Lake Tanganyika Cichlids

[zoeb2912]

im thinking of starting a Lake Tanganyika Cichlid tank.

i was wondering if someone could give me some of the basic steps in keeping these fish. i am a complete newb to this type of fish and would like some starting points for me to reserch.

some fish that i like are;

Blue Neon Cichlid Paracyprichromis nigripinnis
Daffodil Cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher
Fairy (Lyretail) Cichlid Neolamprologus brichardi
Lamprologus caudopunctatus
Sardine (Slender) Cichlid Cyprichromis leptosoma
Tanganyikan Butterfly Xenotilapia papilio
White-tailed Brichardi Neolamprologus gracilis

Thanks

 

[webbie]

what size tank you thinking of setting up ?C.Leptosomma ,cyps for short, prefer a tank 4 foot in length,do you have hard or soft water where you are? getting the right mix of fish in a tang set up is vital, ie open water fish cyps and nigripinnis,rock dwellers Neolamprologus will fill that space ,and then there are your shell dwellers ,multis etc

 

[minnnt]

Mixing so many Neolamprologus Species isn't a great idea really.

 

[thereverendturtle]

I agree with minnnt. If you add the three neos all from the brichardi complex, 1 they will fight and 2 there is the possibility they will hybridize.

 

[titofr]

Hey zoeb , hi, im new there but speciality in tanga cichlids, so u want mix 3 different kind of species, so hybbrids,
u cant do dat at the limit u can mix daffodil and gracilis but really care them if they dont couple together, if u have 2 couple make u can really look not more .

 

[kiriyama]

Hi , sorry for late reply, not posted on here for a while

I have no experience with tropical fish as have only kept Tanganyikan cichlids. The species you have chosen are some nice mix in there. If you were to use a 4' tank for instance you could put a couple of different type species in there. The key is to try give each species its own small territory or environment.
Paracyprichromis nigripinnis, not kept these (YET!!!) , slate stacked at one tank end with overhangs, they will hang at all angles under the slate and in caves, they look amazing in the shaded part of the tank.,
The brichardi and pulcher are pretty much just the same type so just one type for your tank, they will use the rocks and if they breed will take care of fry, each new generation will care for the next younger generation , so eventually take over the tank.
The caudopunctatus are technically a rock dweller although will spawn in shells, they love digging in the sand and work well in a "community" as they only take a small territory, I have a pair that follow each other everywhere and ignore everything else, always patrolling the tank with yellow dorsal fin erect, nice to see, now in there own small tank now as I'm changing a few tanks at the moment.
Good mix if the tank 4' would be
Xenotilapia - open sand (bottom)
Cyprichromis - open water
Paracyps or punctatus on the rocks
3 species making a nice "peaceful" commnunity , have tried it and it worked well.....
Sorry for going on LOL, hope this helps , all the best , Sean