lol. Many of us would. Others would say 10 is... nitrAtes don't really matter, anyway... it's the other, untestable junk we're worried about...
empty 55 gal -water question...
- Thread starter A.Reiser
- Start date
Most Mbuna and Tanganyika cichlids are going to be aggressive what you will have to do is find an equal balance of mates to place in the setup.. What i would recommend is that you read about Mbuna and Tanganyika and see what you will like or want and post here to see if compatible..
You can google either name Mbuna or Tanganyika and you will get a wealth of info.. Here is a site to get you started http://cichlidforum.com/ click on profile and look up some species.. Also this was one of my faves a long time ago they are still cool place to check out fish profiles.. http://www.aquahobby.com/age_of_aquariums.php
You can google either name Mbuna or Tanganyika and you will get a wealth of info.. Here is a site to get you started http://cichlidforum.com/ click on profile and look up some species.. Also this was one of my faves a long time ago they are still cool place to check out fish profiles.. http://www.aquahobby.com/age_of_aquariums.php
:iagree:
And keep in mind both are very different setups. I very much believe that the key to finding a balance for a tang tank is to make use of the specific areas within the tank whether it be the sandy bottom or the rockpiles. Keep any chances of overlapping territories to a minimum IME.
And keep in mind both are very different setups. I very much believe that the key to finding a balance for a tang tank is to make use of the specific areas within the tank whether it be the sandy bottom or the rockpiles. Keep any chances of overlapping territories to a minimum IME.
Your well water and limestone rocks should be OK for Rift Lakes cichlids. Some things to consider:
1. If "pretty dense community" means highly stocked tank, then I think you should go with Malawi mbunas; because Tangs need more territorial spaces.
2. I would not put the tank in a place where it receives too much light and/or for too long time. If you want rocks with algae, IMO it would be better to have always some rocks in a container or spare tank at sunlight and rotate these rocks with those of the main tank. For the main tank, artificial fluorescent light is better for a more stable environment; IMO.
3. IMHO, you should not see algae as a substitute for fish foods; prepared with nutritive and well balanced ingredients. These should be the staple foods and algae should be just a supplementary food.
1. If "pretty dense community" means highly stocked tank, then I think you should go with Malawi mbunas; because Tangs need more territorial spaces.
2. I would not put the tank in a place where it receives too much light and/or for too long time. If you want rocks with algae, IMO it would be better to have always some rocks in a container or spare tank at sunlight and rotate these rocks with those of the main tank. For the main tank, artificial fluorescent light is better for a more stable environment; IMO.
3. IMHO, you should not see algae as a substitute for fish foods; prepared with nutritive and well balanced ingredients. These should be the staple foods and algae should be just a supplementary food.
The dual lighting should be fine, in fact alot of people who keep africans do dual setups with one actinic bulb and one regular white, this'll pop their colors better.
I would recommend going tang with your tank, even though I have malawis if I had to start over again I would totally do tanganyika, calvus and comps in my opinion are one of the coolest cichlids you could have, plus a number of shellies and other sand sifters, maybe not as colorful as malawi, but very cool behaviour wise.
I would recommend going tang with your tank, even though I have malawis if I had to start over again I would totally do tanganyika, calvus and comps in my opinion are one of the coolest cichlids you could have, plus a number of shellies and other sand sifters, maybe not as colorful as malawi, but very cool behaviour wise.
:iagree:. Or you can do it with both bulbs being 50/50 (50% actinic blue and 50% white daylight).
Wow thanks for all the input!! Well i pulled out my books and did some research and here's what i'm thinking...
I decided to go with Malawi fish because tangs are a little mor sensitive and i thought that for my first try i'd go with the malawis and then maybe later set up a tang tank. I like the idea of the bucket of rocks so i can change out some periodically for the fish for some natural alge-note i don't intend for it to be a real part of their diet, just something nice for them, i plan on feeding a balanced mix of veg and protien to them so i can know for sure what nutrition they're getting
Here's the species i'm considering so far, lemme know what you think,
Iodotropheus sprengerae (rusty cichlid)
Labidochromis zebroides (likoma island clown)
labidochromis Caeruleus (yellow lab)
that's all i have so far, since the tanks only 48" i don't want to cause too much stress on the fish as far as limited space is concerned. Now my book said that cynotilapia species can go in that size tank, but i have'nt been able to find anything on those type fish...
Also, is it possible for me to have synodontis brichardi or nigriventris in with the cichlids? just wondering Thanks again for all the help! it is very much appreciated!
Anna
I decided to go with Malawi fish because tangs are a little mor sensitive and i thought that for my first try i'd go with the malawis and then maybe later set up a tang tank. I like the idea of the bucket of rocks so i can change out some periodically for the fish for some natural alge-note i don't intend for it to be a real part of their diet, just something nice for them, i plan on feeding a balanced mix of veg and protien to them so i can know for sure what nutrition they're getting
Here's the species i'm considering so far, lemme know what you think,
Iodotropheus sprengerae (rusty cichlid)
Labidochromis zebroides (likoma island clown)
labidochromis Caeruleus (yellow lab)
that's all i have so far, since the tanks only 48" i don't want to cause too much stress on the fish as far as limited space is concerned. Now my book said that cynotilapia species can go in that size tank, but i have'nt been able to find anything on those type fish...
Also, is it possible for me to have synodontis brichardi or nigriventris in with the cichlids? just wondering
Thanks again for all the help! it is very much appreciated!Anna
i found some pics of the cynotilapias and theyre cool!!
here's a cynotilapia mbamba
and heres a cynotilapia afra'white top' there's a red top as well.
needless to say i want some of these too! lol
here's a cynotilapia mbamba
and heres a cynotilapia afra'white top' there's a red top as well.
needless to say i want some of these too! lol
Sounds good, though I wouldn't mix the labidochromis species, there's a high possibility of them cross breeding, afras are cool, but most have really drabby brown females and only males are the ones with real color. Look for cynotilapia white top haras, the males are really nice in color and females are blue, and they're relatively easy to acquire.
Check here for more mbuna profiles:
http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2
Syno cats are fine in an mbuna tank, though if it was me I'd go for a small group of syno multipunctatus.
Check here for more mbuna profiles:
http://cichlid-forum.com/profiles/category.php?cat=2
Syno cats are fine in an mbuna tank, though if it was me I'd go for a small group of syno multipunctatus.
