I’d prefer an idea of what you already have before I recommend – ‘African’ is a term that covers cichlids from all over Africa and includes many extremely uncompatible fish. Is it a Tanganyikan community? Malawi aggressive mbuna? Malawi mild mbuna? Mild hap? Aggressive hap? Riverine type?
My favourate type of ‘African’ tank for colour and activity is a mild Malawi mbuna tank, that way constant juggling of aggression isn’t an issue. These tanks look best with larger groups of less species, even though the beginner reaction is to get as much ‘variety’ as possible. My own 75 gallon Malawi tank contains 8 Labidochromis Caeruleus, 10 Psudotropheus Acei, and 6 Synodontis Multipunctatus and with tons of limerock across the tank it is a stunning setup, and the two types of fish look amazing together – no need to stuff in more species.
My second favourate type is the Tanganyikan community, but this is more for fish character and unique behaviour – in these setups the fish require more room, so the tank ends up emptier, and the plainness of the fish has less impact as far as showing off the tank is concerned. stocking must be considered very carefully with these guys. My last setup had a pair of Altolamprologus Calvus, 6 Multifasciatus shell dwellers, a pair of Leleupi, and a school of 10 cyprochromis, though I was forced to take this one down through circumstance, the setup did work, but I’ve heard of leleupi causing trouble for multifasciatus.
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