Tank set up ideas-opinions please

[silver_leaf]

Ok i've been doing quite a bit of research on cichlids and i think i have a tank and set up figured out-now i want all of your opinions!!

Here's what i am thinking of...

An african rift lake set up, with 3/16" or so sized smooth gravel
fake plants to begin with
1 or two large pieces of driftwood
and rocks and ish for caves and hiding places.

NOW for the fun part this will be a male species aquarium, and i will be mixing the two lakes, these are the species i have thought to put in so far let me know if you forsee any problems

One of each..
Lamprologus Brichardi
Lamprologus leleupi
Idotropheus sprengerae
Labidochromis zebroides
Labisochromis caeruleus
Pseudotropheus scolofi
Pseudotropheus lombardoi

With the max size of these fish, it looks like i might be able to get away with a 3o gallon or so tank, or would it be better to go with a 55- ive heard that if they are given to much space the can become over territorial.?

Peace
Anna

[NickH]

My thoughts:

1. Cichlids can't have too much space!
2. If you want to recreate an African rift lake bio-tope, ditch the plants and the driftwood. Fill the tank with lava rock, moon rock, or whatever they call it. Just use a lot of rock. For substrate, use crushed coral, coral sand, or a combo. You will need a lot of PH buffering.
3. If you don't already have the tank, anything smaller than a standard 75 gallon tank is not worth it (especially for cichlids). My advice is to buy at least this size tank. A 55 gallon tank is the biggest small tank you can get. At 13" deep, it is almost worthless. It's like a 4ft long tank for 4" long fish. The 75 is 18" deep, and will still allow for bigger fish with the decorations. Also, bigger tanks are easier to maintain.

[ChilDawg]

I'm not so sure that Kennyis are a good idea for a tank with some of these other, more peaceful fish. Just my $.02--Matthew

[silver_leaf]

P)ardon the question..which ones exactly are the kenyis?? i know it sounds odd, but all i can do is identify them by their nomen clature:o

I think from what was said, i will go with the 55 gallon, ive also read that rainbow fish and/or danios make good 'target fish' and fill up the top empty space, so i might add those.
Peace
Anna

[Kirin Fang]

Originally posted by silver_leaf
P)ardon the question..which ones exactly are the kenyis?? i know it sounds odd, but all i can do is identify them by their nomen clature:o

I think from what was said, i will go with the 55 gallon, ive also read that rainbow fish and/or danios make good 'target fish' and fill up the top empty space, so i might add those.
Peace
Anna

Kenyis are Pseudotropheus lombardoi. They're rather aggressive.

[ChilDawg]

Sorry I didn't get back to you so quickly, Anna, but Kirin Fang nailed it. Kennyis = Pseudotropheus lombardoi.

Off to amend the Glossary...

[silver_leaf]

Thanks! :) ok, i can cut them out, does this also mean i need to eliminate the P scolofi ?
You didnt get back to late either, im just now back on :)

peace
anna

[ChilDawg]

I'm not so sure on that. From what I have just read, that particular fish holds territory, but is much less aggressive than many of the others in that genus and will take a smaller territory. It looks like providing enough rockwork will allow you to keep a Socolofi.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0332&view_records=1

[Oxboy666]

I like this community cichlid mix:

All male Aulonocara (aka Peacocks)
Labidochromis (any kind)
Cynotilapia (any kind)
Protomelas
Copadichromis
Rusty, i.e Sprengerae
A single Juli
A single Compressiceps/Calvus
A single leleupi
A single brichardi/daffodil
A single Tretocephalus

I'd stay away from Mbuna (like your pseudotropheus) and big active haps like Venustus/Livingstoni mixed in with any of the above. IMHO, 55 gal really isn't big enough for a big hap tank but would suit a reasonable combo (say 8 adult fish) of the list above nicely. I'd keep any of the above out of an Mbuna tank.

My recommendation in your 55 gal: either go overstocked all Mbuna (say 10 fish with lots of rockwork) or for a more tranquil tank, any combo of 8 or so fish from above. I highly recommend looking into Aulonocara (or Peacocks). If you go this route, try to vary the colors of your all male Peacocks/Utaka to minimize aggression. And either way you go, get really good filtration if you plan to overstock or even come close.

Also remember that all the above fish in the list are omnivores/'carnivores', not vegetarians like Mbuna. Not a huge deal, but if you end up mixing the two types of fish, make sure each gets adequate amounts of the right type of food to meet its nutritional needs.

As for your aquascaping, no plants or driftwood is necessary. Only rocks (I like lace rock, granite and lava rock) and sand/gravel is needed - trust me, this will make your adult fish stand out much better. If you like sand, check out pool filter sand from a pool supply store. If you get this, be sure to wash it really well before putting it in the tank.

