How many? yellow lab/demasoni in 47 tall

[user_name]

Why not go with new world chiclids like angels? They'll take up the vertical space nicely...

 

[stripe157]

Not with mbuna. You will likely end up with a lone mbuna in the tank after it kills the others. They really need a much longer tank, I wouldn't do them in less than a 4' tank, especially if this is your first time keeping them. You want to stack things in your favor for success.

Gotcha. If the consensus is that it's not a good idea, I'll not, but I'm really tired of cleaning up plant material (and algae at the top... 200 watts of MH lamp to get usable light down 30 inches makes lots of algae at the top!). Once I turn down the light, it'll get pretty boring in there pretty quick I think. Hence the interest in a new species.

The neons can go live with the shrimp and hide over there.

 

[stripe157]

Why not go with new world chiclids like angels? They'll take up the vertical space nicely...

Yes! That's originally what I bought this tank for, but got sidetracked with the plants...
I never did the angels b/c a friend of mine had so much trouble with his. Cichlids just have so much more personality IMO.

 

[fish-n-chips]

Are you decided on rift lake cichlids? I ask because this is posted in the general cichlid section. Given your tank dimensions,plants and that great tall piece of driftwood, it sounds like a great setup for a planted SA tank.Some moss on that dw would look awesome!!

My first thought was a pair of dwarf cichlids( Laetacara's or Apisto's), a group of schooling fish( tetra of some sort), and a group of say habrosus cories(mine use the whole tank). A bristnose pleco could work in there and if the cichlids don't take the snails( they probably will unless the snails are too big) add a couple of assassin snails.

Just a thought.~FNC~

 

[stripe157]

What's everyone's reaction to this:
1 male P.Saulosi and a 3 females?

I"m still looking into the shellies btw.

 

[myswtsins]

Yeah, lighting a 30" tank for plants is a nightmare, been there myself. If I had this tank I would definitely take my time researching and make it into a shellie/riparium tank. It is tall enough to do an enclosed high moisture riparium and has as nice depth to grow plenty of plants and allow some light to bottom, where the shellies only reside anyways. But that's just me and would take some decent research/work.

SA tank is a great option, they make great low light tanks.

What kind of water parameters do you have? That could makes things really simple.

My reaction to the saulosi is a simple no. Lab_Rat said it best...

Not with mbuna. You will likely end up with a lone mbuna in the tank after it kills the others. They really need a much longer tank, I wouldn't do them in less than a 4' tank, especially if this is your first time keeping them. You want to stack things in your favor for success.

I started with a 4' tank (per this forums suggestions, I wanted to do a 24" tank) and after 2 yrs of gaining experience I am now working towards a 3' tank single species of l. caeruleus (one of the most docile mbunas). Mbuna can be down right vicious and I have had a lot of speed bumps with aggression even in my 4' tank. I just want you to have the most pleasing experience possible with your first encounter with cichlids.

 

[fish-n-chips]

A shellie/riparium tank....... that does sound interesting too.

 

[stripe157]

Are you decided on rift lake cichlids? I ask because this is posted in the general cichlid section. Given your tank dimensions,plants and that great tall piece of driftwood, it sounds like a great setup for a planted SA tank.Some moss on that dw would look awesome!!

My first thought was a pair of dwarf cichlids( Laetacara's or Apisto's), a group of schooling fish( tetra of some sort), and a group of say habrosus cories(mine use the whole tank). A bristnose pleco could work in there and if the cichlids don't take the snails( they probably will unless the snails are too big) add a couple of assassin snails.

Just a thought.~FNC~

I posted in the general section b/c I wasn't sure exactly which ones would work best for this tank. I didn't want to limit my options/audience. Of course, I had my mind on the labs though! The tank was planted, with the compressed co2 and all that, but this shape doesn't lend itself well to that type of setup either. It's a serious mess with tons of upkeep. My 15 long is much better suited for that, and is spilling out over the top with greenery. In this tall tank, I hoped to have a peaceful, schooling species... they just hid, all the time. Once I mixed up the nets and 'contaminated' the larger tank withe the snails, I began the process of moving fish over to just take the thing down. A colorful, fun species that was at home with the much easier to maintenance rock/wood landscape would be enough to keep this guy up for another few years.
In the 15 long, I put in 2 assassin snails... not a dent. I feed the shrimp sparingly, but the plant matter, and difficulty vacuuming the substrate means theres always ample food for the snails to munch on.

This is interesting though, Laetacara's or Apisto's get along with tetras?
That last paragraph has a lot to think about.

 

[myswtsins]

A shellie/riparium tank....... that does sound interesting too.

I've been dreaming about it for awhile now but I am downgrading tanks not adding more!

 

[stripe157]

What kind of water parameters do you have? That could makes things really simple.

Out of the tap, the pH is 7.2-7.4 and relativly hard at >215/19* (GH); 196.9/11* to as low as 8* (KH). Because of this, I invested in an RO system and treat with Barr's GH booster, or mix ro and tap to desired hardness.