New Tank....

[BadBadger]

Hey all,

Its been a while since i've been on, and been a while since i've paid the hobby any attention other than feeding and cleaning.

So, to get myself interested again, i've scouted the papers to find a deal. Heres the outcome...

Its approximately 160l give or take 10l because of the wierd shape. The dimensions are 36" length, 20" high, 15" depth at the bottom and 12" depth at the top.

A new filter is definately in order, in which i'll probably get my first external (any recomandations?).

Anyways, im thinking about new world cichlids or maybe a malawi set up. Are either of these ideas feasible in this size tank? If not i'll tinker with the idea of a congo set up, which is what the rio 180 was originally going to be.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[kizno1]

Very nice.
I would go for a Fluval 405. Ive got one on my 30G and its great. I would go for a SA tank with
1 BN
1 Banjo catfish
1 Whiptail of some type
2 Red breasted acara (get 4 and wait for 2 to pair then sell the 2 left over)
2 Angel fish or festivum cichlids (get 4 and wait for 2 to pair)
10 lemon tetra

 

[kizno1]

Or you could go for a Myanmar biotope like i am with my 21G
You wouldnt need a heater. You could have something like
5 Akysis prashadi
5 Hara hara
5 Garra flavatra
5 Black Tiger Dario
10 Odessa barb

Most of the first arnt that common but if you look around you can find them fairly easily.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

would a 405 be overkill? i know over filtering is far better than under, but to save some money i think a 305 (or even the 205) would do the job.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Kinzo, i like your Myanmar idea (is this the same as Burma? my geography is poor...)

Is there any online resource that could tell me which fish come from where? am thinking of doing a biotope for my next set-up, and would be interested if there is a one-stop shop for information on these things.

If you really want to impress me (and save me lots of time...), have you (or other memebers) thought of setting up such a list of popular fish and what biotope they would fit into? would be worthy of a sticky in my book!

 

[BadBadger]

Both brilliant ideas. Thankyou kizno.

Anyone got any other ideas?

Cheers

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

4 or 5 African Butterfly Fish up top
3 Congo Bushfish (M. congicum) or 1 Leopard Bushfish (C. acutirostre) mid-water
10 Congo Tetra or 10 Yellowtail Congo Tetra or 10 Three Striped Catfish (P. buffei, often missold as Debauwi Catfish) mid-water
6+ Upside Down catfish (S. nigiriventris)
2 Kribs or 2 Thomasi Cichlid or 2 Nanochromis parilius/nudiceps

 

[drobbyb]

What kind of readings do you have in your tap water. Keeping African cichlids in acidic water wouldn't be ideal. Usually your tap water dictates what fish you should keep. It is possible to tailor your water specifically, but some methods can be troublesome and expensive depending on the result you want.

 

[Channti]

4 or 5 African Butterfly Fish up top
3 Congo Bushfish (M. congicum) or 1 Leopard Bushfish (C. acutirostre) mid-water
10 Congo Tetra or 10 Yellowtail Congo Tetra or 10 Three Striped Catfish (P. buffei, often missold as Debauwi Catfish) mid-water
6+ Upside Down catfish (S. nigiriventris)
2 Kribs or 2 Thomasi Cichlid or 2 Nanochromis parilius/nudiceps

On the African Butterfly Fish, My Bow-Front tank is about the same dimensions, and due to the territorial nature of African Butterflyfish, I would recommend two instead of 4-5. My tank is 36"lx20"hx16.25"w, and while I originally tried to keep a trio, one was bullied almost to death by the other two. The two I have now still get territorial with each other, but live mostly peacefully. I dont feel that there is enough surface area to keep 4-5 of these fish in this tank.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

4 or 5 African Butterfly Fish up top
3 Congo Bushfish (M. congicum) or 1 Leopard Bushfish (C. acutirostre) mid-water
10 Congo Tetra or 10 Yellowtail Congo Tetra or 10 Three Striped Catfish (P. buffei, often missold as Debauwi Catfish) mid-water
6+ Upside Down catfish (S. nigiriventris)
2 Kribs or 2 Thomasi Cichlid or 2 Nanochromis parilius/nudiceps

On the African Butterfly Fish, My Bow-Front tank is about the same dimensions, and due to the territorial nature of African Butterflyfish, I would recommend two instead of 4-5. My tank is 36"lx20"hx16.25"w, and while I originally tried to keep a trio, one was bullied almost to death by the other two. The two I have now still get territorial with each other, but live mostly peacefully. I dont feel that there is enough surface area to keep 4-5 of these fish in this tank.

Were your trio all or mostly males by any chance? (males have the kinked rear-edge to their anal fin, females have a straight rear-edge)

The social side of ABFs is something that has only come to my attention recently and I now intend to buy five females and one male when Aquajardin gets its next batch in from Nigeria in the next week or two, to go with the male I got mid-summer. I've seen tanks with ~12 ABF in, where they split into mini groups that literally "huddle" up with major pectoral fin overlap, with no aggression shown. Provisionally, they will be in my 240 (120x41cm footprint), which will give them plenty of room to spread out if they feel "grumpy!"

Perhaps 4 or 5 might be pushing it for a 180l, starting with a trio that includes just one male would be a more conservative approach.

 

[Channti]

4 or 5 African Butterfly Fish up top
3 Congo Bushfish (M. congicum) or 1 Leopard Bushfish (C. acutirostre) mid-water
10 Congo Tetra or 10 Yellowtail Congo Tetra or 10 Three Striped Catfish (P. buffei, often missold as Debauwi Catfish) mid-water
6+ Upside Down catfish (S. nigiriventris)
2 Kribs or 2 Thomasi Cichlid or 2 Nanochromis parilius/nudiceps

On the African Butterfly Fish, My Bow-Front tank is about the same dimensions, and due to the territorial nature of African Butterflyfish, I would recommend two instead of 4-5. My tank is 36"lx20"hx16.25"w, and while I originally tried to keep a trio, one was bullied almost to death by the other two. The two I have now still get territorial with each other, but live mostly peacefully. I dont feel that there is enough surface area to keep 4-5 of these fish in this tank.

Were your trio all or mostly males by any chance? (males have the kinked rear-edge to their anal fin, females have a straight rear-edge)

The social side of ABFs is something that has only come to my attention recently and I now intend to buy five females and one male when Aquajardin gets its next batch in from Nigeria in the next week or two, to go with the male I got mid-summer. I've seen tanks with ~12 ABF in, where they split into mini groups that literally "huddle" up with major pectoral fin overlap, with no aggression shown. Provisionally, they will be in my 240 (120x41cm footprint), which will give them plenty of room to spread out if they feel "grumpy!"

Perhaps 4 or 5 might be pushing it for a 180l, starting with a trio that includes just one male would be a more conservative approach.

At the time of purchasing, they were still quite small and hard to sex. I believed that I had 2 females and 1 male, although its possible that I had 2 males and 1 female. I now believe that I have 1 male, 1 female left in the tank (but to be totally honest, I haven't seen this tank since the first week of October, my family is taking care of it as I'm at university).

 

[BadBadger]

Sorry for the late reply. Having internet trouble, so having to use my phone

I'm getting some great ideas on the two threads I've posted (the other in new world cichlids).

I like the goats idea very much and its an idea I've toyed with a few times. When you say leopard bush fish, is that the same as a spotted climbing perch? Easy question but not so easy to google on this phone.

Too many ideas, too little space!

I'll give a proper reply when my internet finally comes back on.

Cheers

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I believe Leopard Bushfish and Spotted Climbing Perch are one of the same, Ctenopoma acutirostre