Your all male tank is a good idea. Remember, lots of rockwork and lots of space generally make for happier cichlids.

Good luck.

[Oxboy666]

I forgot - don't bother with the dither/target fish. They just eat up space (especially in a 55 gal) and produce extra biowaste. If you do a mixed lake setup with fish of even temperament, the Malawi fish will typically fill all levels while the Tangs stay around the rocks. It should be a nice effect when they all settle in.

[silver_leaf]

Wow thanks! now i have quite a few more options to think over! i had not looked into the peacocks because i thought they were too agressive, but i am definetly going to now! I will try and stay away from mbuna( i know actually how agressive they are-i wasnt sure if i could get away with more peaceful ones or not).

Well, off to amend my list!:)

Peace
Anna

BTW will it bother the fish if i do have plants in there-im a green kinda person lol i likethe way it looks, consider the driftwood dropped.

[JSchmidt]

Plants are often not recommended for african cichlid tanks because they tend to get eaten and/or uprooted. (Many cichlid species are tireless diggers.)

For many of the mbuna species you list, a 55 is really the bare minimum. A 55 is really too small to benefit from controlled overstocking, so you are limited to not very many fish - maybe 7 or 8 max. At that rate, you might want to consider going with a single species of cichlid along with a small school of interesting synodontis catfish (e.g., petricola) or with a couple of trios (1M, 2F) of cichlids.

You want to avoid species that are conspecific to one another. For example, Ps. lombardoi and Lab. caeruleus are bad tankmates because the yellow labs will be picked off by the yellow male lombardois, who are excessively aggressive and will kill the labs to protect their territory. (And to the lombardoi, the whole tank will constitute their terriotory.) Yellow labs and a smaller blue fish (Ps. scolofi or Ps. demasoni) generally do OK as a mix. (The demasoni will fight a bit among themselves, but they won't mess with the labs.)

Picking compatible species is in large part knowing about how these fish look as they mature and picking species that look different. Size is an important consideration, too.

HTH,
Jim

[silver_leaf]

I can drop the lombardoi as well, to be homest the only fish i have my heart set on is the socolifi i WANT that fish, so im open to anyother species that would do well with him. So, if i vary colors, and try to make sure that there are no two similar looking species, i should be ok?

BTW, the plants would be fake, but as i see it is highly recommended not to have any, i think i will drop them all together.


Anna

BTW Jim- If your a lumberjack and your ok...do you sleep all night and work all day ??:D

[JSchmidt]

Socolifi and yellow labs would look nice together....


Jim

Anna:
I cut down trees. I skip and jump.
I like to press wild flowers.

[silver_leaf]

I think thats where my tank is headed, im looking up some more fish to put in as well, i should have some by tonight, i just need some free time to be able to read(feels like chicken with head etc...)

Anna


Jim, you go me, cant remember next line...But i hope You dont...um...wear ladies...um... clothing---your the other lumberjacks right????:D I love monty python!!! lets all do little dances and slap eachother in the face with fish!!! sounds fun doesnt it??(ok im odd i know it:cool: )-A

[silver_leaf]

Here we go...http://soundamerica.com/sounds/comedy/Monty_Python/A-L/lumberja.wav

[silver_leaf]

How about this set up, there's less fish than the original so each can have his own 'space'

Lamprologus leleupi
Lamprologus Brichardi
Idotropheus Sperengerae
Labidochromis Zebroides
Labidochromis Caerules
Pseudotropheus socolofi

Will this work? it would still be in a 55...
I read up on the peacocks, and i found that they needed tanks larger than 48", and i cant currently even try to afford something larger than a 55(48") Im willing to drop the brichardi as well if need be.
I know haps were mentioned as good tankmates for a socolofi-are there any yellow ones??

Peace
Anna

[Oxboy666]

Wow, you are really jazzed about your Socolofi. :)

Fortunately, they are not one of the more aggressive Mbuna. You can try it and if it doesn't work, fish him out. Just make sure you feed Spirulina often. He is the only herbivore of your group.

You can keep Peacocks in a 55 gal no problem. You could add a male to your group of six below without a problem as far as bioload. If it has a lot of blue though, it might become a target for your Socolofi.

Stay away from haps. Your tank really isn't big enough.

If I'm not mistaken, Zebroides are blue. Keep an eye on how the Socolofi treats it. The others should be able to hold their own, except for maybe the Sprengerae, which are very docile as far as cichlids go.

Oh, and try to get a Daffodil version of Brichardi. Better color and are quite beautiful when full grown.

[silver_leaf]

Thanks! will do (about the daffodil) ill watch how the socolofi acts with the zebroides(hope it works out) Yall have been priceless there are juat a few things you cant get from books ya know.


Peace
Anna