lake tanganyika rock dwellers

zin

zin

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Dec 16, 2003
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Iv narrowed my choices down to cichlids from lake tanganyika, and possibly rock dwellers.

can anyone recommend a setup for a 29gallon

also i have a few pieces of driftwood in the tank, they have been in water for several years, so would they still lower ph?

also if i have a bag of crushed coral in my filter will that raise the ph/gh/kh enough, or would i have to make the whole subtrate coral?
 
I'm not the expert on this, but here's what I understand:

Crushed coral, aragonite, or any other calcerous gravel or substrate, are more of a safety net than a high pH solution. They are basically non-reactive at pH of higher than 7.8 or so. If your target pH range (I don't remember the numbers for Lake Tanganyika off the top of my head) is higher than 7.8, you'll need to use specific alkaline buffers to reach it.

In a nutshell: some crushed coral in your filter wouldn't hurt (as long as it didn't become a detritus trap), but it shouldn't be your whole pH management strategy.
 
I agree that you will need buffers to reach your desired pH (around 9.0). I recommend the Seachem buffers and salts. Using those, the use of coral substrate is optional. Conversely, even with coral substrate, the Seachem products would still be necessary, because crushed coral alone won't get you to the optimum hardness and pH.

For inhabitants, I would suggest Synodontis petricola and Julidochromis transcriptus or Julidochromis dickfeldi. Should be a nice tank.
 
What about the driftwood i measured the tank 2 days after filling and ph is 7.6...(havent added cichlid buffers) but im thinking either my test kit has expired or ph is off the chart because it doesnt quite match up, im gonn go buy a new low range and a new high range
 
Heres a few pics of the tank s far, so far the ph hasnt droped from 7.6 maybe more, with the wood, so im gonna see how it goes, i havent even added buffers yet, but i ordred lake salt, and tanganyika buffer by seachem

cichlid1

cichlid1


the plants will be moved once the buffers are in, the 2 small caves are both about 2in. deep

im definitly planning on 2-3 Julidochromis transcriptus, if 2 were males would they be able to have their own areas? if i only get 2 and both are males will they fight if they dont have any females?

Synodontis petricola are one of the funniest looking fish iv seen, if i were to have 2 Julidochromis transcriptus would 1-2 Synodontis petricola be ok?
 
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Iv also been looking at Julidochromis ornatus, iv heard they can be kept in small colonies, unlike J. Transcriptus which should only be kept as a single pair?

how many ornatus could be kept in a 29? and would they need to be paired?
 
first off, thats baloney about needing 9.0 as a ph, most tangs are tank raised at about 7.5, as long as its steady they will do fine, just dont let it go too far below 7.5. i had drift wood in a normal tank, and it dropped my tap water from about 7.8 to 7.0. and kept it at 7.0. it prolly depends on how big and leaky your wood is. if its a realy dark wood, that turns your water tea color, then its really gonna drop it, but if you get a real light washed out wood, i doubnt it will. also, you should get bigger rocks for that tank, and leave space in between them for them to swim thru liek channels.
 
Theres about a 2in space behind the one piece of wood. and about a 1in space in the cornor. The driftwood probably has leaked most of its acids. its pretty old
 
Hans, while you are entitled to express your opinion on the Tanganyikan pH question, you are not entitled to be rude and dismissive of the opposing point of view. Which, with 20+ tanks and 42 years in the hobby, I happen to hold.

Lake Tanganyika has pH off the charts. The fish have evolved to and survive and breed in that environment. While fish may survive in water parameters far outside their natural conditions, their immune systems and long-term survival almost always suffer from osmoregulatory coditions that their bodies were not designed to handle. If you want to do what is best for the fish, one can't go wrong with replicating their natural conditions.

Of course, zin, if the fish you are planning on buying come from a fish store that is not maintaining them in Tanganyikan conditions, you will need to re-adapt them to lake conditions gradually. But the Seachem buffers and salts are an excellent way to do this.

P.S. The tank looks good, but I'd see about adding more rocks, especially ones that can be stacked to create more caves and territorial divides.
 
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