Mixed aggregates of cyanine dyes at a charged lipid monolayer surface are studied by absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy and electron diffraction. We show that slight variations of the molecular structure can convert a system from being fully miscible to being immiscible, and also that the concentrations of dyes in the solution and in the crystal may deviate considerably. The different concentration in the solution and crystal was observed for a molecule where force field calculations indicated the existence of two isomers in solution and where probably only one fits into the lattice.