New 30 gal setup

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jasonG75

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I am in the process of getting everything in order to start my Cichlid tank. I am going for a lot of rocks in the tank with crushed coral for substrate. Since I know some of, WELL most Cichlids get bigger I want to a lot of SMALL one and colorful ones. Someone told me that I might have to go with the Lake Tanganyika Cichlids variety.

can someone point me in the direction of a very COLORFUL tank.

THANKS
 

efors

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That person told you that, because it is easier to stock a 30gal with Tanganyika cichlids than with Malawi cichlids. If you go with Malawis, IMO you should have a one species only tank of some dwarf mbuna species. IMHO, in this case, the best choice is Pseudotropheus saulosi; because you have 2 different brightly colored fishes in one species: females are bright yellow and males are bright blue with black vertical bars.
You have more choices if going for a Tang tank. Friends here will tell you that.
 

jasonG75

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That person told you that, because it is easier to stock a 30gal with Tanganyika cichlids than with Malawi cichlids. If you go with Malawis, IMO you should have a one species only tank of some dwarf mbuna species. IMHO, in this case, the best choice is Pseudotropheus saulosi; because you have 2 different brightly colored fishes in one species: females are bright yellow and males are bright blue with black vertical bars.
You have more choices if going for a Tang tank. Friends here will tell you that.

In the Malawi which are the dwarfs?

Auratus (Melanochromis auratus)
Chipokee (Melanochromis chipokae)
Johanni (Melanochromis johannii) *** 8cm
Pearl of Likoma (Melanochromis joanjohnsonae)
Maingano Cichlid (Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos)
Kennyi (Pseudotropheus lombardoi)
Aurora Cichlid (Pseudotropheus aurora)
Powder Blue Cichlid (Pseudotropheus socolofi)
King Size Cichlid (Pseudotropheus sp. 'kingsizei')***8cm
Msobo Cichlid (Pseudotropheus sp. "Msobo")
Elongate Mbuna (Pseudotropheus elongatus)
Demason's Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni)
Hornet (Bumblebee) Cichlid (Pseudotropheus crabro)
Saulos's Mbuna (Pseudotropheus saulosi)
Red Zebra Cichlid (Pseudotropheus estherae)
Zebra Red Top (Maylandia emmiltos)
Blue Cobalt Cichlid (Maylandia callainos)
Dogtooth Cichlid (Cynotilapia afra)
Perlmutt Cichlid (Labidochromis sp. 'perlmutt')
Electric Yellow Labido (Labidochromis caeruleus)
Freiberg's Mbuna (Labidochromis freibergi)
Fuelleborn's Mbuna (Labeotropheus fuelleborni)


These are all that I know of in my database and only 2 are under 10cm. I would like to keep them under 10cm.
That's way I think Tang might be the way to go unless you can give me more species that I am not aware of.

THANKS
 

blue2fyre

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From that list Pseudotropheus demasoni, Pseudotropheus saulosi, and some Cynotilapia afra are going to be dwarf mbuna. The afras or Saulosi are most likely the best bet for a tank that size. Demasoni are tricky since they are so aggressive with one another that you need to stock a lot of them so they don't kill each other off.
 

jasonG75

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From that list Pseudotropheus demasoni, Pseudotropheus saulosi, and some Cynotilapia afra are going to be dwarf mbuna. The afras or Saulosi are most likely the best bet for a tank that size. Demasoni are tricky since they are so aggressive with one another that you need to stock a lot of them so they don't kill each other off.
Demasoni is actually what I was looking for but yea VERY VERY aggresive. I love their color but also wouldnt I have to get like 8 or 9 of these things so they dont kill each other?
 

toddnbecka

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Demasoni is actually what I was looking for but yea VERY VERY aggresive. I love their color but also wouldnt I have to get like 8 or 9 of these things so they dont kill each other?
Actually more like 10-12, with enough filtration and large, frequent water changes to keep the conditions livable. I have seen a couple 30 longs stocked with demasoni and yellow Lab's that worked long-term though. I even saw a few fry in one tank.

Tang's for a 30, calvus or compressiceps don't need much space, and some shellies or Julies would mix well. Leleupi are very colorful, but tend to be problems more often than not, particularly in smaller tanks.
 

jasonG75

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Actually more like 10-12


Tang's for a 30, calvus or compressiceps don't need much space, and some shellies or Julies would mix well. Leleupi are very colorful, but tend to be problems more often than not, particularly in smaller tanks.
That is more along the line I was thinking "Actually more like 10-12"

And this is exactly what I want to stock "shellies or Julies" Maybe 2 lemons.

Also going for ALOT of rock formations with caves.
 

jpappy789

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I like the shellie/julie combo myself. If you go with a shellie species like multies you'll have good success since they are prone to colonize and do well in larger groups. The julies would need to stick to a pair.
 

austinpetemo

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word of warning, if you still plan to keep 2 "lemons" (im assuming your reffering to leleupi) than you should know that they have been known to kill off multies, so you may reconsider having them in the tank
 
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