tank Re think

[andy1985]

Due to the death of my Giraffe cat i now have quite a bit of space in my 72" tank.

My tank will be mostly a Tang set up.

Kigorma X14 (to start off with but as mature the group will get smaller)
Blue Dolphin X8
Julidochromis regani X6
Julidochromis marlieri X6
Calvus X2
compressiceps X4
cyathopharynx foai kabogo X4
Cyprichromis sp. Jumbo X8
Red Rainbow X8 (they will be first fish in to make sure water is good)
Angelica Sydontis
2 other Sydontis not sure the speices.

Anyone else recomend anything?

 

[malawidave]

neolamprologus tretocephalus... I think thats spelled right... anyways... those are pretty cool tangs IMO "dwarf frontosa" you get the look of a frontosa with out all of the size ... although a little more aggressive than Fronts

 

[Mokujin22]

neolamprologus tretocephalus... I think thats spelled right... anyways... those are pretty cool tangs IMO "dwarf frontosa" you get the look of a frontosa with out all of the size ... although a little more aggressive than Fronts

No offense, but that's like comparing a golden retriever to a wolverine. Trets are exceptionally angry little fish. Either way, I would not keep them or frontosa with the other stock you have listed. The trets will kill each other and kill everything else and the fronts will eventually eat everything else as they sleep.

I would either do the frostosa/dolphin mix or a mix of the other stuff.

If you do the latter, do not mix types of Julidochromis as they will interbreed. You can try to mix different varients of comp/calvus, but there are no guarantees that the right ones will pair. I have also seen black calvus turn white and white calvus turn black, depending on their moods and substrate color, so I typically stick with one type per tank. If you don't care about breeding, then no worries (it's a pain to raise Altolamp fry anyway - they take forever and then some)

I would say that you need to up the number and ratio on the foai. I think that a lot of folks have success with 2M/5+F. Also, they should be the most aggressive/boisterous fish in the tank, otherwise they won't color/survive. Frontosa (or trets), jumbo cyps or dolphins would all not be good tankmates for them. I would also avoid J. marlieri for that matter. marlieri are another one that will get pretty rough and will prevent the featherfins from doing their thing.

An nice alternative to the featherfins would some Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, Easy going and generally always showing nice color.

In a tank that size, you could also include some sandsifters if you'd like.

Sorry, not trying to poo-poo your plans, just wanted to give you a heads-up. A 180 mixed Tang tank should be awesome.

 

[mike dunagan]

Some great advice there tony

 

[andy1985]

Thanks Tony. for the advice i bit confused on what you are saying. Are you saying that if i took out the featherfins it would be a good set up?

My tank volume would be 270 US gallons

 

[Mokujin22]

Thanks Tony. for the advice i bit confused on what you are saying. Are you saying that if i took out the featherfins it would be a good set up?

My tank volume would be 270 US gallons

Damn! 270!... even yummier.

Welp, here's what I would do, based loosely on your stocklist.

Without Frontosa:
Several rock piles, each for a pair of rock dwellers (start with 4-6 of one type of calvus/comp, one type julidochromis, one other "non-invasive" type, or maybe group of larger shellies). A large group of paracyps would be neat. They are sort of in-between rock-dwellers and open-water swimmers. Get a few pieces of tall slate and lean them up against the back/sides of the tank to make tall caves where they will sleep - all bat-like.

Leave enough open sand and go with a sand-sifter. I'm sort of new to those guys, but a good non-angry species is E. kilesa. A tank that size will be more than sufficient for them.

Lastly, get a large group of Cyps. I've heard that certain jumbo sp. can be extremely aggressive, so you may want to check into differences between species/locations. I have Cyp leptosoma Utinta in my 125 and love them - they are one of the smaller ones though. Shoot for 18 or so.

If you went with that grouping, you could even swap out the Paracyps for the featherfins if you'd like. Just stick with less aggressive other stuff (non-aggressive Cyps, smaller Julies, etc). If you are interested in doing this though, make sure to pair the feeatherfin species with the sifter as they both range greatly in aggression. I have O. nausta and Callochromis in my 125. They're both still smallish, but are working so far.

Frontosa:
Go with a large (20+) group of one kind of frontosa (any kind will interbreed with any kind) along with a group of Cyrtocara moori. I know folks will probably disagree, but a cool addition would be a group of large barbs - tinfoil or torpedo would be really cool, stay towards the top and probably not get eaten. You could try comps/calvus, but it is only a matter of time before they become expensive lunch. (I have seen pics of 5 inchers bitten clearly in half).


Again, I'm no expert in Tangs, but know that the above options should work well.

 

[malawidave]

No offense, but that's like comparing a golden retriever to a wolverine. Trets are exceptionally angry little fish. Either way, I would not keep them or frontosa with the other stock you have listed. The trets will kill each other and kill everything else and the fronts will eventually eat everything else as they sleep.

I would either do the frostosa/dolphin mix or a mix of the other stuff.

If you do the latter, do not mix types of Julidochromis as they will interbreed. You can try to mix different varients of comp/calvus, but there are no guarantees that the right ones will pair. I have also seen black calvus turn white and white calvus turn black, depending on their moods and substrate color, so I typically stick with one type per tank. If you don't care about breeding, then no worries (it's a pain to raise Altolamp fry anyway - they take forever and then some)

I would say that you need to up the number and ratio on the foai. I think that a lot of folks have success with 2M/5+F. Also, they should be the most aggressive/boisterous fish in the tank, otherwise they won't color/survive. Frontosa (or trets), jumbo cyps or dolphins would all not be good tankmates for them. I would also avoid J. marlieri for that matter. marlieri are another one that will get pretty rough and will prevent the featherfins from doing their thing.

An nice alternative to the featherfins would some Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, Easy going and generally always showing nice color.

In a tank that size, you could also include some sandsifters if you'd like.

Sorry, not trying to poo-poo your plans, just wanted to give you a heads-up. A 180 mixed Tang tank should be awesome.

yeah... I realized that afterwards... I still like 'em ... sorry for the usless suggestion Andy