My 40 gallon Tanganyika set up

[Soupysteve]

40 gallon breeder setup:
2 brichardi
2 julidochromis "gombi"
I have a DIY CO2 setup to help the plant life out a bit.
I'm using 2 BIO-wheel 200s for filtration and water movement.
I've go 2 96watt 36" strips for lighting - though both are only on for 2 hours (ten hour total photoperiod).
I'll let the pics and video do the rest of the talking.
pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035107&id=1264283649
vid: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1248604016261&saved
I'd like to get some more diversity (a "clean up crew") in the tank, but I'm not finding any good source for invertebrates from Lake Tanganyika. What do you folks suggest? I'd love to put more fish in there, but these 4 are territorial enough as is.

 

[dudley]

Some of us don't have Facebook accounts so can't look at your pics.

 

[Soupysteve]

Oof! I thought "everyone" could look at those.

 

[austinpetemo]

just to let you know. once the brichardi begin breeding the gombi are likely to be killed off. the brichardi are a colonial species that beat the crap out of the other inhabitants as they expand their colony/empires. the gombi are also relatively aggressive as far as ive heard. mine arnt, but than again, mine arent breeding.

 

[Troycool]

it looks all right...watch the brichardi

 

[Pittbull]

They look good but i am afraid you don't have enough space for the Julido's to escape the wrath of the Brichardi once they start to breed, add some Texas Holey rock with tight spaces for them to retreat to..

Nice photos on FB..

 

[Soupysteve]

Thanks for the input, folks. I hadn't kept African cichlids since I was an ignorant (no "information superhighway" yet) adolescent. I forgot how fascinating their territorial disputes and other behaviors were.
The brichardi consider the entire left half of the tank theirs. Usually one will stay over a depressed area I assume will become a nest while the other patrols a "perimeter". The julidochromis inhabit the an area in the front right 1/4 of the tank that provides plenty of hiding spaces. The video I posted doesn't do the rock work any justice - I bought it as "lace rock". I rummaged through the assortments of 3 different stores to get the pieces that have the most holes, gaps, and nifty topography. The smaller of the two "julies" has taken a liking to one of the shells near the caves the larger one maintains.
I only see "fights" when a julie goes past the middle of the tank. The julies chase away the brichardi when they get near their area though - so as long as neither pair breed, I don't see a big compatibility/territory issue. If I do decide to turn this into a species tank though, I will definitely lose the brichardi.The julidochromis behavior, shape, and movements are far more interesting to me. To me, brichardi just look like a pale,freshwater version of anthias No, they ARE pretty, I just really dig the julies. How many julidochromis could I keep if I did this? I'm on good terms with my local fish store so getting an exact species match shouldn't be an issue. Would 4 be overdoing it? Really, I'd like get a mating pair - as my aquariums make an awesome teaching aid for my 5 year old. She knows the tank in the dining room is the "river" tank (Amazon) - and that this one is the "lake" tank.
Also - I'd like to get some sort of inverts or catfish for diversity. I've only seen 3 African catfish for sale; one was listed as Tanganyikan and it was listed as getting 5" long. The documentary I watched (the one with Cpt. Sisko from "Deep Space Nine" narration) mentioned the diversity of sponges and jellyfish. Surely the shells that some cichlids use come from a native snail! Anyway, surely someone knows how a fish nerd could get his hands on some Tanganyikan inverts!
Thanks again for the comments and critique.

 

[AfroCichlid]

I don't think you'll be able to maintain a colony of Brichardi in a 40 community. IME Julis and Brichardi do not get along. After the Brichardi begin to spawn you'll see a complete take-over of the tank, with the juvies helping the adults kill off the rest of the stock. They are pretty. They are colonial. But they are mean, even toward their own kind ( once juvie males reach maturity they will still fight for breeding territory. In a 40 you could keep a rotating group, trading off or selling the adults as the juvies reach maturity.
I would recommend a pair of Calvus in a 40 with perhaps a J. Transcriptus or one of the larger shellie sp. ( Brevis ). I still don't think this would be a forever home but it would be a long time before you'd need more room for the Calvus.
Neothauma Tanganyicense is a snail from Tanganyika. I don't know about it's availability in the trade though.

 

[Pittbull]

Usually inverts and Tangs will not mesh well in the same tank either they will become food or a fry killer as for catfish usually the smaller Synodontis make great additions but they too can become fry killers..

 

[efors]

Isn't a 40gal breeder, 4 ft. long or with the same length and width of a 55gal tank?