Starting up a rift lake tank

[yonk420]

I am thinking of doing a 30 gallon rift lake tank and I was curious as what I would need to start it up? I was thinking of using a canister filter but I do not know if that would be to much for the size tank or if I should stick with a double headed backpack filter. Also I was thinking of housing 2 whilte calvuses. 2 black calvuses, 2 tropheous, 2 clown loaches, 2 scarlet plecos, and 4 brichardii. Would that be too many fish for the size tank. Any input is always greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Chris

 

[somthinsfishy]

A hob filter is sufficient for cichlids. They are fairly easy to maintain. Water temp. 78 degrees. Ph 8.0-8.3. Sand or gravel doesn't matter. You would probably be able to go with two calvus, and 1-pleco 1-loach. The calvus get 4", but it takes them a year or two. The clown loaches can get up to 12" they to take a long time to grow. Not sure what a scarlett pleco is. Chances are it will get up to 4", Birchardi will get 3"-4", Tropheus also get 4" and need to be kept in groups of 10 or more, otherwise they are very mean. Hope this helps you with your decision. Good luck.

 

[bigfishy69]

Yeah be careful with the Tropheous. You may want to reconsider that choice, they can be really nasty... Great fish, but tough in the community setting. Good luck!

 

[illustrae]

Tropheus can cause lots of aggression problems, so most people keep them in large groups in species tanks. Calvus are some of my favorite Tanganyikan cichlids. Other species you might try that should get along okay are julidochromis and some kind of brichardi-type, or possibly a little group of lelupi. A sandy substrate and lots of rockwork with plenty of caves and hollows will keep these guys quite happy along with a Ph between 7.6 and 9 and reasonably hard water. There are some decent buffers out there for Africans if you have really soft or acidic water.

 

[Siemens2]

Love the tropheus, but not in a community tank, especially with the fish you are talking about. Tropheus need a very heavy if not total plant based diet, no meat.

 

[mcmemily]

I've been cycling my tank for Altos and Calvus myself. They rock!! I've done a lot of research and I think putting Tropheus with them will be a big mistake. Not only the aggression and that they like groups, but the Calvus are carnivores, and the Tropheus are herbivores. Carnivores have a shorter digestive tract- Herbivores a long tract --and if the Tropheus eat too much meat it will stay in there system too long and they will get bloat and die pretty quickly.
Let me know what you go with b/c I'm still deciding on mine!

 

[Malawinut]

IMO, the proposed setup will be almost absolute disaster. Too many fish for that size of tank (looking at this for the long run). I agree with the comments on wrong types/quantities/diets. Statistically many people have killed many fish before you (including myself) and have found out some things that just don't work.
Tropheus: IMO and IME, 75g preferable size, veggie diet due to one of the highest risks of bloat, 15-20 juvies bought at the same time and raised together since the lower the number translates to a higher "homicide" rate. These fish have a sophisticated "pecking" order in a colony setting.
Calvus: I would only do one type. I would try for a proven pair.
Loaches: One max (if any)
Brichardi: Possibly work with calvus, but only a pair will probably survive so I'd try to buy a proven pair.
Plecos: I would only go with a species that stays small.

 

[yonk420]

Well after reading all the info that ya'll have given I have been deciding on possibly doing the rift tank with my 75gal. tank instead. I have already purchased 20lbs. of substrate, should I get about another 40? I currently have some pieces of drift wood that I was using in my cichlid tank, can I still use those in the rift tank? Thank ya'll so much for ya'll help!

 

[hanks]

you can use the driftwood, just remember that it can drop your ph. The tangs like their ph high. I keep mine between 8-9.

 

[yonk420]

Well I have about 4 pieces of drift wood and I was only gonna use two of those pieces. Also, I have very hard water, so I do not know if that will make a difference if I use the drift wood or not. Will having very hard water make it ok for me to use the drift wood and not have to worry about it dropping my ph too much?