I would asks the pet shops if they would like to buy some of the
larger babies or at least trade for some food or other things for our
hobby. This may make it a self supporting hobby (at least
financially).

--- In American_Cichlid_Association@yahoogroups.com, "phyl303"
<phyl303@...> wrote:
>
> I have a 55 gallon of mixed Malawi cichlids. I started with 10
> juveniles almost 3 years ago. This quickly settled to 5 who
survived
> to adulthood. One adult is missing - I assume fully eaten or dead
> well inside an ornamental item. ??
>
> I was unsure of species until recently when I was googling to
diagnose
> a perceived problem that turned out to be a brooding kenyi mom. So
> now I know I have a female kenyi who is ~3 inches long, a male
kenyi
> almost twice her size and two other species adults between thos two
> sizes.
>
> So, Mama Kenyi whelped about 5, then almost immediately brooded
> another set. Now I have the four adults described above and 10-12
> juvenile kenyi, who still present as female coloration. They are
> growing so fast! Most are at least an inch long and are brave
enough
> to swim in open water "with the big boys." If a similar percentage
to
> original stock mature to adulthood, I'll have 10 and if they all
make
> it, I'll have 17 adults. (And that's if there are no further
fries!)
>
> That's more that 100 inches of fish in 55 gallons!
>
> What is a good guideline on tank population? Is the inch a gallon
> really the best rule of thumb?
>
> If I need to cull, any suggestions? I guess I should call pet
stores
> to see if they will take/buy them. I didn't get in this to breed,
> just a hobby.
>
> I have two other tanks in the house: a 30 gallon with just a few
> platies and dannis; My son has a 10 gallon with the same. I guess
I
> could convert one of those to a second cichlid tank but not sure if
I
> want to.
>
> I didn't mean to write an opus for my first post! Thanks for
reading
> it.
>
> phyl
> SC
> (we also have an outdoor container tank/water garden with comets
and a
> 150 gallon pond with a variety of things. Of course, we are always
> planning the next bigger and better, too!
>