Creating Multiple African Tanks...Need Advice

[cicrush13]

Hey everyone,

So I'm setting up 4 55+ gallon tanks at a school and they want different takes on Africans.

I really want to make a sweet Peacock tank out of one of the 56 column tanks (36Lx18Dx25H).

I know I want at least 3 syno petircolas in there as well.

What would you recommend for a stock level to keep the agression to a minimum?
Also what dithers would work well? Congos?

 

[FreshyFresh]

Lots of possibilities, but I'd gear it towards a maintenance regimen you can easily support.

 

[dudley]

Are all the tanks the same dimension?

 

[tanker]

36" tank are usually too short for Peacocks. 48" long tanks are much better. The only Peacock that "May" fit in a 36" tank is Aulonocara kandeense the Blue Orchid Peacock.

What are the lengths of the other tanks?

 

[cicrush13]

There is a 75, 55, and 56 column.
The 75 will def be peacocks then.
What would be a good fit for the 36" tank then?

 

[jpierce3]

I'm pretty sure 36Lx18Dx25H tank should be a 65g (a 56 column is only 30" wide). I have a tank with the same dimensions and my buddy whom I traded it from had it set up a mbuna tank. Loads of rock up the rear of the tank to the top, aragonite sand, and all male mbuna. It was purposefully overstocked to spread out aggression.

It has been a good many years but I'm almost certain all he had for filtration was a canister filter and a powerhead for extra movement. He most likely was doing 2x a week water changes as well.

 

[tanker]

There are a few species of Mbunas that will fit well in a 36" tank. Lab. Perlmutt, Ps. Demonsoni, Ps. Saulosi, and many of the Cynotilapia Afra species. I would try and get 1 male and 4-5 females ,except Demasoni. For that species I would try for 1 male and maybe 7-9 females.

Unless you go for an all male tank. From my experience, in an All-Male Mbuna tank, the males do not really color up. Nice, but not great. No females to "show-off" to.

 

[cicrush13]

Alright, thanks for the feedback guys. I will keep this updated on what we decide to move forward with.

 

[rufioman]

48" for most Afros on tank length, yes, but you also want depth....I just cannot imagine cichlids being comfortable without length and depth. I had a Malawi (mbunas) tank that was 4' long and 1.5-2' or so deep, if I remember correctly. The depth gave the fish room to cover territory, and the length let them explore more of the tank when their individual territories were taken. 0 fish deaths in about 2 years, and I had upwards of 25-30 4-6"ers in there before I, gasp, sold them all.

Standard show tanks with Malawi cichlids stock labs and demasoni for the color clash. Usually 55g tanks, but again, I do not like the length without depth on 55g tanks. I'm a nut. You can easily do it and be just fine, but I worry when the cichlids reach 4+".

Other ideas for the rest will be easy, too. Maybe a Tang tank...the column tank will give you a better Tang layout, I think.

 

[verbal]

If you have a column tank(30") a colony forming small Tang cichlid - like Neolamprologous brichardi or some Julidochromix could be a neat display for that.