Hi, I’m considering either a 55 or a 90g tang tank at some point and I’m thinking I would do julies and shellies. I’ve kept a few of both in a mixed lake tank but I’ve never done a straight up tang. So I’m im looking for stocking ideas and numbers. Any input is appreciated
Tang advice
- Thread starter Joshuakahan
- Start date
Six of each and a dozen cyps. The julidochromis may form a colony or a pair, chasing the others from the tank.
If you are going to do Julies or shellies they will not use or appreciate much vertical height in the tank. Why not consider Aqueons new 60 breeder tank for those species.
If you want Cyprichromis together with other cichlids the 55 gal is too small on the long term. And even with the 90 g I would only go for true leptosoma. No so called "leptosoma jumbo" or "leptosoma speckle back", "leptosama brilliant " etc.
I have multies with j. regani and it works fairly well. Need to ensure you have a good rock work structure for the Julies to use. Shellies can be incredibly aggressive when they decide to protect their territory.
Julie’s are what I’m really interested in, shellies are my second choice, any ideas on species and how many to start with?
For the 55 g I would go with Julidochromis ornatus, transcriptus, marksmithi or dickfeldi. I would always try to start with 6-8 juveniles if possible because Julidochromis tend break even the longest lasting pair bond when moved. And you never know if they will find back together.
J. regani and malieri can work in this tank size too once a stable pair is established but I don't recommend trying it because if it doesn't work it often ends with dead fish. If you want to try them I would always go with the 90 g.
For the shell dwellers it's always the question if you want a colony or several breeding pairs or a harem or only one single pair. You should also ask yourself what you want from the fish. If you want them to be visible and not shy when you approach the tank you should go for a colony. But you may see less specific breeding behaviour though the group behaviour is also very interesting.
Except N. calipterus all the shell dwellers could be an option.
Colony is easy. Just start with a handful of multifasciatus or similis and add enough shells.
N. caudopunctatus and N. leloupi (not to be confused with leleupi) breed in pairs but the different pairs can live so close to each other that it might look like a colony.
I really like caudopunctatus because they are the easiest to keep and breed from all Lamprologini and compared to many others they still are somewhat easy to sell. And like multifasciatus and similis they are visible all the time except for females guarding eggs
For two breeding pairs my favourite is L. ornatipinnis. They are not too aggressive and are just beautiful and they show a huge variety in mating and breeding behaviour.
If you want a bit different look N. brevis is also quite mellow and you can keep more than one pair.
A bit more aggressive option could be L. ocellatus, meleagris or kungweensis. Here it depends which catch location you choose. Especially the gold ocellatus is way more peaceful than some of the silver varieties and more than one breeding pair is possible.
With the 90 g you could even go for a pair of Lepidiolamprologus boulengeri or meeli.
My suggestion for the 55 would be one of the smaller Julidochromis species + a colony of multifasciatus or similis. Or a Julidochromis + a pair shell dwellers + a pair caudopunctatus if you want three species in the tank.
For the 90 g you could go with
A Julidochromis of your choice + a pair building shell dweller + two or three pair of N. caudopunctatus. The Julidochromis will live in the rocks, the shell dwellers in the shells and the caudopunctatus will fill the free territories. They don't care much if they place their eggs in a shell, a cave, under the filter or even just on the side panel of the tank
This needs a lot of rocks but will get you the most colour and behaviour spectrum as possible with only keeping Lamprologini.