New Year New Challenge!

[rifty]

Hi Guys I am bored with one of my 6 foot tanks in the shed! I currently keep Malawi cichlids but want to diversify only a bit mind to a Tangy tank I have spoken about this before but this is defo happening this time.
I have read books done web based research but not spoken to any keepers of Tangs for advice or opnions on what to stock etc so please help!!!

this is a rough what I want list not sure if I will be able to get them all but have some real good contacts so fingers crossed again if you know breeders let me know!

Open Water:
12 Cyprichromis leptosoma
20 Cyp. sp. leptosoma Jumbo

Rocks & Caves:
2 Eretmodus cyanostictus
2 Julidochromis ornatus
2 Chalinochromis sp. Ndobhoi
2 Neolamprologus leleupi (Yellow)
8 Tanganicodus irsacae
4 Julidochromis regani
2 Altolamprologus calvus (Black)

Shells:
3 Lamprologus occelatus
2 Neolamprologus brevis
3 Neolamprologus calliurus
5 Lamprologus meleagris

Open Sand:
6 Xenotilapia ochrygenys
8 Enantiopus melanogenys
4 Cyathopharynx furcifer

also can i use the malawi cycled tank and add tangs or would they get mystery illness etc? and what foods are best for tangs

 

[Malawi MaD]

Sounds interesting, don't know much about tangs but i think you will be able to add them to a cycled malawi tank, just doo a larger water change and you may need to buffer the water slightly as Tangs prefer a slightly higher PH/GH/KH i think.

Dont forget pics when you do sort this out

 

[Lufbramatt]

a 6 footer is a big tank but I don't think big enough for the whole list, Tangs need a lot of real estate to form territories, can't see how you'd be able to make enough rock work but still leave open snad for the shellies and sandsifters. You'd probbaly get them all in but they wouldn't have enough space to display their true behaviours, which is half the interest factor with tangs anyway. It would be like a livestock tank in a shop, stocked to the brim with cramped in fish. Less is defo more with Tangs.

Probably not a good idea to keep more than one or two types of shellie, also not a good idea to keep brevis and calliurus together as they can hybridise. Occies can be nasty little fish who will terrorise all the other shelldwellers. Also wouldn't keep more than one sort of julie for the same reason.

6' probably isn't big enough for 20 jumbo cyps, they grow pretty big (up to 7")and with all the rock work you'd need for the rock dwelling fish they wouldn't have enough space to swim around. I'd give them a miss and have more cyp. leptosoma, a BIG shoal of them with 4-5 males and 20 females would be stunning.

The tank sounds like it will be amazing but IMO you need to scale things down a bit, maybe under half the number of species you have put down.

 

[rifty]

ok cool i lifted the stock from another site and changed some of the fish for ones i liked more but most where on the list so bad advice from them! I will have another go at a list but i really appreciate the info

also dont mind a what would you keep type post

 

[rifty]

Open Water:
12 Cyprichromis leptosoma
12 Paraciprichromis nigripinnis Blue neon

Rocks & Caves:
2 Julidochromis ornatus
2 Chalinochromis sp. Ndobhoi
2 Neolamprologus leleupi (Yellow)
8 Tanganicodus irsacae
2 Altolamprologus calvus (Black)

Shells:
3 Neolamprologus calliurus
5 Lamprologus meleagris

Open Sand:
6 Xenotilapia ochrygenys
8 Enantiopus melanogenys
4 Cyathopharynx furcifer


any better or slim it out some more? I may have my malawi hat on still?

 

[Lufbramatt]

I think I would do:

open water:
25 cyprichromis leptosoma (5m 20f)

rocks:
4-6 julidochromis dickfeldi
4-6 altolamprologus compressiceps (gold heads are amazing if you can find them) OR altolamprologus sumbu "shell" which are a dwarf shell dwelling variety and really cute

shells:
4-6 lamprologus ocellatus gold

sand:
6-8 opthalmotilapia ventralis (2m 6f)

catfish:

4-8 synodontis lucipinnis or synodontis petricola

I think I would aim for that to start with then leve it for a bit, then possibly add more if it looks like they would fit in ok.

