55 Gallon African Tank

[jkarlson]

Sand finally came!!!! I had to work shortly after though

. So first thing tommorow morning I will be switching my tank over to sand and rehousing the fish into the new enviroment, redecorating it, and putting in the new filter! Some pictures will be posted!

 

[jkarlson]

Whole tank shot.

Spike, my Leopard Ctenopoma, peaking out of his hiding hole.




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[font="arial][size="2"]Snails seems to love the tree stump![/size][/font]
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[font="arial][size="2"]All the fish made the trek, although I almost lost Spike. Everyone's looking good so far except the plants had a rough journey. Hopefully it will perk back up and have more stems, but I'm buying all new plants next week so I might just pick up a new one.[/size][/font]
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[font="arial][size="2"]LOVING the new setup![/size][/font]
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[font="arial][color="#222222"]Also a hint for anyone looking to switch to sand, highly recommended. Just rinse and wash it well, and it also helps if you have a really good filter. I ran two filter recommended for `150 gallons each and it was clear within an hour or so. Looks really nice and the fish seem to notice a difference. [/color][/font]

 

[jkarlson]

Sadly one of my Ghost cats has died. Not completely sure on what actually happened but I found him laying on the sand wriggling around with his body in this shape _____/\______

I have a feeling he tried to get into my [font="arial][size="2"]Leopard Ctenopoma's territory and he bashed him into a rock or something. I went to the LFS to see if they had more(they rarely have any) and I got lucky because I bought the last 3 they had. After acclimation they have schooled with my first two and seem to be getting on fine![/size][/font]
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[font="arial][size="2"]I bought some Twisted Val. for my tank and ended up buying a small Anachris too. [/size][/font]
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[font="arial][size="2"]Still thinking about the African Cichlids I want. There's too many to choose from!! After being enamored with the Tang's I think I'll stick with Malawi. They seem to be much more colorful and active.[/size][/font]
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[font="arial][size="2"]Updated picture of tank..(yes, I know the Spongebob is tacky, but had to keep the girlfriend happy!)[/size][/font]

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Just read this thread for the first time and my instant hunch is that combining a Leopard Bushfish and Glass Catfish with any Rift Valley cichlids is a very bad idea, both these fish will not do well in an aggressive tank. They are shy species that are easily bullied, tankmates need to be mellow in general character and "eating manners."

Personally, I would look at more mellow African riverine cichlids, like African Butterfly Cichlids (Anomalochromis thomasi).

I don't know if you are aware of this already, but a 4-foot tank like this could easily house multiple Leopard Bushfish, I never have had any concerns or issues with my four (~8-12cm) in my Rio240 last summer and would be happy to move them into my 48x12x15 as and when I do another obssessive "fish juggle."

 

[jkarlson]

Just read this thread for the first time and my instant hunch is that combining a Leopard Bushfish and Glass Catfish with any Rift Valley cichlids is a very bad idea, both these fish will not do well in an aggressive tank. They are shy species that are easily bullied, tankmates need to be mellow in general character and "eating manners."

Personally, I would look at more mellow African riverine cichlids, like African Butterfly Cichlids (Anomalochromis thomasi).

I don't know if you are aware of this already, but a 4-foot tank like this could easily house multiple Leopard Bushfish, I never have had any concerns or issues with my four (~8-12cm) in my Rio240 last summer and would be happy to move them into my 48x12x15 as and when I do another obssessive "fish juggle."

I ended up going against the cichlids. I added an Yellow Lab. and he didn't bully anyone, but the Leopard Cte. wouldn't come out of hiding if the Yellow Lab. was anywhere in sight. I've gotten mixed reports on housing multiple Bushfish together. I actually just bought another one 3 days ago about half an inch long. He was hiding all day and didn't eat for the first two days, but he's now out and about swimming and saw him eat for the first time. I've heard that breeding them is very difficult. I'd love to try it though. How many do you think I can fit in my tank?