Stocking ideas

[Cichlid-Man]

Ok so heres the deal, i just thought i'd get everyone's opinion. My problem is i can't make up my mind of what i want for my tanks so i'll let the forum have some input. I have 2 55gals, a 29gal, and a 15gal that are all empty.

I need suggestions! So suggest away. Some things to remember are i don't like every day fish. No kribs, no rams, no angels, no brichardi, etc....you get the idea. The fish have to have some color, or at least a cool pattern. I'd prefer it to be African, but i'm open on this. I can get my hands on pretty much any species i want so no limits there.

Oh and the 15gal has these measurements (Odd):
Length: 15"
Width: 13.5"
Height: 17.75"

Just curious as to what others will suggest. *thumbsups

 

[straitjacket]

For the 15...ok...well with such odd dimensions you left me with no real choice. So I'm just gonna go ahead and blurt it out.
DARIO. Dario hysignon, D. dario, any dario. Quite a few of them. They're not cichlids....and they're not African but maaaan, if your really are into out-of-the-ordinary oddball fish you certainly wouldn't regret it.
As for cichlids, I've got a laundry-list of suggestions. I just need a bit to gather myself before spewing them all.

 

[wayne]

What do you want the tank to be - colorful, behaviour or what. What do you want - an interesting/breeding challenge.....

What sort of challenge do you want - how about breeding dwarf pikes in the 55, or getting a lot of apistos in there and letting them behave as they would in the wild?

Do you think you can get your hands on most of the W African dwarves? Get a copy of Anton Lamboj's book and have a look thro' that for something that takes your fancy.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

What do you want the tank to be - colorful, behaviour or what. What do you want - an interesting/breeding challenge.....

Well i've always loved Malawi fish, the color and their activity just makes for an interesting tank. I havn't kept to many Tangs, but the Juli species as well as Calvus intrest me. For at least one of the 55gals i want it to be more Show Tank then anything else. If breeding comes, fine, if it doesn't...doesn't really bother me at this point. Now for the 29 i'd be interested in breeding something.

Dawrf pike idea for a 55 is a pretty good idea, something you don't see everyday and that i've never kept before.

What do you think about a small colony of Tropheus in a 55? I know 55s arn't ideal but i've heard its possible.

 

[Igor The Cat]

one thing: Badis badis

-Java

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Nah, i want to stick to cichlids totally. But its a good off the wall thought.

Hmmm decisions decisions....

 

[silver dollars]

If you want them to all be cichlid tanks, then:

29G-keyhole cichlids
55G-dwarf cichlids
55G-semi-aggresive cichlids
15-breeding tank

There are my ideas

 

[Orion]

I like the dwarf pike idea as well, hadn't thought of that before. lol, as well as the apisto idea. Waynes just full of good stuff today Between those too I would go with the apisto's just because I can always take extra pride when I know I've been able to recreate a habitat suitable enough for them to feel totaly 'at home'.

 

[FishGeek]

I like the Apisto idea also. Ive never seen any Pikes that interest me. I myself and sort of fond of Neolamprologus brichardi. Neolamprologus leleupi are nice too.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

How many apistos usually inhabit the same size habitat as a 55gal? IE how many would i be looking at and species wise.

I just know i gotta have some Africans in one of the 55s. Right now i'm looking at either a Mbuna (pretty much species tank) of Pseudotropheus polit. Or an all/mostly male Peacock/Hap tank.

For the 29gal, i might try my hand at breeding some Calvus, i can get my hands on some nice F0 adults for a good price. Or possibly some Julidochromis if i can get them.

And the 15gal i'm looking at something along the lines of Checkerboards, but this is probably the furthest up in the air right now because of the odd measurements.

Just checked a local stocklist and i do have access to Crenicichla regani of the "Santarem" variety, dwarf pikes....even more tempting now. Very tempting acctually...great suggestion wayne.

I like the Apisto idea also. Ive never seen any Pikes that interest me. I myself and sort of fond of Neolamprologus brichardi. Neolamprologus leleupi are nice too.

I have a breeding pair of Brichardi already in the house thats why i said no Brchardi.

 

[wayne]

What a few people have done, myself included is really try to recreate how apistos live. That means lots of them, and jammed in, because contrary to how many people think of cichlids, apistos are pretty much bottom of the fish food chain - in the wild they just live in huge colonies where they can, there is no way they can defend a territory of any size. I thnik dave Soares kep around a hundred in a 55 - it's on the krib somewhere. I wouldn't go that far, but if you started with 10 and let them breed and see how that goes as a multiyear project - I had 30 or 40 I guess in a slightly wider 4 footer. You will need some decent filtraiton and a willingness to do (soft) water changes.
You get some very interesting behavioural displays as the fish setup microterritories of various sizes. People have done similar things with kribs too. I would search for biotope information by Matt Clarke on the practicalfishkeeping website, stuff from a trip he made to Brazil a couple years ago. Of course you could also put a pair of Crenicichla regani or one of the other super dwarf pikes.... lots of options if you think about it.

A 55 is a bit small for tropheus , but would work if you got tank breds, but forget wild caught Moorii or Polli - too aggressive. Tank bred duboisi would be ok, and are a really rewarding fish to keep . I have never tried tank bred moorii so don't know how they are behaviourally. Again, say hello water changes. . Tropheus are about the only rift cichlid that interest me now...

What is your tap water like? Maybe that should make you decide, bearing in mind that otherwise you might end up needing an RO

 

[Orion]

Wayne the more you talk about this apisto habitat the more it makes me want to set one up myself

 

[Cichlid-Man]

What a few people have done, myself included is really try to recreate how apistos live. That means lots of them, and jammed in, because contrary to how many people think of cichlids, apistos are pretty much bottom of the fish food chain - in the wild they just live in huge colonies where they can, there is no way they can defend a territory of any size. I thnik dave Soares kep around a hundred in a 55 - it's on the krib somewhere. I wouldn't go that far, but if you started with 10 and let them breed and see how that goes as a multiyear project - I had 30 or 40 I guess in a slightly wider 4 footer. You will need some decent filtraiton and a willingness to do (soft) water changes.
You get some very interesting behavioural displays as the fish setup microterritories of various sizes. People have done similar things with kribs too. I would search for biotope information by Matt Clarke on the practicalfishkeeping website, stuff from a trip he made to Brazil a couple years ago. Of course you could also put a pair of Crenicichla regani or one of the other super dwarf pikes.... lots of options if you think about it.

A 55 is a bit small for tropheus , but would work if you got tank breds, but forget wild caught Moorii or Polli - too aggressive. Tank bred duboisi would be ok, and are a really rewarding fish to keep . I have never tried tank bred moorii so don't know how they are behaviourally. Again, say hello water changes. . Tropheus are about the only rift cichlid that interest me now...

What is your tap water like? Maybe that should make you decide, bearing in mind that otherwise you might end up needing an RO

Very interesting lol, i really never knew all that before. Peaks my interest too....would really be something to watch. I can't even imagine it to tell you the truth.

If i did end up going with Trophs it would be tank bred. And i have access to an RO filter.