African Cichlid Malawi Community

[PuddingTime]

I have decided That my SW tank will be but on hold for the year until we move (if we move).  But since I am about to get a 50g with stand I am not going to leave it empty right... So I am starting a malawi community.  I think the overstock method to spread out aggression makes for a much imore interesting tank.  The fish I would like to keep are:

1m/3f  Labidochromis caeruleus (yellow lab)
1m/3f  Sciaenchromis fryeri (taiwanee reef) (electric blue)
1m/3f  Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan"
and a pleco of some sort

Now is this too many?
Will the electric blue be too aggresive?
What about a peacock of some sort?
What other malawi are available locally? (yellow lab are everywhere)
Are there any other good combos for the Labidochromis?

The more I read on the net especially in other forums the more confused I get.

thanks for any help.

What kind of pleco?

[DARKPHREAK]

Make sure you have ALOT of fry tanks...

[PuddingTime]

Yeah I know I think I may make a fry tower out of a few 20g that always go on sale here.  

[Tim]

WOuld the adults eat the fry?

[DARKPHREAK]

When we had Pseudotropheus demasoni only the males/older fry would try and eat the latest batch. Having fry every 2-3 weeks is the only reason why we dont keep africans anymore, that and the extra fry tanks all over the place.

[gvv]

WOuld the adults eat the fry?

As I have mbuna the answer is: they could eat but just of curiosity, they will not hunt specially. I also ended with a lot of Labeotropheus Fuelliborni in the show tank, after reused to get them from mothers...
But here you have Sciaenchromis which is not a vegetarian. As it is written here about Sciaenchromis:
"Food:
It's best fed with shrimpmix and mysis but the most food are accepted, however. In the lake it's feeding on small fishes, especially fry's from Copadichromis and Protomelas are appreciated but also mbunas are accepted."
Concerning your list - it is 12 large fish per 50G :?  Also after I had an experience, I wouldn't mix mbuna and others any more, as you always need to take care when feeding them and they prefer different diet.
Regards

[PuddingTime]

So then if I want to keep the fish I will have to get them early or let the blues get them hehe.  If my wife ever saw an older fish eating a fry she would be very upset.  Looks like I may become a cichlid factory.  She even gets upset if a snail dies when I prune the 20g planted tank.

[pegasus]

I sold my pair of Sciaenchromis fryeri last weekend because it was interbreeding with all my Aulonocara and Protomelas.

BTW all my tanks are of mix of Tangs & Malawi so...    

I had always said that africans were so easy to keep but it's just pond on me that I had forgot to take into consideration the fact that you need more than one tank, specialy when two fish are at each other.