100g ARLC Tank Log, even more bloody pics added.

[DeFeKt]

OK,
So most of you know of/have seen my cichlid tank.
If not, here it is, pretty plain at the moment.


Now, i've just had a little stroke of luck. In this tank i'm breeding dimidiochromis compressiceps and quite successfully might I add...

Heres the lucky part, the parent colony of mine have just come up for sale and sold to me for an absolutely unbelievable price. (Thanks Den)
Heres a picture, photo not taken by me. They are the best possible specimen I have ever seen, and are from a german bloodline...I just couldn't let them go haha
I'd also better mention my partner has kindly opted to pick them up, as I am working about 600kms away on a fly-in fly-out job.


So things are changing in my tank soon.
These comps are 20cm+ so alot of the smaller mbuna sp are going to be donated to a school in the area for their agriculture class. They keep them, raise them, breed them, use them for aquaponics and sell the veggies and fry they get from them for an end of year school bbq.

Whoever has donated to them gets first pick at either cheap or free fry + a free bbq to see their donations..
It's a great way to educated the kids and future generations so i'm more then happy to support and help them.

I'm going to keep certain numbers of them, probably 1 male and a few females of each species as I already have bulk fry.

Going to the school:
All green chromides
All friebergi
Some maingano fry (keeping ALL of my F2 adults)
Some latifasciata,
Some acei 'msuli'
all c. moori
Maybe some yellows,
also keeping all of my chipoka peacocks.

So, heres the future stocklist:

Dimidiochromis compressiceps, -8 (until april when a friend takes my old colony)
Astatotilapia latifasciata -4
Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos -5
Labidochromis caeruleus -6
Cynotilapia afra 'Cobue' -4
Pseudotropheus acei 'Msuli Point' + 'ngara' 5 + 10(ngara still growing)
Aulunocara stuartgranti 'chipoka' -4
Ancistrus dolichopterus -3

If I get time next R&R I will just slap a quick coat of black paint on the back again.
Next step is to clear the room for the comps, and add a vallis bed for them. So i'm going to either build rock structures at each end of the tank with a vallis bed in the middle, OR rocks in 3/4 of the tank with 1 full 1/4 end of it as a full vallis jungle(Probably the right hand side), what do you think?

Have had enough of typing, so i'll leave it at that and gather some criticism before I continue...

Appreciate any input :)

[triazole]

all is can say is that those are some awesome comps!
i'm pretty sure u know ur stuff, so i'm not going to badger you with the 'afras with the comps' stuff.
the tank would look even better with a touch 'o green.
!envy!

[DeFeKt]

Thanks :)

so i'm not going to badger you with the 'afras with the comps' stuff.

What do you mean? Generally, most of those species aren't suggested to be kept with the comps, just wondering why you mentioned the afra's only?

The new compressiceps have actually been grown/bred and always kept with about 100 different mbuna all of their life. When I bought mine as fry seeing them was the reason I thought i'd try them in a community.
Even as I type they are still in with the same mbuna.

I have never lost a fish to a compressiceps, excluding the time I accidentaly tipped a fry saver over and all my fish thought it was christmas lunch :D

Something else has come up, and I am quite possibly looking at an 8.5' x2'x2' tank +stand/filters/heaters & light for another extremely good price.
If I don't grab that, i'll shuffle some fish around possibly buy another little 100 gal or so and dedicate an mbuna tank + utaka tank.

the tank would look even better with a touch 'o green.

I agree entirely, so I ordered 20 vallisneria plants last night :lol:

Thanks for the kind words.

[triazole]

afras were the smallest among the lot. that's why i just mentioned them .
i was under the impression that comps were meanies to smaller fish. but u are beginning to change my perspective.
good luck with the tank. i think it'll inspire a lot of people.

[DeFeKt]

Thanks mate

ok, they've arrived, acclimated and been introduced.
All done by the hand of my loving partner Bianca... In the last few days shes learnt how to do water changes, catch fish, acclimate and introduce fish.. I'm so proud of her
Oddly enough she seems really interested in doing so to !!

You can see one of my little girls in the background next to the pump. To give you an example, she is about 12cm's.. The male at the front is 15cm's. This is my existing male, they are my new colonies children.. Getting confusing isn't it?


Possible male.. Yea, yea I know, Big fish / Little fish etc etc..


This is actually my little boy hanging out with the new females. It looks like he's having a ball showing off. I hope he realises it's not going to stay this way..
The new male hasn't coloured back up yet, they've only been in the tank a for few minutes..


Another Female shot


Females/possible male in the community.


I quite like this shot, it shows alot of the colour in the tank...that and it shows that the rocks are now clean..


9cm Maingano, next to smaller female of the new colony.


If my previous little male continues to dominate, and if he causes trouble, he will have to move on..

Hope you like, cos I do
Very impressed with these fish.

[triazole]

wow! just wow!
i hadn't expected to see such an awesome display of power. really blew me away. believe me, for someone who's always dealt with small mbunas, just seeing such huge haps sends a chill down the spine.
well, now its upto you to manage the two dominant males . congrats on converting bianca to the dark side. though i'd assume the comps played their parts too.
btw, those are some gorgeous astatotilapias. and the 2nd pic is indeed creepy!

[squawkbert]

Nice specimens

I suggest moving that car (liquid fueled?) etc off the light fixture... don't want any spills or fires.

[DeFeKt]

Thankyou

Would you believe, there is an abundance of the astatotilapia in Aus at the moment. Kind of hard to register considering they are/were becoming extinct in the wild and thought of as an endangered species.

The car is actually electric powered, but I do appreciate the concern

[DeFeKt]

Bit of an update.
Still waiting to get home so i can move some fish out.
Got some updated full tanks pics, but they suck eggs.

[triazole]

awesome. the tank is really turning into a monster! i bet the kids are loving the vals. great job.