but I think they get pretty big don't they?). I really like the groups of African catfish that I have,..as much as the Mbuna groups. They are awesome,..so take a look at those also. Maybe leave the Plecos in the 75g if you keep it. Here are the kind I keep.. Synodontis lucipinnis ''Dwarf Petricola''

Good luck! I will be interested in seeing where this thread goes..and look forward to seeing pics of the tank all set up!I would really consider ordering your fish from a good online vendor. You will have a much wider range of Cichlids to choose from and get much higher quality fish. It's worth the extra money for shipping.. I promise.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Good advice...clown loaches grow to 13", like to be in groups of six or more and have different water requirements. It can work but it's not ideal.


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## Aaron S (Apr 4, 2015)

Given what you have said, my suggestion would be to keep:

Yellow labs
Acei
Albino red zebra (if its your wife's favorite, there is no compromise here)
Maingano
cobalt zebra (This one you could change out for your jalo's and it would be totally fine)

For each of these, you would want to get more of each fish to fill out the tank - probably just go for 10 of each fish.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Thanks for all of the feedback so far. So I went to pick the tank up today, after driving over an hour to go get it. I had even confirmed the size with the guy before leaving, and I get there and it's not a 180. Turns out that it's a custom size 145 gallon. 72 x 18 x 26. Was really liking the idea of having a nice 24" depth to give them some real swimming room, but at the price I got the tank and stand, I bought it anyway. The 26" height should look stunning in the space it's going in to. I am now left with the challenge of rethinking my scape though, as I was going to go with a deep 3D diy background, and nice rock structures in the middle, but losing the 6" I'm just going to paint the back and do rock work. This will likely slightly change the stocking as well.

Anyway, with that update, I appreciate all of the feedback and suggestions so far. I will likely skip the clown loaches at this point. The Kenyi and auratus will definitely not go in here. Considering my other options now based on the suggestions so far. Any recommendations on a circulation pump for a 72" tank? I have a hydor nano 565 gph in the 75 gallon, but that won't give me enough oomph to help keep my substrate clean all the way across. Also I'm debating a UGJ system as well.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Photo of the tank and stand. Of course it was super dirty when I received it. Currently leak testing in the garage.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Tank is getting there. Painted the back of the tank. Moved the 75G today. UGJ is in and I need one more bag of substrate. Picture from just before I finished the substrate I had on hand. 20 lbs of crushed coral and maybe 40-50 lbs of gravel.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

bullets said:


> ... and it's not a 180. Turns out that it's a custom size 145 gallon. 72 x 18 x 26.


I think this will change the number of fish you will be able to keep at adult size so I'll let other experienced members chime in.


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

It shouldn't change all that much with Mbuna or peacocks but certain haps would be excluded because of the narrower width. The length of the tank is the main factor in play as far as how many species and what types.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Thank you for the help! With everyone's feedback, I've basically settled on 6 Mbuna species, plus the plecos and 1 syno.

Going with 
9 acei
8 yellow labs
8 Jalo reef 2 m 6 f
5 Maingano 1 m 4 f
5 cobalt blue metriaclima 1 m 4 f
And the 5 zebras

I will be ordering the rest how these guys do moving forward. If the tank ends up too crowded, I may get the go ahead from the wife to set the 5 zebras up in a smaller tank, as I have a 40 breeder and 29 gal sitting around extra.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

If anyone sees any issues with the above I'm still open to feedback.

Picture of the tank as it is now. 85% done. Still need an additional light, glass canopies, and the fake driftwood to the left is just a placeholder for the time being.
All the auratus and the kenyi are separated now, and will be on their way to a new home soon, and the bumblebees will also be going away soon as well.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

For mbuna the driftwood side is too open.

Zebras and callainos are both metriaclima...I would not mix them. 29G way too small, as bare breeder tank for one species of zebra you might get away with the 40.

I'd choose either callainos or acei...both mid blue.

1m:4f on the Jalo...two males rarely work because they focus on each other.

1m:7f on the maingano...these are aggressive.


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

Well on the plus side, convinced my wife to keep the 75. So that gives me a lot more options. I ordered the stock I mentioned above and am now weighing my options as far what to put where.

So far in the 75 I have 5 auratus, 2 albino auratus, 3 crabro, 1 kenyi, and 1 pleco. Thinking that I will probably pull the callainos out of the big tank and put them in the smaller one for now and see how both tanks do. I will probably still end up selling the auratus at some point then who knows. I'm going to leave the 75 lightly stocked so that I have flexibility in the future.


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## FireHorn123 (Apr 16, 2017)

Why not do a Peacock and Hap tank?


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## bullets (Aug 9, 2017)

That's exactly what I was thinking. Probably give it a go with the stock that I have for a few months, and if the maintenance on these two bigger tanks plus my nano tank isn't too much work for my schedule, that will be a good winter project. Sell off or trade in the current stock once they get some size to them, and go for an all male hap/peacock, a single species colony, or maybe two species. If they end up breeding my nano tank would make a nice fry tank.


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