50G Tanganyika Planted Riparium

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hydrophyte

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Apr 13, 2009
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50G Tanganyika Planted Riparium

This new journal thread is a continuation of others that I have been maintaining on a couple of other sites off-and-on for a couple of years. Here's the link...
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=28088&p=257343&hilit=riparium#p257343

I have cycled a few different kinds of fish through this planted setup, but it has always housed the group of seven Synodontis lucipinnis that are still in there.

I am redoing the planting and the fish stocking once again. I will keep the group of Synodontis, but this time I want to combine them with one or more Tanganyika cichlids to make something more like a biotope representation. The addition of plants growing above the water is unusual for a Tanganyika aquarium display, but I intend for the setup to be more or less representative of a rocky near-shore environment where plants might not be so far away.

Here's an old picture of this tank with the complete riparium planting.



I have a few pictures of my recent work redoing the tank.

This picture shows the tank from a few months ago after I removed the existing riparium plants.



And here's another one from just a week ago showing the new riparium plants and previous rock hardscape removed.



I'll have more pictures on the way! My first priority right now is to figure out some Tanganyika cichlids that will combine well with the catfish. Does anybody have any ideas?

Cheers and thanks!
 

Coler

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Your tank is exellent !

In that size you have tons of options but its all about the combinations. I would think about these fellows : http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/a_calvus.php

or these (for a real dash of colour) http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_leleupi.

Or, my personal favourite, a group of Cyprichromis leptosoma

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1467

That's if I'm right in thinking that your tank is within spitting distance of 48 inches in length ?

In respect of all of those, they would like/need quiet a bit of rockwork in there.
 

hydrophyte

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Your tank is exellent !

In that size you have tons of options but its all about the combinations. I would think about these fellows : http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/a_calvus.php

or these (for a real dash of colour) http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_leleupi.

Or, my personal favourite, a group of Cyprichromis leptosoma

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1467

That's if I'm right in thinking that your tank is within spitting distance of 48 inches in length ?

In respect of all of those, they would like/need quiet a bit of rockwork in there.
Hey thanks for these tips. Unfortunately, the tank is only 36" wide; it's a standard 50 breeder. There is probably only 32 gallons or so of water in there because I lowered the water level to several inches below the rim.

Do you think that a small group of Cyprichromis would be OK in there. This would be my first choice.

What about Julidochromis, to start out with a group of 1/2-dozen juvelines? The Synodontis already use the crevices in the stones, so I don't know if julies would work(?).

Here's the tank with the big limestone slabs that I added. I can include a few more rocks and ceramic hides as well.

 

SubRosa

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Goby Cichlid, either an Eretmodus or a Spathodus. They're the appropriate fish for a shallow water rocky shoreline on Lake Tanganyika.
 

hydrophyte

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Goby Cichlid, either an Eretmodus or a Spathodus. They're the appropriate fish for a shallow water rocky shoreline on Lake Tanganyika.
Would they get along OK with the catfish? What would be the best approach for adding them?
 

SubRosa

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Add a group of 6 juveniles. Goby Cichlids aren't very nasty, and Syno Cats tend to be only as aggressive as they have to be, so I don't see a problem. Adding a wavebox could provide a very natural appearance of water lapping up against the shoreline..
 

hydrophyte

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Add a group of 6 juveniles. Goby Cichlids aren't very nasty, and Syno Cats tend to be only as aggressive as they have to be, so I don't see a problem. Adding a wavebox could provide a very natural appearance of water lapping up against the shoreline..
Thanks! Can you suggest any sources? All that I can find are old Aquabid auctions and fish on liveaquaria for twenty-seven dollars each.

A wavebox would be cool, but probably more fancy than what I need for this little tank. I was thinking about using a Koralia angled up at the water's surface to make surgy ripples along with a couple of airstones.
 

SubRosa

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Aquabid would definitely be the best source. The only other place I've dealt with is Atlantis Tropicals. They should be a bit cheaper than LA.
 

hydrophyte

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Hey thanks for that tip. Atlantis Tropicals has a couple of different species with good prices for WC adult fish. Can you remember how they do their shipping? The Website doesn't offer any explanation.
 

SubRosa

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Sorry, I'm close enough that they deliver to our LFSs, and it's less than a 2 hour drive to get my own stuff, so I don't know their shipping policy. Btw Koralias can in no way replicate what a wavebox can do. Imagine watching a 2" high wave rythmically rocking back and forth the length of the tank, lapping up on a rocky beach with the Goby Cichlids playing in the "surge zone" as they do in the wild. Priceless.
 
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