paracyps are a good choice although some people recommend 4 foot tanks for them too...I'm not very familiar with them though so wait for some one else to make the call LOL
The begining of a shellie tank...
- Thread starter Lady G
- Start date
I hope they will work, I really like em!!
Hey what dimensions are your 30g? I'm just trying to figure mine out for sure.
36"x12"x16" give or take an inch here and there depending on where you measure from...that's the standard 30g dimensions
Paracyp's would work in a 36" tank because they're rock dwellers, but not substrate-spawners. They actually prefer caves and flat rock surfaces well above the substrate. I had a group of them in a 55 with a couple other species of Tang's. They would mix well enough with shellies, but definitely no more than a single male and 2-3 females in a 3' tank.
On the down side, they don't show up as bright and colorful in the tank as they look in pics. They are actually a deeper-water fish, and don't like a bright tank.
If you do decide to go with Paracyp's I have some ornaments you may be interested in. I collected them for my group when I had them in the 55.
On the down side, they don't show up as bright and colorful in the tank as they look in pics. They are actually a deeper-water fish, and don't like a bright tank.
If you do decide to go with Paracyp's I have some ornaments you may be interested in. I collected them for my group when I had them in the 55.
I just broke down my 75g, half the tank was multi's w/about 200 shells for substrate, the other half of the tank was Cyps Leptisoma "blue flash"and Julidochromis. I separated the tank with java fern attached to a long piece of driftwood, on either side of the driftwood I had large stones. Never had a problem with the blue flash's breaking the barrier. The Juli's would venture over to the multi side to snack on fry occasionally. It was an interested set up, I really enjoyed it. Try here: http://www.wetthumbaquatics.com/, over the years I've bought from them several times, great customer service, never had a fish arrive DOA. Check out their fish food, well worth it.
Hmm, well then I guess mine is a regular 30g tank. I wonder why they have the measurements as 30L on the site? Oh, well at least now I know what it is for sure 
Todd-That would be great if they would work! Since I was most likely going to end up with Julies in there I figured I'd have some rock work also, maybe some java fern too? I assumed any I got would not look quite as nice as the ones pictured since they always picture the best specimens it seems LOL. Do you know if there is a way to tell male from Female? It will be a while really before I have the tank set up, I have to do everything for it. I'm sure taking the "sump" apart will take me a little time also, getting all that silicone out and the glass pieces I put in GAH...not really looking forward to it that's for sure. Most likely Sunday will be the first day I have a chance to start that step. If you still have the stuff when I am ready for it though, I may be interested. Thank you!!!!
Awesome....THANK YOU London, I will check out that site!!!
Todd-That would be great if they would work! Since I was most likely going to end up with Julies in there I figured I'd have some rock work also, maybe some java fern too? I assumed any I got would not look quite as nice as the ones pictured since they always picture the best specimens it seems LOL. Do you know if there is a way to tell male from Female? It will be a while really before I have the tank set up, I have to do everything for it. I'm sure taking the "sump" apart will take me a little time also, getting all that silicone out and the glass pieces I put in GAH...not really looking forward to it that's for sure. Most likely Sunday will be the first day I have a chance to start that step. If you still have the stuff when I am ready for it though, I may be interested. Thank you!!!!
Awesome....THANK YOU London, I will check out that site!!!
Oh, something else I wanted to ask...filtration. Ok, so what I read said they do not like "current" I do have a mag 350 canister, would that work or would something else be better?
It's not that they don't look that nice, it's just that the camera flash shows off the colors. You could see their colors like that all the time with the right lighting on the tank, but the Paracyp's wouldn't be too happy. Males are bigger and more colorful.
I never tried growing live plants in my Tang setup, I don't have a light on that tank.
A single-edged razor blade is the best tool for removing silicone IME.
Do you have (or can you rig up) a spraybar for the canister? Even if not, there's always a way to diffuse water flow. Plastic canvas does a great job on my aquaclear 110.
I never tried growing live plants in my Tang setup, I don't have a light on that tank.
A single-edged razor blade is the best tool for removing silicone IME.
Do you have (or can you rig up) a spraybar for the canister? Even if not, there's always a way to diffuse water flow. Plastic canvas does a great job on my aquaclear 110.
Oh, then bright lights all the way as long as I'm happy right LMAO....J/K!! I'll stick to low light, I think no light would make me crazy. I just wont add the Java no biggie to me.
The mag has a thing on the end of the outflow, I could add something to it though instead but will need some help (well told what to do) when it comes time. As for the inflow (ok, I could be wording that wrong?), anyway the piece is missing I was thinking of adding a sponge or cheesecloth or something like that so no one gets sucked up into the canister.
I have a scraper thing with a razor blade that worked well when I resealed a 75 I use to have. I think that should work. I'm just worried about hitting the silicone on the tank itself and ending up having to reseal the entire tank!!
The mag has a thing on the end of the outflow, I could add something to it though instead but will need some help (well told what to do) when it comes time. As for the inflow (ok, I could be wording that wrong?), anyway the piece is missing I was thinking of adding a sponge or cheesecloth or something like that so no one gets sucked up into the canister.
I have a scraper thing with a razor blade that worked well when I resealed a 75 I use to have. I think that should work. I'm just worried about hitting the silicone on the tank itself and ending up having to reseal the entire tank!!
You can use a sponge prefilter in place of an intake strainer. An aquaclear sponge block works quite well for that, or if you prefer a black cylinder the replacement sponges for penguin reverse-flow powerheads are the best I've found. The penguin sponges are open at the bottom, so it may be a good idea to use a rubber band to close the hole off.
