New 16Gal. Bowed Front..

[bgraber]

Hello, just picked up this new aquarium.. 16Gal, Penguin 170 Bio-Wheel filter system.. Dechlorinated water and added 15 lbs of rinsed argonite sand.. Nitrites and ammonia at zero so we're ready!! Just Kidding! Also have a few nice pieces of Texas Holey rock sp.? Now I'm getting familiar with the correct water params for the African cichlids.. Given the size of the tank, I think we'll go with the smaller species like the shell-dwellers and actually I'm not sure what yet.. That's why I'm posting Any recommendations? Tanganyikans? We like colorful fish Obviously African with the sand and all.. or are other fish able to cope with these conditions.. Any help would be appreciated.. Wow i'm excited now

 

[bgraber]

Thinking about 5 or six shell dwellers and a few of another small species that will co-exist maybe a cave dweller or one that likes the rocks.. Any suggestions?

 

[aernympha]

some fish which are colourful and some which are interesting

Brichard's Lamprologus=9 cm
Lemon Cichlid= 9cm

these were the only two i could find in my book meeting ur conditions lol

few others

Kopemnwa
dickfeld's julie

 

[Xxzsdrklakdfj]

i would say that a 16 gal would be far too small for N. leleupi (lemon cichlid) because to get a pair you would have to have a small group and let a pair form up and remove the extras, and in a 16 gal. you would end up w/ the stronest leleupi killing everything else. Then even if you were lucky enough to get a pair to form up and got the extras out before any deaths the males are so aggressive to the females that you still could end up losing the female. I have a breeding pair that owns half of a 55 gal. And i still have to keep an eye on the male, and that's w/ pretty much all the caves in the tank being made so only the smaller female may enter.

Now onto the brichardi complex. I have heard of ppl keeping breeding pairs in 10 gal. tanks but i prefer to go for more room than that. I currently keep 4 N. pulcher "daffodil" in a 45 gal. tank stacked to the top w/ rocks. So unless you have a definate pair and have a place to move them if things get out of hand i'd say no to the brichardi also.

I think that shell-dwellers would be the best path to go down. And no i'm not just saying this because shellies are by far my fav. fish a 16 gal. would be good enough size for a pair of any of the more smaller shellies, some of my favorites being.

N. brevis
N. ocellatas "gold"
of course N. mulifasciatus Which you could have like a male and 2 fm's.
N. caudo.

and there are many others too

you could also get away w/ a pair of smaller julidochromis like transcriptus or possibly ornatus, but both of these are EXTREMELY same species aggressive to others not in a pair w/ them and since they are virtually impossible to tell apart by apperance you would have to start w/ a small group and that just wouldn't be good in a 16 gal. peace................

 

[bgraber]

Whelp what I did was bought 6 multi's Already gettin a kick out of these little buggers sheepishly hiding behind the rocks I also added 6 shell.. PLan to add more once I find them.. Am i definitely going to be forced down to a "breeding pair" here with six? I was also looking at this little blue and black african.. The name is escaping me at the moment.. Know of which I speak? The guys said the two species should get along fine.. The other is more of a rock dweller.. Very pretty black and blue.. I also plan on getting alot more rock and cave networks before adding the others.. 6 or so?

 

[bgraber]

I think the Pseudotropheus saulosi.. THis is a Malawi.. I was told they'd get along ok? With the multifaciatus?

 

[bgraber]

Update! On the second day of the fish being in there, 1 of the six is missing! Had the lid closed. There is a small slit where the filter is(barely jumpable) and another little space where the heater is.. Are the multifasciatus known to jump out? I looked all around the tank and found nothing. nothing in the filter.. The water is down maybe a 1/2 inch from the wood border so in all the water is probably 2 inches front the top of the aquarium.. Had the lights out most of the day. When I came home they were all hiding behind a big rock in the back of the tank. After I turned the light on, the came out and I fed them some flake food that they gobbled up. Only 5 of them tho! I guess there is a remote possibility that one has jammed himself up in one of the shells, but i would figure he'd be out by now.. They seem to be getting on quite fine picking up sand and moving it around.. Filling up their shells.. Hmmmmm. Think one made the leap?

 

[smb]

Look around your tank. Unless you have a dog or cat he should be there if he jumped out.

he might still be in the tank and just more shy than the others. He might also be getting picked on and will stay hiding for a while.

 

[bgraber]

Yeah I shoulda said that I picked up the rocks and messed around with the shells.. I'm giving it one more day.. Hmm I just hope he pops out They're cracking me up! Such characters they are.. I love how they kinda hide, then it seems like all at once, from different spots, they come out from behind the rock a little bit looking at me. lol So cute.

 

[smb]

Yea, there is nothing better than cichlids. Except maybe Native American fish.

Hopefully he'll show up soon. I've heard of stories where people can't find their fish for weeks and they turn their tank inside out and didn't find anything but all of a sudden they pop out.

 

[bgraber]

Dang it, this feels kinda like when my dog ran away once I went and found him tho

 

[smb]

Hang in there, he might show up soon.

 

[bgraber]

Still nothing.. Hmm, I guess he's on the carpet somehwere.. I don't see him tho. Remote possibility the dog got it but it's behind a desk that has a bunch of wires and the dog can't really get back there.. Can someone get me on Unsolved Mysteries here?!

 

[Xxzsdrklakdfj]

could still be in there. Multi's are my fav. lol. I moved my small colony to a different tank about to weeks ago and just left the old tank bare for some daffodils when i finally get a pair out of the 4 i have in a larger tank, and when i walked by the tank yesterday(about two weeks later) i noticed about 10 fry in there so these things are great hiders, lol. Well enjoy them and let us know when the fry start coming along. peace......oh and in a 16 gal. you can definately get away w/ more than one pair.

 

[bgraber]

Another update! Still haven't seen #6. He had to have gone to the dogs. The other 5 seem to be quite active digging and checking out their shells.. There is one though that is kinda hanging out mid water.. It seems that its the smallest but has the most pronounced stripes on its sides and fins.. Is this one maybe from a different batch and has been made an outcast? I'm not sure that the other fish are keeping him away from the bottom but that's what I'm guessing. THe others don't really fight along the bottom, but they have seemed to have staked their claims. Any thoughts?