Swimming With Cichlids

[PBirdsong]

Hello everyone!!

Okay, it HAS been awhile. I know. Sorry about that. The new job is going AWESOME and the new tank is finally up and running!!
I have to be honest . . . the old tank WAS cool, but going back to the drawing board with my 55gal was definitely a good idea.
A couple of you know that I decided to dive in with the cichlids. So far; I love them!
Well . . . I won't make this too long. Just wanted to touch base and show off the improved 55 Gal. I call it "The Denver Tank". =)

50 lbs of play sand. 15 pounds of gravel. The stones are from Home Depot. 59 cents a piece.

 

[mr funktastic]

its kinda empty lol but looks good so far. u should add some more driftwood and rocks and kind of try to combine the 2. what cichlids do you have in there so far? what do you plan on adding all together? i also just set up a 55 gallon cichlid tank and it is going good so far to. if u are feeling really brave that tank would look amazing if u filled in alot of plants between the rocks and driftwood. have u considered any kind of backround? what kind of lights do you have in there? sorry for soo many questions lol

 

[PBirdsong]

I'm actually done adding Driftwood and rocks, but more plants will be added VERY soon. I actually want an open space in the middle. To make the two worlds (wood and stone) look like they belong I have gravel making a "gradient" in the texture over to the open sand and driftwood. (If that makes since). I'll just snap a picture later.
The driftwood is actually two pieces that I positioned in the sand to look like one.
The background is black, and I'm going to stick with that. I fell like it makes the tank stand out more.
The lighting is 130 watts.
I do plan on adding plenty of short growing plants in the middle.

This is the sump.
Ever since the first time I found fry in my sump I wanted to come up with something to protect any babies that decided to take a ride down the drain roller coaster. So . . . the 10 gal to the left is the breeder tank. The ten gal to the right is the actual sump. A syphon connects the two, and panty hose filters the syphon.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

A word of caution: Africans and Plants do not mix well together.

Do you have another pic of the fish? You say it's blue, but it looks white to me. Maybe a side shot?

 

[SeymourFRESH]

A word of caution: Africans and Plants do not mix well together.

yes i have heard this as well. but what's funny about that is my friend has nothing but african cichlids and they don't even mess with his live plants whatsoever.

 

[Scottm]

A guy on here has one of the most beautifull planted tanks I have ever seen and he keeps africans.

 

[nitrous]

ya travis has some of the best tanks i have seen with africans he sure has a talent

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Travis does have a beautiful tank. But caution has to be taken when setting up the tank and choosing tankmates. Most Africans eat algae off of plants and rocks. They will end up eating the plants. When digging they will uproot them. A beautifully planted African tank can be done, but it is ALOT of research. Definite Kudos to anyone who can pull off a planted Mbuna tank like Travis.

 

[PBirdsong]

Here is another picture of the unknown. Actually the LFS told me what he/she was, but they didn't spell the name out, so I forgot it. When I see the name again, I'll remember it.

 

[ntswift]

Some plants you might try are amazon swords and wisteria. I have them in my 55 cichlid tank and they don't touch them at all. So far your tank looks really good! The orange fish look like they're a leleupi cichlid. I've seen the other one around, but i can't think of the name off the top of my head. Nice looking fish though!

 

[Gryph]

That looks like a Neolamprologus brichardi variant. Maybe a Neolamprologus gracilis. I don't see the trademark brichardi facial markings. Does it have blue eyes?

Also, Tanganyikan cichlids often do just fine in planted tanks. They're not as voracious of diggers as Mbuna. I keep my tangs in a heavily planted tank.

 

[krap101]

yeah brichardi sounds right

 

[DeFeKt]

lol the title of this thread was decieving.
I have a friend with a 5000L outdoor cichlid pond that she dives in every once in a while.
Calls it, "Diving Lake Malawi on a budget"
looks good though, I like the emptyness.

 

[PBirdsong]

Hey. For whatever reason I didn't get alerted to the new posts! That's that name though. Neolamprologus brichardi. Thanks!
It was a cool lfs, but the lady there seemed relunctant to help. When we walked out, she did too for a cigarette break. We joked that the reason she was so "short" with us was because we were delaying her smoke break.

DeFeKt; I like the name of your friend's lake! That cracked me up.

By the way, he/she DOES have blue eyes. Like eye shadow . . .

 

[greenmaji]

I was thinking you took a trip to Africa or South America actually..

When it comes to travis, he didn't have the option of doing reaserch from what Ive read on the internet he is the second person to pull off such a tank, he's a pioneer and has posted on another fourm (the posts started before he joined AA from what I could tell when reading it) the fish/plant combinations that worked for him and the ones that didn't.

*edit*
I went and found it
http://www.tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=7645

 

[travis simonson]

Hey Pete, the tank is looking great. I really like the minimalist look as far as your hardscape goes. You should look into getting some Anubias and Java fern species for sure, as they will grow well in the very hard water required for Tang tanks. I've got a bunch of different Java fern species that would work great if you'd like some starters. There are several species of Crypts that should also do well in your tank. You've got plenty of light so it should be very interesting to see what you can get away with

I think the first fish pic (the yellow Tang) is a Neolamprologus leleupi, known as a lemon cichlid. The second is definitely an N. brichardi. I've never kept Tangs before but I'm guessing they might be a little less of a pain when it comes to keeping them in a tank with plants.

As far as not being able to see replies to posts, check your profile and make sure the radio button for "Always Notify Me of Replies" is set to "Yes." I had the same problem after the board upgrade.

Keep us updated as the tank progresses

 

[travis simonson]

LOL GM, that list was compiled some time ago - nice find I've figured out a bit more about what will and won't work, at least in my ARLC tanks, since then. I'll put together an updated list and post it in the Plants forum this weekend.

I've never seen a nicely planted Tanganyikan tank before, so Pete will be breaking some ground here as well

 

[greenmaji]

LOL GM, that list was compiled some time ago - nice find I've figured out a bit more about what will and won't work, at least in my ARLC tanks, since then. I'll put together an updated list and post it in the Plants forum this weekend.

I've never seen a nicely planted Tanganyikan tank before, so Pete will be breaking some ground here as well

Hay, Its only been two years. ROFL!
And I only read it a year ago.

Its about time you made a list for AA though, It seems that there has been quite a bit of "mystery" to the posters about planted ARLC tanks, Ive seen many posts were they think your success was based on luck instead of work. The upcoming list should help out ALOT!!

And I aggree, I havnt seen a lake Tan. planted yet, I hope you have the best of luck (or at least not too much work LOL) getting it far past your expectations.

 

[PBirdsong]

Yeah. I hope so too. I'm at a little bit of a standstill, though, because I can't decide now what to add (plant wise) to my tank that will still fit the decor.
I actually do have Java Ferns in there. Mainly growing in the rocks. I hope they will take root soon and start to spread.
When the TAX return shows up I'll add the CO2.
Anyways . . . the cichlids are behaving so far. No plant nipping of any kind. In fact, one of the leleupis likes to hide in one of the plants.
But while we are on the topic . . . I found a Mated pair of the Blue Electric Cichlids at one of our LFS here in Denver. Think they will do okay in this tank?

*edit* There are more pictures on my lame Bebo site.

 

[travis simonson]

Here's a link to a great cichlid importer here in the Denver area. I've never visited or done business with them, but they are the next place I plan on checking out. Very impressive stock list (at least for Malawians ).

http://www.thedenvercichlidarium.com/