My 29g African Cichlid Tank

[rippin17]

Hey all I'm new to the site so i figured I'd start off by sharing a picture of my tank with ya'll

29g AGA Oak Trim Tank
Cascade 500 Canister Filter (filled with only Ceramic Rings)
Penguin Bio-Wheel
T-5 30 Inch 10,000k Daylight and Actinic 03 Blue
Moonlight 24 inch
Carib-Sun Sand Substrate
Carved Limestone (not sure of the poundage)

Fish:

2 pictus catfish
1 common pleco
1 gold nugget pleco
1 melonchromis johanni
1 psuedotropheus desomi
2 melonchromis auratus
1 kenyi
1 venustus
3 red zebras
1 albino red zebra
1 placidochromis electra superior
1 electric yellow lab
1 peacock (not sure what kind of peacock)
1 blue dolphin
2 compressiceps
1 candy striped pleco


I realise that right now my tank is crowded, however It is only a matter of a week or so before I start to seperate my fish into two tanks. I just started my cichlid tank about 6 months ago or so, with some help from two of my friends who are also members of this site.

Sooooo be easy on the criticism, i realise there will be criticism. I'm not perfect

 

[rich311k]

The tank is gorgeous, and you obviously already know you have to many fish. What size will the new tank be? Welcome to AA!!!

 

[rippin17]

Its just another 29 gallon that i have cycling at my parents house. I have a 125 gallon but i wanna make that my saltwater

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Welcome to AA Rippin17!

The 125 would be more appropriate for the Africans instead of the 29. The Venustus will need a 100 gal tank. Africans are just too active and aggressive to be housed in anything smaller than a 55 gal. The tank looks great BTW.

 

[rippin17]

i know all this.... they are still small tho, my biggest fish besides my pleco is 3 inches, the venustus is still only 1.5 inches or so. I use that fish place in lancaster as my source to find my bigger fish a better home.

 

[rippin17]

i also wanna say i am very concious minded of my fish and their surrounding environment. i wouldnt coop up a fish that was to big for its tank. mainly because of how much limestone i have in the tank, give the fish plenty of little caves and hiding spots to hang out in but i feel it would be torture to keep a fish in a tank that was far to small for it. so i watch my fish's size and make a concious decision on what will be done with it when it out grows the current tank

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA! The tank looks fabulous! I will refrain from any overstocking comments, as it seems you have done some research in this regard already.

 

[Guest]

have you thought about doing the 125 as your african cichlid tank and doing the small one as a sw tank?

 

[rippin17]

thought about it, but i really would prefer to do a larger saltwater tank. As mentioned previously to salve my overstocking problem at the moment i have another 29 gal AGA tank cycling at my parents house and im going to give them some of my fish.

When i started i was told that its ok to somewhat overstock an african cichlid to help with the aggression and territorial problems that occurr. If thats true... well even if it is i definitely overstocked too much. The other tank has been cycling for almost a month now and I want another week of it cycling just for my own peace of mind.

The 125 i definitely want my salt water tank for tho. Plus if i dont make that salt my buddies will beat me up lol. But i have a friend who may donate a 75 gallon. If thats so I'll do that my cichlid tank. I kinda wanna do that a saltwater non-reef tho.

Right now my main concern is about thinning some of the fish outta my tank. The size of all my fish are fairly small yet so as for tank size they will be good for a while yet. I will come up with something. I wouldnt keep a fish in a tank that was too small for its size. Especially after reading the article in the Freshwater Monster island section about the common aquarium myth that fish only grow to their surroundings. It was a great lil blip and its kinda made me get on the horn to get rid of my common pleco and to start looking for a bigger tank.

 

[sherry]

I just rated you a 10 in the gallery. Really nice tank

 

[rippin17]

thank you