saulosi

[Pez]

What would be the least amount I could keep in a 41 gallon tank with male female ratio 1 male 3 female or 1 male 5 females the tank is not that large and dont want much agression any stocking suggestions would be appreciated Thanks pez

[kaybee]

A 55gal is typically the cited minimum for any mbuna, but a 41gal may grant some lee-way. What's the tank length of a 41gal?

I'm assuming this will be a species tank.

For the least aggression, 1 male and a harem of females (5-8): 1m/5-8f. You could probably attempt 2m/10f. In a larger tank (55gal+) you could increase the quantity of males. In a 41gal, multiple males may be risky. If this is not a species tank, you could go with a 1m/3-4f gender ratio.

If starting out with a group of unsexed juvies you could acquire about a dozen and weed out the most dominant males as they reveal themselves until you work your way down your target quantity of males.

[Pez]

The reason I chose this cichlid was because of their small size my tank is a cube tank that I used for saltwater and I thought the salousi would work well I dont need many fish so the 1 male and say 5 or 6 females would be fine . I want it to be a species specific tank. I hope this will work , also I have some powerful lighting from my saltwater set ups will this be ok or should I tone it down some for the cichlids Thanks pez

[kaybee]

In my opinion, a cube tank isn't the best set up for mbuna's (I wouldn't recommend maintaining matured specimens in anything less than 48" tank length). But it still has the potential to work (given the temperment of size of the species), particularly with lots of rock work. The behavior of the fish, as they mature, will indicate the long-term success of the cube.

Regarding the light, mbuna's are highly-adaptible in that regard. Nothing more than normal output fluorescents is required, but if you've already got the stronger lighting, use it. If they're consistently shy when the lights are on, you may want to tone it down.