breeding mbunas

Question
i have five labidochromis caeruleus all about 6 months old 2 are slightly older. i am pretty sure that 2 are male and 3 are female. i have been trying to breed them for three months with no luck. i even have a pair of south american cichlids that have bred in the same tank so i must be doing something right. i feed them frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms four times a week. i have also fed them grass shrimp and minnows. the rest of the time they get tetramin flakes. i change out 25% of their water 1-2 times a week. pH is about 8.0 constantly. a month ago i filled half the tank to the top with small lava rocks and created as many caves as possible. all of the other water conditions are always perfect. i have read a few books and filled the tank halfway with colder water that resulted in an immediate 5 degree temperature drop. even this didnt work. i dont know what else to do. any suggestions you can offer would help tremendously. besides the 7 fish i talked about i have 5 other mbunas an algae eater and an albino shark. do you think this is too many fish for a 55 gallon long aquarium? should i fill the entire tank with rocks? please help me.

Answer
Hi Greg,
I am so sorry i havent replied sooner, and thank you for your qustion i dont get many mbuna qustions.


Your tank conditions seem perfect the only thing is that your labidochromis caeruleus are not yet breeding size. They should be at least 3 in. and then they should breed. Once they are breeding size you should also consider the following:

-Do water changes every week(15%).
-make sure you have a execlent filter that filters up to your tank size.
-Have plenty of rocks and hiding place.
-And keep the pH at 8.0, you can also try raising the pH up and down but dont go under 8.0 and dont go higher tham 8.4.

Good Luck

Logan