my first Tanganyika shell dweller tank (now with pictures)

[gheitman]

Like many people I read about lately I have decided to set up my first Tanganyika cichlid tank. I have a lot of experience with other cichlids such as kribs, jewels, angels, apistos, checkerboards, etc. I would like to populate the tank with a half dozen multies as I am interested in the harem breeding. I don't plan to add any other fish at least initially. The setup of the tank will be as follows:

20 gallon long tank
standard hood w/ fluorescent bulb
20 pounds of Carib Sea Eco-Complete African Cichlid sand
sponge filter rated for 30 gallons
100W heater
50 gold mouth turbo snail shells

My water out of the tap is neutral as far as pH goes and not very hard so in addition to the substrate I have Seachem's Cichlid Lake Salt and Tanganyika Buffer in case they are needed. I'm considering adding a powerhead to increase the water circulation. I like plants in my tanks so I am thinking of putting some vals in back but otherwise not plant it as heavily as my other tanks.

Does anyone have suggestions, comments, etc.? Is there anything I am forgetting?

 

[JDogg]

i think you will be very happy with the multis!

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Everything sounds good to me, although planted plants don't stay planted in multi tanks. I anchor java ferns to rocks in my shellie tanks.

 

[gheitman]

I've been thinking of tying some Anubias or Java ferns to some rocks instead of the vals. I may not have any plants at all for that matter.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

No, I think the plants are a good idea. They just have to be of the anchored variety.

 

[Sabrehorn]

An uncle gave me a 20 or so gallon hex tank last month. Just wondering if maybe this would be good enough for a few shellies?

 

[rich311k]

Sounds like a nice setup. Good luck with them.

 

[gheitman]

The 20 gallon hex should be fine it just wouldn't necessarily be the optimum solution. From what I have read so far most shell dwellers stay towards the bottom of the tank so the middle and upper layers would be pretty much unoccupied. That is why you frequently see the shorter 20 gallon long or 40 gallon breeder recommended for these types of fishes (it gives more substrate area for shells). On the other hand the 20 gallon hex should offer much better viewing of their activity since you've got six sides to observe from I'm not an expert by any means since I am just setting up my first shell dweller tank.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Yes, the 20g hex wouldn't be my first choice for a shell dweller tank, but it'll work just fine.

 

[gheitman]

My tank is now set up and my fish have been ordered. I should have them here by the middle of next week and will post some pictures at the first opportunity. I ended up with the following:

20 lbs. of sand giving a depth of less than an inch
50+ gold and silver mouth turbo shells
sponge filter and power head
3 Anubias plants
assorted rocks

That Carib Sea Eco-Complete African Cichlid Sand really does buffer the tank to a higher pH. I added one bag and then filled the tank with tap water. Other than treating the water with Prime and Stability I didn't try to alter the chemistry in any way. I measured the pH at above 8.4 by the end of the night.

 

[Zagz]

I can't wait to see the pictures with the new fish!

 

[darrin36]

hey try putting some coral in your filtre and the more shell you add the more your ph will go up to optimal . good idea with the fine sand cose sand is to hard on there little mouths i just used some nice untouched river sand rinsed the hell out of it and found it works great it is funny watching my shellies dredge through the sand doing there mating things. also some nice size rocks for making caves for them to wonder into i found my shellies like to explore little crevises

 

[gheitman]

Thanks for the suggestion on the coral but since I am using a sponge filter that really isn't an option. I'm doing the next best thing by using the Carib Sea sand which raises the tank pH very nicely. I also have Seachem's Tanganyika Buffer and Cichlid Lake Salt to raise the pH and hardness respectively if needed. It seems clear that even with the number of shells that I have ordered that a greater number may be required. I'll wait and see before getting more though.

P.S. If anyone needs shells, caves, logs, etc. for any kind of fish I highly recommend you look at www.cichlidbreeding.com. That is where I got my shells for this tank as well as some small artificial rock caves for my apistos.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I can't wait to see pictures! Shellies are such cute little cichlids and I've heard they are fun to keep. I hope to try my hand at them eventually. I have plans to turn my Malawi tank into a Tanganyikan tank and will definitely have some shellies in there.

Are you going with Multies?

 

[gheitman]

I have some multies on order and they should be here in a day or two. I'll post pictures of them as soon as I can.

 

[darrin36]

hey if you are using an aquaclear empty out the bio rings and put some coral chunks in that and also lose the charcoal all that is good for is taking the medication out of a medicated tank . Actualy charcoal after a period of time is toxic to your fish. in my aquaclear i use the sponge filtre then i have bio stars from rena xp filtres. not the ceramic but the bio star then i have a bag of coral chunks and on the intake in side the tank. i use the sponge from fluval intank filtres and tie one end. or i use the sponge filtre tfrom an aqua clear and cut a big x length wise so it will slide over the intake that way you never have gunk clogging up the filtre and all you have to do is rinse the sponge out and do filtre maint every 4 months. works awsome

just some food for thought

 

[Big Ben]

lose the charcoal all that is good for is taking the medication out of a medicated tank . Actualy charcoal after a period of time is toxic to your fish.

:? I dont know, Im pretty sure carbon can be good for more then just removing meds. Carbon is not toxic to fish at all. Doesn't it actually remove toxins? Eventually, yes it can leak the adsorbed toxins back into the water if not changed frequently enough. But if you make sure to change it often enough, its effect on water quality is worth it id say.

gheitman, just out of curiosity how do you acclimate fish when ordering them from somewhere else? I am planning on ordering some diferent fish myself. Ive heard mixed information on how to acclimate shipped fish. From what i hear it is best to add an amonia remover to the bag then slowly add water from the tank into the bag or into a pail with the fish in it.

 

[rich311k]

Carbon does not leak back toxins. It would need heated to a 1000 degrees F or some such in order to reactivate it. If your tank gets that hot you will have other problems to worry about.

 

[darrin36]

myself and alot of people i have found toss the carbon and double up on the sponge also polyester floss workes awsome for water polishing just add it in a media bad all you have to do is toss it everyweek and refill at 1.23 a bag and you get a huge amount cant go wrong and it works great for bacteria build up

 

[gheitman]

lose the charcoal all that is good for is taking the medication out of a medicated tank . Actualy charcoal after a period of time is toxic to your fish.

:? I dont know, Im pretty sure carbon can be good for more then just removing meds. Carbon is not toxic to fish at all. Doesn't it actually remove toxins? Eventually, yes it can leak the adsorbed toxins back into the water if not changed frequently enough. But if you make sure to change it often enough, its effect on water quality is worth it id say.

gheitman, just out of curiosity how do you acclimate fish when ordering them from somewhere else? I am planning on ordering some diferent fish myself. Ive heard mixed information on how to acclimate shipped fish. From what i hear it is best to add an amonia remover to the bag then slowly add water from the tank into the bag or into a pail with the fish in it.

This is what the breeder I am ordering the fish from, Bluegrasscichlids.com, had to say on his web site about acclimating fish:

"After receiving the fish take the bag or bags out and float them in the tank that the will be placed in. Do this for 20 minutes or until the water inside the bag has equalized with the tank water. Then pour the entire contents through a net and place only the fish in the tank. Dispose of all the water not using any of it in your tank. Do not put fish in a bucket and use the so called “drip line” method. This cause the ph to rise making the ammonia that has built up in the bag more toxic."

I had planned to use the drip method and then treat the water with Prime
to remove the Ammonia. But since he has shipped fish hundreds of times I think I'll follow his instructions.