From your list, which has some superb fish in BTW, there are a few I would avoid for this sort of tank- Tanganicodus irsacae are vegetarian and are best kept with Tropheus. Enantiopus melanogenys are probably best in a single species tank.

 

[rifty]

thanks again Lufbramatt do you keep tangs? what do you feed them on?

Open Water:
12 Cyprichromis leptosoma
12 Paraciprichromis nigripinnis Blue neon i have to have these

Rocks & Caves:
2 Julidochromis ornatus
2 Chalinochromis sp. Ndobhoi i have to have these
2 Neolamprologus leleupi (Yellow)
2 Altolamprologus calvus (Black)

Shells:
3 Neolamprologus calliurus
5 Lamprologus meleagris

Open Sand:
6 Xenotilapia ochrygenys
4 Cyathopharynx furcifer

Cats I didnt think about but i like poli whites?

 

[Lufbramatt]

yeah, they basically eat anything, mine get tetra prima, tetra wafers, spirulina tablets, cooked peas, cucumber, courgette, frozen brine shrimp, daphnia, basically whatever you put in the tank they will hoover up. They even go after the catfish pellets. Only thing they don't really like is flake food as their mouths are the wrong shape to feed from the surface. Want to try them on live food after watching a juvie brevis go mental trying to eat a fly that was walking on the outside of the glass. Have even got the juvies that were born in the tank to take food from my fingers which was funny.

new list looks great, should be stunning tank. how are you planning to aquascape it?

 

[rifty]

at the mo i have the tank like this

probs change the sand for silversand build the rock up on the right add shells front right and left?

 

[synodontismultipunctatus]

Man i REEEAAALLY want a 6fter! will have to wait untill i move out though xD
thought of a species only tank?
definately multipunctatus or petricola for catfish though

 

[Lufbramatt]

Cool, should be a pretty simple changeover. I would add more smaller rocks to make sure there's lots of caves, keep both piles separate to make more territories for the rock dwellers, have one rock pile at one end then the other 2/3rds the way down so you can split up the shells as you're doing two shellie species. Just need to create lots of sight breaks so the fish can't always see each other, they use individual rocks etc as territory markers. Did my 4.5 footer like this and everyone gets on well.

Could also add loads of vallis (native to lake tanganyika) to give the smaller fish hiding places and make it look more natural. They won't eat it.

I have a couple of syno lucipinnis in my tank and they're great to watch playing follow my leader in and out of the rocks. Never seen polli in real life but look stunning in pics.

 

[rifty]

this is one of 2 six footers i have on top of each other and no i would like a mixture at the mo of fish. ok have added some more rock already since this as mainly had haps in it so rock wasnt as necessary but going to create some really nice crevis's for them. the 2 groups of rock are about that distance apart now shells near the front or back and close to the rock of a bit out?

 

[rifty]

started to collect a few fish happens an old friend of my dad keeps some Tanganyikans so been able to get from him! really want some Paracyprichromis blue neons but not paying 25 quid a fish if i can help! any ideas where i can get some?

 

[Lufbramatt]

only seen paracyp."blue neon" once in a LFS, which was last weekend when the shop I get most of my stuff from had a huge delivery of africans . . . they're £35 each up there! I don't think they travel very well hence the huge prices.

I have seen one place where they had some really nice healthy looking cyp. leptosoma "utinta" for a tenner each, but I want them so I'm not saying where it is hehe

 

[rifty]

was it in sidcup that had the leptosoma? found 2 places that can get them for me mikes rifts 25 and living reef where selling them 2 for 30 quid so will hold out as in no rush and have another getting back to me dont think they are rare but it see,s poplular at the moment