Lake malawi hybrid chiclids

Question
hi,
i currently have around 120 gallon of fresh/ brack water. my question involves my 55 gallon home to 3 lake Malawi's( 1 albino named blonde-e, one yellow electric hybrid named creeper and one purple striped one named the symbol of Austin powers ((maleness symbol, i wouldn't let my little bro name him the symbol of prince, lol)) well ne way. i feed my cichlids flake food, sinking algae pellets, live guppies (endel ender something like that) and i let them pick at my anarchist, which they don't do to much. well is it ok to feed them the guppies? i hear good and bad, and the most of the bad is that they are not raise by the person so parisite are a risk. as i said my guppies i raise my self and also let a school of them live in the tank so babies are born for a snack, they love it. im not new to the art/hobby/life style. just trying to set something straight. also i have neve raised these guy's. many other fish but this is my first with Africian cichlids. also my tank is heavely planted and i was wondering if i could put in 2 more of these guy's. they get suposedly to 6 inch's, but most people say 4 is more the norm, is tht true? in the wild i have heard of area's around that lake to contain up too 25 fish per sqaure meter of water!! wow!! so would five of all haveing different colors be fine? i will not use red because creeper attacks anything red. he is about 2.5 inch's base to tip of mouth. so really any helpful hint would be great.

Answer
Hi Phil,
I see no reason why you shouldn't feed your Ciclids feeder guppies, seeing as you are breeding them.  If they were bought from other sources, I would definitely be careful, and not feed them guppies or feeder fish that come from Pet Stores.  Most, as you know are filled with disease.  I'm kind of sensitive when it comes to feeding fish to other fish.  I really can't do it - lol  Bloodworms, and frozen foods, are good enough for me!  
You could add two more fish to your tank, but make sure they are females.  I have seen a few massacres, and it really isn't funny to see.  You must re-arrange your tanks hiding places, and add two more, and hope for the best.  Breeding African Cichlids is lots of observation, and you should remove the female once the spawn is over, providing her with a 15+ gallon tank.  They do grow to 3-4 inches.  They are mouthbrooders.  They are not as aggressive as other African cichlids, and should be kept with less aggressive fish.  In their habitat they have lots of rocky formations, hiding places...It is not the same in a lake as it is in an aquarium.  We try our best to give them rocky formations, hiding places, but we cannot overstock out tanks.  Adding one teaspoon of aquarium salt to your water is helpful, and there is also special salt for African Cichlids...I don't know if this would hurt your plants though.  I don't know much about live plants.  I have bred many Afican Cichlids, and it is a challenge, it's like I said observation is the key.  Always 2-3 females for one male.  The female looks after the fry.
Hope this helps
Lynda