My 180 Gallon idea
- Thread starter Kevin007
- Start date
My cichlid tank isn't lake specific, I have TANGS, Malawie, and victorians. the redtail shark usually goes after the Psuedo. "Rusty" cichlid, and my little mutant Labridochromis w/Frontosa hump.
My little 55 gallon is over stocked over filtrated over fed and now lately over producing on fry
I have like about 100-200 julido chromis babies in there and I have 21 Dalyglow(male)/Kogoya flameback(Female) cross babies a breeder net, shes also holding another batch of fry.
Clown loaches are not appropriate for a tank like this!
http://www.loaches.com/articles/why-loaches-should-not-be-kept-with-malawi-cichlids
http://www.loaches.com/articles/why-loaches-should-not-be-kept-with-malawi-cichlids
no clowns for this tank to different of water parametres to go together. id do some synodontis cats instead
I would much rather get 10 multi cats, trust me I've always wanted them + they have the same water requirements, very active, cool breeding method, etc. But They are just too expensive!
I know that clowns should not be in there and might look kinda weird with 15 clowns in a mbuna tank. Nothing is set, I'm still deciding.
I saw a few of these at my lfs for $6 ea, much cheaper then multipunctatus, do they work? http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=84
Filteration wise - other then a sump, what would be my best option? I have no experience in plumbing and I don't want 180G of water on the carpet.
I have a HOB, Eheim 2217 and a Fluval 4+ internal filter. I probably won't use the HOB and Fluval. I am considering a FX5 and maybe 2 power heads for water circulation, is that necessary?
I know that clowns should not be in there and might look kinda weird with 15 clowns in a mbuna tank. Nothing is set, I'm still deciding.
I saw a few of these at my lfs for $6 ea, much cheaper then multipunctatus, do they work? http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=84
Filteration wise - other then a sump, what would be my best option? I have no experience in plumbing and I don't want 180G of water on the carpet.
I have a HOB, Eheim 2217 and a Fluval 4+ internal filter. I probably won't use the HOB and Fluval. I am considering a FX5 and maybe 2 power heads for water circulation, is that necessary?
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This list is much better, Kevin. I would really want you to reconsider the clown loaches. They are prone to ich as stated by Pittbull and can grow huge in that tank. Synodontis multipunctatus can also get big (11-12 inches); check S. petricola, it is easy available, very similar to S. multipunctatus, 4-5 inches long and I have seen them at $9.50 each on Bluegrass Aquatics of Pittbull's Kentucky; were I bought on line most of my mbunas. What about 6 Syno petricola instead of the clown loaches?
About your low light plants: Java fern and Anubias(not Vals), are low light plants. The problem with plants is that they have a 50% chance to survive with mbunas; mine didn't because the mbunas broke all the new leaves and didn't let the plants to grow. Now I have fake Vals of different sizes.
And aye, Kevin :lipssealedsmilie
now I'm the one who is yelling) you know what? Now I don't know which aceis I have. I supposed they were the common yellow tail acei, but after 5 months with me, they are still much like those black aceis of the video; so, I'm not sure now. I will post a thread with pics to see what you guys think about my aceis. Merry Christmas to all!
Hello Kevin those decorus syno's are sweet catfish i have one in my 120gal and is a sissy compaired to my other syno's, if you keep as many as you stated the aggression will be delivered to other specifics than just to one catfish taking the brunt of it all..
As for clown loaches i have seen many hobbyist keep them in their setups with africans and it worked for them who knows it may work for you as well its your call, its not my cup of tea just the ich factor sorta pushes me away from them..
As for filtration - if you keep what you have and maybe add another large canister like a RENA XP4 you will be fine, i have 2 RENA XP3 on my 120gal and the water is crystal clear never an issue..
As for clown loaches i have seen many hobbyist keep them in their setups with africans and it worked for them who knows it may work for you as well its your call, its not my cup of tea just the ich factor sorta pushes me away from them..
As for filtration - if you keep what you have and maybe add another large canister like a RENA XP4 you will be fine, i have 2 RENA XP3 on my 120gal and the water is crystal clear never an issue..
HEHEHE efors you the man AYE, yep i agree with plants and mbuna they pretty much mess with them and it would be a hit and miss type situation if you add them, java ferns and anubias are low light plants and is what i hve in my 120gal tang tank and every now and then i get an uprooted anubias..
Eddie from Bluegrass cichlids sells some nice fish from time to time just send him an email off of his website to see if he has it in stock and tell him mike referred you and i will pay him his five bucks here soon heheehe kidding about the five bucks..
Pretty much what efors said about the syno's is what i agree as well, i will still need to check out those black acei's, later my friends..
Eddie from Bluegrass cichlids sells some nice fish from time to time just send him an email off of his website to see if he has it in stock and tell him mike referred you and i will pay him his five bucks here soon heheehe kidding about the five bucks..
Pretty much what efors said about the syno's is what i agree as well, i will still need to check out those black acei's, later my friends..
I just watched that black acei video sweet deal and if you watch til the end you see some regular acei join in..
Also if you would like the website to what efors was talking about bluegrass aquatics here it is http://bluegrassaquatics.com/
Also if you would like the website to what efors was talking about bluegrass aquatics here it is http://bluegrassaquatics.com/
Hey Kevin. I've kept patches of val in Malawi tanks many times, with hit and miss results, as Pitbull and efors have already said. I'm a stickler for maintaining realistic biotopes, to the extent that I won't put S. multipunctatus in with Malawi fish. So except for a lone pleco in my first Malawi tank, I've never kept any fish with my ACs on an extended basis except Synodontis multipunctatus (with Tanganyikans), S. njassae and Chiloglanis neumanni (both with Malawis). The last two took several years and small fortunes to acquire here in Wyoming during the mid-1990s. S. multipunctatus maxes out about 6", with 4.5" to 5" being average. Think efors may be thinking of S. granulosus when thinking of a Tanganyikan syno getting to 12". S. njassae maxes out about 7" (5-6" average), but used to be a bear to come across. C. neumanni is a small (3.5" max) sucker-mouthed algivore, also hard to come by at the time.
I've used giant danios as dithers on numerous occasions in breeding set-ups. I'm not a loach person anyways, but I do know a large number of people who have successfully kept clown loaches with ACs long term.
If this was my tank, I'd skip the loaches, the RTBS, and the BNs, acquire Malawi synos, and plant the val. But this isn't my tank. It's your tank. A case can be made for either including or not including every fish you've listed in this thread. I don't think anybody has an issue with your stocking density, now its your choice as to which synos, suckers and/or loaches you choose to add, with the information you have on the pros and cons of each species. Whatever ya do have fun with it!
WYite
I've used giant danios as dithers on numerous occasions in breeding set-ups. I'm not a loach person anyways, but I do know a large number of people who have successfully kept clown loaches with ACs long term.
If this was my tank, I'd skip the loaches, the RTBS, and the BNs, acquire Malawi synos, and plant the val. But this isn't my tank. It's your tank. A case can be made for either including or not including every fish you've listed in this thread. I don't think anybody has an issue with your stocking density, now its your choice as to which synos, suckers and/or loaches you choose to add, with the information you have on the pros and cons of each species. Whatever ya do have fun with it!
WYite
