African Cichlid Tank?

[Proxo]

Hey people, it's time to fill my brain with more knowledge, Research before buy as they say lol.
I've pickled my head a little thinking about this now. [I'm a noob when it comes to african cichlids too]

I was thinking of setting up yet another tank it'll be roughly 240-300 Litres,

I've currently got;
Tank 1: 240 Litre w/ Green Terrors & Common Pleco.
Tank 2: 90 Litre w/ Rams, Neons, Platys.
-- I've got to known the manager at the small LFS and he doesnt mind giving me store credit for fish i take back once they get too big / aggressive.

I do prefer a tank with as many fish in it as possible too (without overcrowding), My 240L Green Terror tank is looking pretty empty but as they grow so big & get so aggressive i know he'll be in there on his own sometime & i dont mind that.

I've seen some African cichlid tanks on youtube/internet that look pretty nice & full, I know african cichlids are also aggressive but as most only grow to around 5" (i think?) I'm going to guess it's easier to keep more to a tank?

Basicually, if you had my brand new 240-300 Litre tank (hopefully i got room for 300+ lol)
What african cichlids would you fill it with? I'm going to look up the fish you suggest and then prob make my mind up then..

Thanks everyone!!

 

[elisew]

When you say African Cichlids, are you looking at Mbuna or Tanganyika?

 

[doresy]

When you say African Cichlids, are you looking at Mbuna or Tanganyika?

Lets get to work on him/her!!

 

[elisew]

When you say African Cichlids, are you looking at Mbuna or Tanganyika?

Lets get to work on him/her!!

Hello stranger!! That`s what I was thinking

 

[Proxo]

Im not sure, i really dont know one thing about african cichlids. I've always followed American.
But I've seen more Mbuna, maybe i should have more of a look into tanganyika!!

I see you both have Tanganyika setups, why them over mbuna?

 

[elisew]

Im not sure, i really dont know one thing about african cichlids. I've always followed American.
But I've seen more Mbuna, maybe i should have more of a look into tanganyika!!

I see you both have Tanganyika setups, why them over mbuna?

I had a Tropical setup previously with a wide range if different fish, inc Blue Rams, Bolivian Rams, Apistos etc but I just didn`t seem to be able to get the conditions right or the stock I was buying was just weak??? ....I don`t really know which but I decided enough was enough after paying out for an RO unit just to change the conditions for the Rams and Apistos yet the fish still died

So, I decided to look at the Tangs, I did a lot of research into the requirements needed, which were the least aggressive and the info from this forum was brilliant. doresy, bullit, Nobody Of The Goat and kiriyama all gave me the benefit of their knowledge and experience and that was it!!

I mainly chose the Tangs over Mbuna because the Mbuna are known to be much more aggressive and there generally has to be some amount of overstocking to cut down on that aggression. Although certain species of Tangs are aggressive I found them to be more interesting and easier to pull together as a mix...if that makes sense?

I now have a setup that I love, low aggression, the chance to watch the fish mature and colour up and no worries about softening my water. I have 2 lots of fish that are currently breeding well

 

[Proxo]

Im not sure, i really dont know one thing about african cichlids. I've always followed American.
But I've seen more Mbuna, maybe i should have more of a look into tanganyika!!

I see you both have Tanganyika setups, why them over mbuna?

I had a Tropical setup previously with a wide range if different fish, inc Blue Rams, Bolivian Rams, Apistos etc but I just didn`t seem to be able to get the conditions right or the stock I was buying was just weak??? ....I don`t really know which but I decided enough was enough after paying out for an RO unit just to change the conditions for the Rams and Apistos yet the fish still died

So, I decided to look at the Tangs, I did a lot of research into the requirements needed, which were the least aggressive and the info from this forum was brilliant. doresy, bullit, Nobody Of The Goat and kiriyama all gave me the benefit of their knowledge and experience and that was it!!

I mainly chose the Tangs over Mbuna because the Mbuna are known to be much more aggressive and there generally has to be some amount of overstocking to cut down on that aggression. Although certain species of Tangs are aggressive I found them to be more interesting and easier to pull together as a mix...if that makes sense?

I now have a setup that I love, low aggression, the chance to watch the fish mature and colour up and no worries about softening my water. I have 2 lots of fish that are currently breeding well

I was pretty glued onto the idea of mbuna but from your post i'm going to have a good look and research on tangs to make sure im 100% happy with what i get. I've heard of the overstocking mbuna but i bet that can sometimes turn out nasty too until you get it just right? i dont mind the aggression of fish (i own 3 green terrors lol) although i would prefer a nice full tank of fish.

What are tangs like for breeding? My tank is on high alert when my green terrors are breeding lol.

 

[elisew]

Well I initially did think about going down the Mbuna route because there seemed to be much more choice relating to colourful fish but I wanted to be able to enjoy watching the fish without worrying about quarantining them or hospitalising them due to having ripped chunks out of each other.....it`s not something I enjoy the thought of and definitely don`t want to encourage

The Tangs have proved to be interesting, funny and very entertaining especially my Neolamprologus caudopunctatus (punks) and multifasciatus (multis), they`re the ones that are breeding now and I only changed the setup a couple of months ago so they`ve settled quickly and comfortably into their surroundings.
I also have 3 Ophthalmotilapiapia ventralis, 3 Neolamprologus leleupi, a Julidochromis marlieri and 9 Cyprichromis leptosoma with the pair of punks, I`ve seperated the 8 multis as the leleupi were being a bit too aggressive towards the shells that had fry in As you can see from my thread ( http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/347328-ncaudopunctatus-eggs/ ) the punks protect the fry very well, they look much more aggressive than they are but they can hold their own without causing any damage to the other fish.

