Help with compatibility/new tank

[ritzgirl34]

I'm converting from tetras to Malawi cichlids in my 55 gallon tank. I've got it down to there:

Labidochromis caeruleus "electric yellow"
Cynotilapia afra blue reef
Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos Maingano

Do these go well together? How many of each kind/sex should I have?

Would it be possible to throw in a few ruby reds as well or would that be too many?

[joe kool]

those should be fine ... "maingano" get a little testy by nature, they would be the more aggressive of the group you mentioned. something a little less agressive would be your pea**************** cichlids but thats' just a suggestion ... 4 or 5 of each would be OK but cull down to 1 male in each to keep the tension down.

ruby red .. you mean the barb? if so they stay too small I like to use giant danios or rosy barbs for target fish

if not what do you mean by ruby red?

[malawi4me2]

I think that it sounds like a good mix for a 55g. If you mean a "Ruby Red Pea****************" (from my understanding a hybrid...), they probably shouldn't be kept with the mbuna. Many people keep Haps/Pea****************s and mbuna together successfully (usually in larger tanks, though), but because mbuna are so much more aggressive I personally don't recomend it.

[ritzgirl34]

Yea, I meant the Aulocarna ruby reds (think they're also called rubescens?).

Since those don't seem to go well, do you have any suggestions of something around the same colors? The others I picked are all blues and yellows so I was looking for a little bit more variety color-wise.

[malawi4me2]

Well... There's M. estherae ("Red Zebra"). They're really aggressive, but I think they'd do well in your tank. (Still, only one male of each species.) In combination with your M. cyaneorhabdos , you'll have to watch the aggression. Someone with more experience with mbuna may have more suggestions. (I haven't kept mbuna in several years...)

[ritzgirl34]

Could someone reccommend me a scavenger (or do cichlids generally not leave any food uneaten)?

Plecos in general creep me out. Is there anything else I could put in there instaed? Or a pleco that's not so gross looking as most of them are?

[joe kool]

Synodontis cats make a good scavenger as some of them even use the cichlids as "incubators" for their fry (kind of a parasitic relationship) (the "cookoo catfish" synodontis multipunctatus is the most recognizable fo rthis behavior) the rubescence like malawi4me2 said are usually a little more low key then most of the mbunda.

the C. Boryeli and "red empress" will hold there own and are red and blue in coloration.

An adult trio (male and 2 or more females) with enough tank space will do ok with the mbunda so its' not out of the question. just know the mbunda will rule the roost

[malawi4me2]

My Copadichromis borleyi are the two most non-aggressive fish in my tank! Even my juvie female O. lithobates (she's the smaller of the two females at about 1 3/4") picks on my male C. borleyi (he's a little over 5" long).

[Lisachromis]

You don't need to have a scavenger in the tank if you don't like them. Just clean your gravel well when you do water changes (that is, if you have gravel! ).