I have in the past tried to keep african cichlids. Both times I tried I had very poor success. I buff my water to a ph of 8.2 with proper ph. And I have tried a tanganyikan and malawi tank, And only will do fish from one or the other. I have decided to go with tanganyika this time. I want to do a colony of shell dwellers (multifaciatus), a black calvus, a brichardi and a leleupi lemon. Can anyone see any problems with this stock? I have well over a decade experiance in the hobby and currently keep everything from a betta to a reef. My main area of focuse has and always will be the c/s american cichlids. But I feel I am missing out on a very rewarding part of the hobby by not having a african tank. I plan on having a real big pile of rocks on a third of the tank and a sandy/open area that's about the other two thirds. Any advice or pointers would be appreciated. Thank you.
I am going to try again.
- Thread starter fish_n_vw
- Start date
more rocks, more rocks, more rocks! rocks and cave give a sense of security for a place to run to( when you walk by), and territories to call home. the more rocky cave areas you provide the happier your fish will be.
I wanted to makes sure there was plenty of open space and some sandy area for the shell dwellers. They will have a pretty big rock area though. Should I do more 1/2 rocky zone and 1/2 sand?
The way you set up the tank will depend greatly on the size of the tank. In a a 48" x 12" standard 55 format I usually break it up in three sections. A large pile of rocks in each end and one large smooth rock in the center. This gives the dominant male a territory in one end and lets the other fish hide in opposite end. In a six foot tank I will also create a large pile in the center with similar large piles on each end. the 6 foot tank allows for larger open spaces between the rock piles. I saw in your post that you buffer the water to 8.2 PH. What PH is your tap water. I never buffer water for my africans but mine comes out of the tap around 7.7-8.2 depending on the time of year. So I just leave it alone this way there is never a sudden PH swing. I no longer keep tangs but I am sure others will agree that having a stable PH that is close to what the fish would have in nature is better than having to buffer and get it right on the money. As buffering is something that can cause extreme PH swings. You are right to want a open sandy area for the Shell dwellers. with the fish you mention I would want a 18" deep tank. I would use a 75 or larger and put a rock wall in the rear.
The tap water here comes out 7.o right on the money for most things just not africans. I think this contributes to my lack of success. 75 gallon I was gonna go with a 55. What should I change. If I take out the shell dwellers would the 55 be better.I have a buddy that has a malawi tank 45 long with like 12 fish in it a blue hap, a few yellow labs, red zebra, and an assortment of psuedotrupheus to round it off. All of them have been in his tank for like 3 years and they are fine. Are tanganyikans diffrent in the since that they can't handle the same kind of overstocking. My buddy told me if you put in to few fish they will kill eachother and if you have too many you won't be able to control your levels. He said its a delicate ballence. His tank is the reason I'm setteing up a african tank. Its really beautiful I just wanted to do tanganyikas instead because I like the black calvus.
I would stop screwing with your waters ph. I know people that breed wild tropheus at 7.0. Consistent water, even at less than ideal ph, is key with any tanganyikan cichlid. The calvus, depending on age, sex, etc will claim a cave and rarely move too far from it.
Lelupi will be ok by itself as would the brichrdi but you will not get the full experience with either of those species with only one fish.
If I were you and you wanted to produce fry get a pair of calvus, colony of multis and for color get a group of cyprichromis to occupy the open water areas of you tank. In a 55 gallon I would stick with cyp leptosoma, not leptosom jumbos as they will outgrow your tank. Add a pile of rocks on one side for the calvus and keep the rest open the others.
Tangs are great. It's all I keep!
As far as stocking it all depends on your filtration and water change routine. Some tangs like tropheus and petrochromis need to have huge numbers to help deal with aggression. In my 125 gallon petro tank I have a wet dry rated for a 300 gallon tank. That enables me to stock quite heavily w/o worrying about pollutants. If you go with a pair of calvus, handful of multis (which soon you will end up with 100) and maybe 2.4 cyps you shouldn't have aggression problems. Just make sure you are have sufficient filtration and clean, consistent water, and temp around 78.
Lelupi will be ok by itself as would the brichrdi but you will not get the full experience with either of those species with only one fish.
If I were you and you wanted to produce fry get a pair of calvus, colony of multis and for color get a group of cyprichromis to occupy the open water areas of you tank. In a 55 gallon I would stick with cyp leptosoma, not leptosom jumbos as they will outgrow your tank. Add a pile of rocks on one side for the calvus and keep the rest open the others.
Tangs are great. It's all I keep!
As far as stocking it all depends on your filtration and water change routine. Some tangs like tropheus and petrochromis need to have huge numbers to help deal with aggression. In my 125 gallon petro tank I have a wet dry rated for a 300 gallon tank. That enables me to stock quite heavily w/o worrying about pollutants. If you go with a pair of calvus, handful of multis (which soon you will end up with 100) and maybe 2.4 cyps you shouldn't have aggression problems. Just make sure you are have sufficient filtration and clean, consistent water, and temp around 78.
- if you're doing a colony of multies and want to breed them in the future i suggest not having a black calvus with them since he will just eat the babies.
- As for your ph problems try crush coral, I try to avoid the chemicals since they make the ph unstable. Natural buffers are much better.
- In my experience, overstocking with tangs have not been a problem as long as you have the appropriate filtration to handle it. As long as you have at least 3 of the same kind since tangs are more agressive with conspecifics
- As for your ph problems try crush coral, I try to avoid the chemicals since they make the ph unstable. Natural buffers are much better.
- In my experience, overstocking with tangs have not been a problem as long as you have the appropriate filtration to handle it. As long as you have at least 3 of the same kind since tangs are more agressive with conspecifics
I agree about the proper ph,throw it away.use aragonite sand,shells and limestone like texas holey rock to buffer the water.
Ok so natural buffer and great filtration. I don't really care about breeding right now. Maybee in the future. But right now I have no more room for growouts. I already breed four species of s/c americans. I will take all the advise and put together something. I guess we will see what becomes of this. I am really looking forward to setting up a african tank. Thanks a lot I will look into everything and post when I get something more solid put together.