It`s a shame but the Tangs are sometimes a bit more expensive than the Mbuna and I think this puts people off sometimes but imho I think they`re worth the extra bit of money as I`ve only lost 2 leptosoma yet would have lost more of the Tropicals I had previously by now I think

I have chosen the low aggression Tangs as I prefer to have a peaceful tank and I am 110% glad that I chose the Tangs over the Mbuna, I also have the benefit of watching them colour up as they mature and I love that.
At the end of the day you have to go with what you feel is best for you though

 

[Proxo]

Well I initially did think about going down the Mbuna route because there seemed to be much more choice relating to colourful fish but I wanted to be able to enjoy watching the fish without worrying about quarantining them or hospitalising them due to having ripped chunks out of each other..

Hahaa, this i'm used to with my green terrors as they're having a few breeding problems lately and end up with a failed spawn attempt and fighting over it.
It's pretty annouying and the tank doesnt look nice when you've got it all seperated off so i see where you're coming from with this lol.

I've checked out a few tanganyika tanks on youtube & some random websites and they're pretty wicked, Now i really cant make my mind up haha!!
Only problem is i dont think my LFS has many to select from when it comes to tanganyika, i've seen a few mbuna.

Lucky for me the guy at the LFS is obsessed by fish, if i ask he'll try his best to get a hold of that fish for me, He got a bunch of Red Terror (Amphilophus Festae) for me just before xmas.

I'll pop upto the LFS at the weekend and see whats what and hopefully come back with a brand new big tank while im at it too hahaa!!

Btw im loving the Julidochromis marlieri, do they grow big?

 

[elisew]

Hahaa, this i'm used to with my green terrors as they're having a few breeding problems lately and end up with a failed spawn attempt and fighting over it.
It's pretty annouying and the tank doesnt look nice when you've got it all seperated off so i see where you're coming from with this lol.

I've checked out a few tanganyika tanks on youtube & some random websites and they're pretty wicked, Now i really cant make my mind up haha!!
Only problem is i dont think my LFS has many to select from when it comes to tanganyika, i've seen a few mbuna.

Lucky for me the guy at the LFS is obsessed by fish, if i ask he'll try his best to get a hold of that fish for me, He got a bunch of Red Terror (Amphilophus Festae) for me just before xmas.

I'll pop upto the LFS at the weekend and see whats what and hopefully come back with a brand new big tank while im at it too hahaa!!

Btw im loving the Julidochromis marlieri, do they grow big?

The marlieri grow to about 6", there`s a lot of good profile info here:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Julidochromis&species=marlieri&id=457
They are apparently prolific breeders and you could end up with lots and lots of fry froma pair.....just ask doresy!!

It`s good that you have a decent lfs, I buy from Maidenhead Aquatics and apart from the caudopunctatus I`ve been able to source all of my fish from there. I got my punks from one of MA staff who has his own Tang setup.

The Tangs are great but I can tell you that til I`m blue in the face....it`s either something that grabs your interest or it isn`t. I must admit I thought I was set on the Mbuna at one point but I did some more reading, 'listened' to advice and completely changed my mind and went for the Tangs.....typical woman

 

[doresy]

We did a lot of work on 'elisew' to guide her toward Tangs's and she hasn't looked back. Most people that are considering Africans usually pass on Tang's as they are less popular therefore LFS stock few varieties.

Buying Mbuna Cichlids is a bit like wanting a sports car and going straight for a Subaru Impreza

They take some sourcing but Tanganyikans are well worth it

 

[Proxo]

We did a lot of work on 'elisew' to guide her toward Tangs's and she hasn't looked back. Most people that are considering Africans usually pass on Tang's as they are less popular therefore LFS stock few varieties.

Buying Mbuna Cichlids is a bit like wanting a sports car and going straight for a Subaru Impreza

They take some sourcing but Tanganyikans are well worth it

I've got plenty of time to decide yet anyway, i still need to re-arrange the crib for room for a tank and oh yeah even buy a tank hahaa!!
I was what you mean by people usally passing on tangs as the LFS stock isnt too great but the manager at my LFS is always waiting MONTHS for these rare fish just to show em off to the regular customers.

I'll have a chat with him and see what he can do, if he can get a hold of a nice variety of tangs for me i'll prob deffo do it as i like to be the odd one out and have the not so common fish lol!

 

[elisew]

We did a lot of work on 'elisew' to guide her toward Tangs's and she hasn't looked back. Most people that are considering Africans usually pass on Tang's as they are less popular therefore LFS stock few varieties.

Buying Mbuna Cichlids is a bit like wanting a sports car and going straight for a Subaru Impreza

They take some sourcing but Tanganyikans are well worth it

I've got plenty of time to decide yet anyway, i still need to re-arrange the crib for room for a tank and oh yeah even buy a tank hahaa!!
I was what you mean by people usally passing on tangs as the LFS stock isnt too great but the manager at my LFS is always waiting MONTHS for these rare fish just to show em off to the regular customers.

I'll have a chat with him and see what he can do, if he can get a hold of a nice variety of tangs for me i'll prob deffo do it as i like to be the odd one out and have the not so common fish lol!

Hmm, know that feeling

I know Tangs aren`t for everyone for different reasons, but doresy is right, I haven`t looked back and I really am chuffed to bits that I opted for the Tang setup