first tang tank

[Fishfiles1]

i am now thinking of proceding with my tang idea for my 55 gal. well first off, is algernite sand needed or will my ph do just fine with the buffers, and is there a schooling fish to ocupy the mid and upper levels of my tank? and what stocking is posible, i would like some shellies like 5 0r 6 i would like 1 tret, and 1 calvus or 2, some other species and a schooling fish

[austinpetemo]

1. specify what species of shellie you want as there is many diferent species.
2. there isnt really a schooling species outside of the Cyps and tropheus and it has generally been agreed apon that it usually isnt a good idea to keep them in a 55 unless they are the solitary fish. so im pretty sure that a schooling tanganyikan fish is out of the question unless youd be interested in keeping a species of rainbow fish.
3. if you choose a smaller shellie (such as the neolamprologus multifaciatus) than the calvus might now be the best option as they can eat smaller fish when they get larger, although this will take awhile as they are generally slow growers at one inch per year.

for the 2 other species you could try a species of julidochromis, with the smaller species like transcriptus or dickfeldi being better for the smaller shelldwellers. i keep some lamprologus caudopunctatus in my 55g but they are paired and are extremely territorial and "own" most of the tank. but younger ones will most likely be fine as it may be awhile before they mature and pair off as mine have.

[AfroCichlid]

i am now thinking of proceding with my tang idea for my 55 gal. well first off, is algernite sand needed or will my ph do just fine with the buffers, and is there a schooling fish to ocupy the mid and upper levels of my tank? and what stocking is posible, i would like some shellies like 5 0r 6 i would like 1 tret, and 1 calvus or 2, some other species and a schooling fish
You could go with one of the larger shelldweller species. As far as the Tret goes I'd recommend you stick with a female and try for the least aggressive. If you bought a group of 4, keep the least aggressive of the group. At 6" adult size for males it would be the biggest fish pound for pound and some are downright nasty. I agree one Calvus would be appropriate if you want to keep a group of fish. a 55 gallon would make a good forever home for a pair with the appropriate stock. They take a long time to grow to adult size and are valuable, so you might keep several smaller Altos and trade them in as they gain size. J. Transcriptus would make a good addition to the community. I waited for sardines ( Cyprichromis and Leptocyprichromis sp ) until I got a 75. If you want schooling fish look into Giant Danios, Rainbows, etc. I used Tiger Barbs for awhile but it's not the right water params. If you pile rock-work accross the tank the fish will use all of the available territory, so pile it high and wide.

[austinpetemo]

Texas holey rock is generally a good idea to use as it not only buffers the water but i looks like swiss cheese and is full of holes (hence the name) and this creates tons of hiding spots that the fish can use for territories.

[Fishfiles1]

so what will the calvus eat, i dont want them eating my shellies, and they would be in the group? i thought they would be to big to be in the group
so like ? caluvs
1 tret maybe
5 brevis
other shellies
? caudopuncts
? julies

[austinpetemo]

im not sure. but can he keep lelupi? i know they can hurt multies but im not sure about brevis.

and also, mixxing shellie species isnt always a good idea.

[Fishfiles1]

k, what other shellies could i have besides he brevis

[austinpetemo]

occelatus. umm. im trying to think of some otherones off the top of my head but im drawing blank. go to www.davesfish.com (http://www.davesfish.com) and check his stock list. he has a long list of shell dwellers that he carries and you can check species on there.

[Fishfiles1]

ok so im sad im going to drop the tret of my stocking list because they seem very iffy, and it leans on the bad side, so no on that, and instead i want to go with 2 or 3 calvus in the hopes they dont eat my shellies

[Fishfiles1]

k here is kinda is
2-3 calvus
5-6 shellies (dont know what kinds yet) i like multis
2 caudopuncts
maybe 3 lelupis
3- malasa
anything els? or less

[austinpetemo]

woa. lol whered the malasa come from? never heard of that before.

if you buy the calvus small you wont have to worry about them eating your multies for at least a few years.

[Fishfiles1]

but if i went with a different shellies that is bigger i wont have to worrie about it?

[Fishfiles1]

what type of fish is your avitar

[Fishfiles1]

would i be able to add 1 eretmodus, and a brichardi

[austinpetemo]

a single brichardi might be fine. but not a pair. they form colonies and will take over the entire tank and kill everything else to expand the room for their colony. but i think a lone one would be fine. eretmodus are fine, they usually keep to themselves and ive never seen them fight with anything besides one another.

there are some really big shellies. it all depends what you want. i think an occie or brevis would be fine, but im not %100 sure on that.

BTW you never told me what a masala was.

[Fishfiles1]

ill show a pic

[austinpetemo]

are you talking about Cyprichromis leptosoma Malasa 'Blue Flash' (http://www.safhl.net/davesfish/images/Cyprichromis%20leptosoma%20Malasa.jpg) cuz it has malasa in the name

[Fishfiles1]

cyprichromis leptosoma malasa

[austinpetemo]

nope. those need to be keept in large groups and they arnt recomended for anything under 75g. they are a cyp (short for Cyprichromis) and if you were to keep them theyd need to be a solitary group, but its still not recomended

[Pittbull]

Yeah stay away from cyps in a 55gal well when i had my 55gal tang tank going i had a colony of Multis on one side shell field.. in the middle i had a trio of Julidochromis transcriptus.. and on the other side i had a colony of Brevis sun spots all was cool each shellie had their own shell and the Julido's stayed in the middle rock pile..

Also on your current stock list take away the 3 Lelupi and the malasa and go with 3 Julidochromis Transcriptus would be for interesting setup..

