first time ciclid owner

[Rokl33t]

quick Q...with my alto calvus i plan on getting i no i need shells, plus my shell dwellers will need them, wat shells can i not use? i no is hould go for the brightly painted neon ones, but wat about the ones with a gloss finish on them? usually made for hermit crabs? should the gloss be okay? and if not what should i get then?

oh and one more thing, at my store i actually figured out that we have Synodontis eupterus i believe thats it, i no its a syno for sure, anyways on my break today i found a fish magazine that was dedicated to tanganyikans....anyways i was reading an article that a reader asked a question about wat kind of pleco or cat could go with tangs. (funny i believe i asked that question too) ahhah anways he answered that plecos are hardy enough to serviv in tang. water, and cats should be fine too, its jus that tangs. don't have a problem with not eating all their food...its coming from a magazine so its got to be true...wat do u guys think? and should i put a syno in my tank? or em i fine without them?

 

[Orion]

Erm..just because you read it in a magazine or newpaper, or hear it on TV does not meen it has to be true. Not saying that in this particular case it isn't, but just be aware and take things with a grain of salt. But I hope you were joking about that part.

When the calvus start breeding the female will need a shell. The most common shell I have seen are conch shells. Also there are a few places online that you can buy ceramic caves and pots made for them. But I woulnd't worry about this for a good while. Alto's are very slow growers, and can take a few years to reach maturaty. I don't think i would go for any with a gloss look to them that's been painted on. I figuret that it wouldn't take much to flake that stuff off.

www.cichlidbreeding.com has some of the best prices and selection of shells that I have run accross. I've ordered from them in the past, and getting ready to do so again. They also make the verticle calves for the calvus that I spoke about.

Putting a syno in would be up to you.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

I can also vouch for cichlidbreeding.com. I ordered and had no problems whatsoever. Got what i wanted too!

Of course i live close enough to the beach and go there often so i always have the conch shells. Orion is right though, Altos are very slow growers, as the case with most Tang cichlids.

 

[Rokl33t]

thank god for slow growers....okay alright well i guessi got to keep looken, i'd rather set up the shells in the tank soon, and id rather not bother with shipping and stuff but as always thank you for the great advice

 

[Rokl33t]

new thread inside of this thread....

water current, do tangs. like high current tanks? or do they like it mellow?
running to filters and a jet make a great circulation, not enough to move the sand around, but i can see a good amount of water movement...so wats ur guys' imput?

 

[Orion]

Really only the gobies and a few other species come from an area that has a violent or strong water movement, ie: the surf zone.

I don't think that its going to matter than much though, as long as they don't cower in the rocks or appear to have difficulty swimming. IMO they should be able to move freely around the tank with out getting knocked around.

There are some benifits of having higher current tank. One of the main ones is that if done correctly, then uneaten food (which really doesn't happen all that much in Tanganyikan tanks), waste and other solid debris don't have time to collect anywhere on the bottom and are able to be picked up by the filters.

 

[Rokl33t]

thanks again orion, jebus ur smart haha ur like the tanganyikan budah

well i got my water tested today..pH was at 7.5 nitrite was down, which mean my nitrate is going to spike soon and then my cycle will be complete (total time roughly 2 weeks) but they said i need fish in my tank, a good friend of mine at the LFS told me to put my cat in there (syno cat that is)...so as i wait to put the little guy in, i'm here typing this to u guys and here is a picture of the syno

 

[Orion]

LOL, no where close Rokl33t, but thanks for the compliment. The more I read, research and talk with others the more I learn about these wonderfull fish.

I'm glad you specified what kind of Cat your putting into the tank lol. For a second there I really thought you ment a FUZZY cat.

 

[Rokl33t]

ahahaha imagine that a big *** cat in a 46 gal tank, scuba gear and all hahahaha...

lol this may sound stupid but most cats are nocturnal right? cuz i no cat fishing is best at night, so im guessing i jus answered my own question bahaha

 

[longtyme68]

Rokl33t ~ sounds like my situation is similar to yours. I think I will just start over with the current tank. I've got a Koi carp for one as well as a Rec Oscar Ciclid that is quite big. I guess if I get rid of all the big fish, I might as well get rid of the enlarged Pleco as well. Sure seems harsh though.

