Tang community setup guidance.

[howmanyds]

I'd appreciate any guidance as I choose the inhabitants of my 75g tank which will hopefully be done cycling in a few weeks.
My water is very hard so I think Tangs will be best, but I'd still be open to a Malawi setup if they could handle the hardness.

My ideal tank would have a variety of fish sizes/shapes/habitats with a whole rainbow of colors, even if not as vibrant as the Mbuna. They probably shouldn't be larger than 6" at full length. I have 100+ lb of rock structure with caves and tunnels and many shells throughout the tank from Australian and New Zealand beaches. I'd also prefer to not have to do weekly water changes, if possible, to allow for road trips.

So, using the cookie cutter setups from the cichlid forums as a starting point, I have the following as a rough idea, though I don't know if it's as colorful as I could possibly get in a 4' tank.

12 cyps
8 paracyp. nigripinnis
2 gobies
2 altos
2 julies
2 neo. brevis
4 bifs
6 multies
Pleco - which one stays small?

Thoughts? Too crowded?

 

[Gulfstream]

Probably a little overstocked.. I believe the cyps like 6 ft tanks better than 4 ft... Bristle nose Plecoptera is a good choice.. The multis might take over that tank in time....

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Toss the cyps, add a bristlenose and call it a tank. I think with this setup and correct filtration you could get away with every other week water change

 

[NYgiantsRP]

If you don't want to have to change the water every week, then how often are you looking to do it? That tank is pretty overstocked and you might not be able to get away with waiting much more then a week for a water change. Are the "altos" of the compressiceps or calvus? If calvus I would remove them from the stock. Also, I would knock it down to 8 cyps and 4 multies. That might make it light enough for biweekly water changes. But if you are looking for monthy changes, you might have to rethink some things.

 

[howmanyds]

I was planning on a yellow or black calvus but I'd be just as happy with a compres Red Fin. Why could I do the latter but not the former?

Is a school of 8 cyps really okay? I thought they needed to be in groups of at least 12.

 

[howmanyds]

Oh, and biweekly water changes sounds fine.

 

[Freakgecko91]

Cyprichromis leptosoma will work fine people, we're talking about a 3" fish, not a 10" fish. They do perfectly fine in "smaller" spaces. As for the shellies, I'd pick one species and up their numbers greatly. They don't like to be near other species as its competition for their own shells. You will have wars

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Cyprichromis leptosoma will work fine people, we're talking about a 3" fish, not a 10" fish. They do perfectly fine in "smaller" spaces. As for the shellies, I'd pick one species and up their numbers greatly. They don't like to be near other species as its competition for their own shells. You will have wars

Do you have experience with them or just going by size?

 

[Freakgecko91]

I was just speaking with the owner of my favorite lfs, the best fish-wise in lower Michigan, Andy's has paracyprichromis, as well as cyprichromis. He does have personal experience. Also, look online, I am yet to find something that says the minimum is a 5 footer. They may be active fish, but they are not like say rainbows that'll use the entire tank, they tend to stay in a spot and not dart back and forth

 

[howmanyds]

So, making a segue here: are there any tangs who will dart around comfortably in my 4' tank or should I avoid that in this size, especially with rock edges in many places?

Also, I can only have one kind of lepto, yes? I can't get a variety for a more colorful grouping because of the cross breeding?

 

[Freakgecko91]

I believe they're similar to tropheus as to where they will breed with their same color morph only, but not positive on that. I'd stick to one variant to avoid muddying bloodlines

 

[howmanyds]

Instead of leptos I'm thinking of microlepidotus. They only get to 4.5", so perhaps a school of 8 would be fine in my 75 gallon. (Any other opinions on the less-than-12 school of cyps question?)

But I'm still trying to figure out this cross breeding thing. Is it within the same genus you're not supposed to mix? So leptos and microlepos shouldn't mix, right?

 

[Wyomingite]

C. leptosoma will be fine in a 4' tank. My breeding group is in a 55. A large male will average around 4.5", females are sittin' around 3" average. Nothing shorter though, despite their relatively small size. They are active fish.

WYite

 

[howmanyds]

Okay - I've adjusted my species/numbers just a tad. Keep in mind that the cyps will not be jumbos. I also plan to have plenty of shells to go around so the shellies wont need to bicker too much. Am i right in thinking that once they've chosen their shells, they won't come out much anyway, whether or not to argue with other shellies? I'd also love any help finding tangs (or a compatible fish) in these colors: green, purple, or orange, either from my list below or elsewhere.

10 cyps
6 paracyp. nigripinnis
2 gobies
2 alto compress.
2 julies
2 neo. buscheri
4 bifs
4 multies
bristlenose

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Okay - I've adjusted my species/numbers just a tad. Keep in mind that the cyps will not be jumbos. I also plan to have plenty of shells to go around so the shellies wont need to bicker too much. Am i right in thinking that once they've chosen their shells, they won't come out much anyway, whether or not to argue with other shellies? I'd also love any help finding tangs (or a compatible fish) in these colors: green, purple, or orange, either from my list below or elsewhere.

10 cyps
6 paracyp. nigripinnis
2 gobies
2 alto compress.
2 julies
2 neo. buscheri
4 bifs
4 multies
bristlenose

Shellie's are pretty active once they have their shells they will guard them and hangout outside the shell mostly

 

[Freakgecko91]

My females will chase anything that comes near their shell. If these fish were the size or most other cichlids, say 4-5", they'd be absolute terrors with aggression

 

[howmanyds]

If I were to mix a small school of peacocks (6-8?) should I remove either the school of cyps or the school of paracyps? That is, will the peacocks swim more in the open spaces that the cyps would otherwise occupy, or will they mostly be around the rocky edges where the paracyps would be?

And thanks for the advice!! I can't imagine filling a community tank using only the knowledge of the teenagers at Petco!

 

[Freakgecko91]

I'd stay away from peacocks in a tanganyikan tank, they're from a whole other lake (Malawi) and although aren't as aggressive as mbuna, are still gonna been the aggressive side. I still say a school of cyps, but that's just me

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Peacocks will swim in open water mainly. I have a ton of peacocks with tangs and like I said everything is great, that's from my experience I have kept them in smaller tanks (50 gallons) and my large tank together with no problems.

 

[Freakgecko91]

You've kept them with multies? I don't see a 1 inch fish doing so well with peacocks...