Cichlid Tank??

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#1
Jan 29, 2006
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#1
Hey everybody

In my 30 gallon, I currently have 4 adult platies, and numerous fry, and I plan on trading them all in (moving out of livebearers onto something more interesting). Is a 30 gallon a big enough tank to hold any type of cichlid? I have naturally high pH (8.2), so I don't really need to do anything for my water. The tank dimensions are 36"x12"x18"
 

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tubbs24

tubbs24

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#3
Jan 29, 2006
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#3
o yeah, I was going to ditch the plants also, I don't really have a green thumb (i killed off almost everything including indestructable java moss). I was thinking of making a slate display, or something with rocks, and stack 'em up like one tank I saw on here at one point.
 

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Cichlid-Man

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#6
Jul 9, 2003
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#6
GeraldTheMouse said:
Well, you might not be able to keep cichlids with plants, but you could have rams, possibly firemouth cichlids, Orange Leleupi Cichlid, and other small cichlids. You can just go on liveaquaria.com and they tell what size tank the fish need.
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Live aquaria can be very wrong a lot of times. I personally would never go there as a source of information other then seeing what some fish look like.

A 30gal, i would not recommed any african cichlids apart from Shelldwellers. I'd stick to the South American dwarfs like Apistos, rams, keyholes, etc. The dwarfs will give you the most color, but the shelldwellers will give you the most interesting show...in my experiences at least.
 

Igor The Cat

Igor The Cat

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#7
Jul 14, 2003
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#7
Yes like T-Man said, live aquaria is not a good source for anything but really what they look like NOT for what tank size they need.

but if you wanted something a little bit larger than apistos (which you shouldnt lol) you could prolly get a couple Orange Chromides (IF you are willing to go brackish) or a pair of convicts....though those breed like live bearers lo

Cheers

-Java
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

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#8
Jan 29, 2006
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#8
Igor The Cat said:
(IF you are willing to go brackish)
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been there, done that ;)

For tank species, I was thinking of going with Tanganyika species, and I went to cichlid-forum.com, and did a little researching. I found this page, which is supposed to be for a '20 gallon' tank size, but I wanted to try to do it for a 30 gallon. What do you think of the stocking?

• Julidochromis regani - 1 pair
• Neolamprologus leleupi - 1 pair
• 'Lamprologus' occelatus - 1 trio

My LFS carries all of these, and then a whole lot more, so if there is any wrong with that stocking, don't be afraid to harp in! I want to do this right!
 

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Cichlid-Man

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#9
Jul 9, 2003
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#9
Ah, tangs....you've stepped into Orions domain now. He knows more about them then i do, especially stocking. From my standpoint i personally wouldn't go with the Leleupi....they can get nasty especially when breeding (though all cichlids have the potential to). But they sure would add some color if they could be worked in.
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

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#10
Jan 29, 2006
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#10
Lol, im in Orion country then, eh? I shall wait on the kings arrival and word then...

I've got time to figure out what I am going to be puting into the 30. I first need to sell the platies, then get my rock work completed, and then get some shells for the lampros. How big of shells should I get? And should I get maybe 10 or so if I were to get three of them?
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#11
May 16, 2003
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#11
Yep definitely see what Orion's suggestions are :)

I think with a 30 the best idea is to make it a species tank if you're doing tangs. You could look at brichardis...they're pretty cool, you could start with like 3 and then just let them populate the tank for ya :) I haven't kept shell dwellers, but Orion seems to think they're pretty fun.
 

Orion

Orion

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#13
Feb 10, 2003
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#13
Awww, I feel special :)

You could actualy do a bit with a 30 gallon. I don't know what all your LFS has (lol, from the sounds of it a whole lot more than any LFS around here stocked with Tangs).

The cookie cutter from CF I don't like. But with a little tweaking it could work.
Drop the regani and go for one of the dwarf julies: ornatus, transcriptus or dickfieldi. The leleupi, likes been said, can be a terror so I would do them in a small community setting either. Some Alto's either calvus or compressips would make a good substitute. The occies should be ok for the most part, but once the julies start to breed they may be in trouble, depending on how close to them the juiles decide to spawn. If it's too close, you can always just move the shells. :)

Optionaly you may be able to do some paracyps, about 6, and then some of the dwarf julies. Or some of the larger shellies.

A species tank is always fun. Like nightswimmer said, the brichardi and pulcher will take care of older fry as well as new fry, and the juveniles will actualy help the adults take care of fry as well. If you wanted to keep the larger julies you could do so in a species tank, same with the leleupi.

Here is a Rate My Tank thread with my old 29 gallon brichardi species tank:
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19804
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#14
Jan 29, 2006
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#14
Well, just to give you a list of what is at my LFS, here is their "Cichlid Census":

http://bestfish.com/cichlids.html

I do like the coloration of the transcriptus, so I will do them instead of the regani. I do indeed like the Alto. calvus'; I've seen them at my LFS, and always thought they were the coolest cichlid (dont know why, lol) As you can see from above in the link, my LFS has a wall dedicated to their beloved cichlids. Here is what I plan on getting (if this sounds alright :) )

2 Julidochromis transcriptus
2 Alto. calvus
3 occelatus

Does this sound like a good stocking?
 

Orion

Orion

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#16
Feb 10, 2003
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#16
Cichlid-Man said:
once the calvus get to adult size.
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Yeah, talk to me agian in about five years then we'll talk :rolleyes:

I think I could honestly say that if I lived anywhere near a LFS like that, that I would be broke ALL THE TIME. lmao, that list rivals many online stores stock list that I've seen. You should conciter youself VERY lucky to have a store like this one. :)

Everyone needs to take the 'virtual tour' on their website! Seriously, that one wicked store.

What were we talking about agian? Right, your fish...

That sounds like winner tubbs. You may need to watch out for the occies once the julies start to breed, the calvus will be fine. Also I've heard a lot of people tell me that the calvus's abilities as fry hunters are overrated. Yes they will eat them if they can, but they won't actively hunt them out.
 

tubbs24

tubbs24

Large Fish
#17
Jan 29, 2006
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#17
Orion said:
I think I could honestly say that if I lived anywhere near a LFS like that, that I would be broke ALL THE TIME. lmao, that list rivals many online stores stock list that I've seen. You should conciter youself VERY lucky to have a store like this one. :)

Everyone needs to take the 'virtual tour' on their website! Seriously, that one wicked store.

What were we talking about agian? Right, your fish...

That sounds like winner tubbs. You may need to watch out for the occies once the julies start to breed, the calvus will be fine. Also I've heard a lot of people tell me that the calvus's abilities as fry hunters are overrated. Yes they will eat them if they can, but they won't actively hunt them out.
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Thanks! I love my LFS. Every wall has like 120+ tanks, 3 rows, so they are bound to have what you are looking for! I also love their 960 gallon Discus tank, its like you could go scuba diving in there!! Virtual Tour can be seen here: http://bestfish.com/tour/tour.html The owner also owns a sports bar right next door, and he says he make three times the amount of money owning my LFS than he does with the bar!!!

Anyways, thanks for the help everyone on the fish selection! I do hope this one will become a winner, and I already went today to scout out if they have all of the fish species I want, and they do at some pretty good prices! I will make sure to watch the occies IF infact my julies do start to breed. Is there a significant way to determine the sex of the julies? preferebly the transcriptus?

EDIT: It's also a pain in order to hold myself back from buying anything that I don't need there :)
 

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