[Fishfiles1]

so how does this sould
6 brevis or other shellies
3 julies
3 coudouncts
2 caluvus
1 eretmoduls
anything elss is there room

[Pittbull]

Sounds good to me..

[Fishfiles1]

so like you dont think a adult calvus is going to eat my brevis
and could i do what you did pit, and have 4-6 brevis and 4-6 other shellies on the other side of the tank or just stick to 6 brevis in the middle

[Pittbull]

Adult Calvus can eat a lot of smaller shell dweller fish they have huge mouths.. First Calvus reach 6" in size and i could see them eating something like 1 to 2 " easy i have a full grown male Brevis Kavala in my 120gal he was a freebie from a friend and i didn't have anywhere else to place him so i tossed him into the 120gal and really he is OK no one is messing around with him and my larger Comps leave him alone as well..

Transcriptus only attain 3 to 4" size and would be a good middle rock crevice dweller but yes you can do it but the middle divider with the rock pile should be in place so they stake their territories appropriately..

[Fishfiles1]

what would be a fish thats gets about the calvus's size that could go in there place

[austinpetemo]

you could try the altolamprologus compressiceps 'sumbu shell'. they look like a calvus but they only get 3inch and tend to live in shells. i keep 2 eretmodus in my 55 in an attempt to breed them but you have to be careful, cuz even though they are peaceful twards everything else, they are extremely violent twards one another.

if your not concerned about breeding than you could add a syndontis catfish or maybe some top dwellers like rainbows.
your setup sounds ok

[Fishfiles1]

so the altos wont mess with the others
how about this
1 alto
6 brevis kalva
3coudopuncts
3 julies
1 eretmodus

[Fishfiles1]

k now i need to know, what if some breed do i have to worrie about the agression, i know the coudopucts dont breed easy so i still want 2, i know the shellies will be fine, but i do want my shellies to live so ne calvus or comps, and i heard julies can be nasty when breeding so only one, and the gobys seem to be pretty hard to keep, so nock that off, now im looking into the trets again just one, and a small one at first and im looking into brichardi and neolamps

[Fishfiles1]

think there will be room for 2-3 lemon jake pecocks

[austinpetemo]

lemon jakes are a malawian species and is generally not a good idea to mix fish from the different lakes.

also. on the goby is actually incredibly easy to keep. im not quite sure what you read that told you otherwise but they are an awsome fish that i recomend to anyone who wants a tang tank.

"alto" is the term used to describe calvus and compressiceps. alto is short for altolamprologus.

so the scientific name for for calvuses and compressiceps would be Altolamprologus calvus or Altolamprologus compressiceps. however there is a species of altolamprologus that i was telling you about that is called the Altolamprologus compressiceps 'sumbu shell' that is a smaller variety reaching 3inches in lenght and they tend to live in shells.

hope that clears things up.

and in a community setup like that with several different species in the same tank breeding usually doesnt go sucessfully unless you remove the babies as the other fish will slowly pick them off in most cases

[Pittbull]

how about this
1 alto
6 brevis kalva
3coudopuncts
3 julies
1 eretmodus


This stock list sounds good just try to start out with little ones as they grow and if problems arise remove the terror..

[austinpetemo]

ive never seen these kavala brevis PB. have you got yours yet that i could see'em?

[AfroCichlid]

how about this
1 alto
6 brevis kalva
3coudopuncts
3 julies
1 eretmodus


This stock list sounds good just try to start out with little ones as they grow and if problems arise remove the terror..

I agree with this, your stock is most likely going to change within the first 6 months. Some fish are just terrors. Others are so passive you wonder how they got such a bad rep. The stocklist above would give your group a " forever home " provided they all get along. 55 gallons is a tough size. It teeters between the Species Only and Community size for me. I tried a mix similar to yours and wound up with a 75. Much better suited for a good mix of Tangs and the necessary rock-work.

[austinpetemo]

yeah. it all depends on the indivual fish. each fish has a different personality so to say.

[Pittbull]

I still dont have any Kavala that i ordered they should be in tomorrow.. but i do have a single male in my 120gal let see if i can find my photo..

[austinpetemo]

sweet. how many did you buy very many of them?

[Pittbull]

10 at a buck each from atlantis

[efors]

A buck each! Isn't that a steal?

[Fishfiles1]

some people said i could put a peacock in there like lemon jakes and the small ones

[jpappy789]

Afro is right.

3 adult julies will likely turn into 2 adults and a bunch of fry soon...

[Pittbull]

That is a steal efors but my hook up hasn't called me today so i may be a little worried right now..


Its your call fishfiles on the peacocks some hobbyist do it others frown apon it i have a colony of Acei in my Tanganyika 120gal but for the sole purpose of breeding my Syndontis Multipunct's with them as a host for their spawn.. Just be careful peacocks are not as aggressive as Tang's..

[Pittbull]

Ok i just found out we will be getting the fish order next week due to ACA we already paid so they will hold them til next Wednesday whew i was getting worried aye..

[austinpetemo]

hey pit. you said that the peacocks arnt as aggressive as tangs. what about mbunas? cuz i think my mbuna are getting punked by my transcriptus

[jpappy789]

I personally doubt a transcriptus could take on an adult mbuna. Mine will back down to the multies occasionally :rolleyes:

[efors]

I think it is not a wise idea to put Malawi peacocks and Tangs together; IMHO.

[Fishfiles1]

k i wont

[ibr3ak]

I agree with efors, especially not jakes, they could be as aggressive as some mbuna, maybe too aggressive for some tangs.