stocking African cichlid tank

Question
hi,  i justgot a 55gallon tamk fow my b-day and im definitley going to make it a african cichlid tank it already has alot of lava rock and some other decor (been running for 3 weeks). im going to stock it now but have heard such a variaty of #'s and gallon to fish ratios , that im very confused and want to find out from an expert about the topic. i also would like to hear alittle about african cichlid tank mates.
 thanks alot reply ASAP  

Answer
With African cichlids not only is the number of fish per gallon an important consideration, but the order in which you add different species is important as well.
Provided that you have plenty of hiding places (rocks) you can probably add an inch of fish per gallon. But, remember to calculate using the adult size of the fish.
Second, there are several different genuses of african cichlids. There's the common zebra (Psuedochromis), the peacocks (Aulonocara), the Haplichromis, the Electric Yellow (Labidochromis), and the Lamprologus. These genuses have differing levels of aggression/territoriality. You should add the most aggressive genus (species) last, to allow the more docile species develop a territory. When you put the more docile fish in first, it will start to grow, and will be bigger than the more aggressive fish...should you decide to add one.
So, add your Aulonocara sp.(Peacocks, German Red) first. They are the most docile species.
You can add some Lamprologus sp. next (shell dwellers,  Birchardi), or some Haplichromis (Lake Victorian Haps, Electric Blue).
After that, you can add some Labidochromis (everybody wants an Electric Yellow). You can move this ahead of the Haps if you wish.
Labeotropheus is next...but they're relatively obscure. (just thought I'd through it in).
The last fish you should put in are the Psuedochromis (Mbuna, Zebras, etc.) They are among the most aggressive, they can be real terrors.
There is also Melanochromis (Auratus), they are very aggressive, and get quite large. I wouldn't add them to a 55 cichlid community.
Hope this wasn't too confusing.
Good Luck.