 

[longtyme68]

Orion ~ Speaking of fuzzy cats. I've got 3 cats running around the house prior to getting this inherited tank. Now the cats sit by the tank staring and pawing at the edge. They follow them in the aquarium as well. Walking from one side to the other.

 

[Rokl33t]

i'll tell u one thing, through experience, if ur gonna get a fish make sure it won't out grow the tank lol...also, the smaller the fish the more active and more fun it is to watch them...but again thats jus my opinion, especially plecos, large plecos are soo0o0o BORING, i'll no longer ever own a pleco, i like cats now, they're pretty kool, especially cuz i use to fish alot, and owning a game is kinda weird...i think

well i got some shells today at a craft store (all natural, no paint/gloss) and i rinsed em out and set em up tell me wat u guys think...

they are about 2 inches apart from each group, and i wish it had some algae or something on it to make it look more tarnished and wat not, it jus looks way too unnatural for now at least...well im sure that should change sooon...

...counting down to the right time to stock my tank....

 

[Orion]

The shell in the first picture, bottom left, thats really long and has very tight spirals at the end comming to a point. You may want to remove that, and any that has similar spirals. Its not happened to me, but I have heard of shellies getting stuck in shells like that before and not be able to get back out. Just something to think about.

I forget, what type of shellie are you getting? Depending on what type depends on how the shells need to be setup. Mulites are a colony fish, so they like a lot of shells close togeather. Brevis on the other hand are not, and they prefer few shells scattered about. Just for an example.

We have one cat. She's not as interested in the fish as she is sleeping on top of the warm canopy's during winter.

 

[longtyme68]

I like the shells. Now explain to me how that all works. You are buying the shells for decoration or are you buying them so that you could get other shellfish and hope they transfer into the ones you have? I am slightly confused on that subjuect.

 

[longtyme68]

Cats

Orion ~ Well I guess it will just take time before my cats get accustomed to the aquarium and its inhabitants. I started out with Polo, because I found him outside my work as a 6-8 week old kitten. Then when, my now fiancee, Brandi moved in she wanted a cat. She went out and picked up Soleil at the LPS. Then we carved our first pumpkin for Halloween, lit it that night, and the next morning we found Gypsy as a stray cat came up to our door meowing up a storm. We decided to adopt her after taking her to the vet to make sure she was good to go! That is how we ended up with three cats and I foresee aquatics going in that direction as well.

 

[Orion]

Shellfish-lol, thats a decent description of what they are for. The shells are for Tanganyikan shell dwellers. These are small cichlids that use shells for shelter. Most center their entire lives around a shell, living, breeding, and raising the fry in the shells. A very interesting type of fish.

Nice cat pics. lol, and I thought ours was the only one who liked to get her belly rubbed.

 

[longtyme68]

Ah, "I see says the blind man to the deaf dog." I don't remember where I heard that from, but it just seemed to fit here. Interesting facts about the Tanganyikan shell dwellers. Can these be in the same environment with many other types of fish, or they solo dwellers? What I mean is can you have other cichlids with these and they can coexist?

 

[Rokl33t]

well, i think its alright to put them as a comuinity tank, because the shell is their defense system, when they feel threaten by anything, they'll swim right in that shell...but mixing lakes (malawi vs. tanganikan) i wouldn't do it, jus because one, tanganyikan water has a pH thats close to about 9 when malawis are lower then that, plus i believe the tanganyikans are more aggressive then malawis...and ive noticed at the LFS that the malawis will school with other fish, but the tanganyikans will kind of stick with there own species...

hope my research is serving me right orion? hah

 

[longtyme68]

So the Tangs are the ones that use the shells and need a higher pH, so are they only for salt water?

 

[Rokl33t]

noo, not salt water, its just that they live in rougher waters then the malawians do