Cichlid tanks anyone ????

[Yes4Prop215]

damn it would be dope to organize an IC smokers trip to malawi...some of the best diving in the world there no sharks or any crazy maneating things to worry about...

il post pics of my 125 later tonight...damn little guys have been digging like crazy some of the rocks are probably gonna topple over..

 

[Endonoid]

I usually don't use a reef ready setup with freshwater tanks. There's not really anything lwrong with it though.Just kind of pricey. Using the standard saltwater sump won't work that well though. The best way to use a sump with a freshwater it to make a full refugium. The plants help filter the water. Bioballs will help some, with beneficial bacteria and all, but it's better to use mostly plants. Anything type with a lot of surface area.

For anyone that doesn't know, a rufugium is a small tank, usually underneath the stand like in Rysam's pic, except it's a dedicated plant tank. The plants make a highly effective filter. They can maintain exceptional water quality with very little effort.

Use 6500k power compact lights to grow the plants. The beneficial bacteria will covert ammonia from the fish waste to nitrites then nitrates, and the plants can use it as food. It completes the little ecosystem. Still will have to feed potassium and iron occasionally, just like with any plant tank. It get's a bit tricky with High ph tanks though, as plants prefer the ph a little lower.

Just more fun information for everybody.

Here are some of the species I've Kept one way or another;
Xystichromis phytophagus
julidochromis dickfeldi
julidochromis transcriptus
Otopharnyx lithobates
Sciaenochromis fryeri " electric blue" ahli
Tropheus duboisi Maswa (Babies are better looking than adults)
Neolamprologus caudopunctatus
Chalinochromis brichardi
Altolamprologus compressiceps (Weird looking species.)

 

[ithruxix]

Here are a few pictures!

Also, these were taken four years ago, so I have no idea exactly what I had, nor how big they really got (other than memory, which is shot) or specific coloring patterns or names. I'll do my best, but feel free to correct!

Foreground blue guy was incredibly colored, can't remember the name. The Kenyi was a little prick, always picking on others. Female Kenyi (yellow) was just as bad.

Venestus ended up getting huge, with a deep blue face. Super sick.

Sunburst, he was an awesome pinkish-orange color.

^Biggest asshole of the tank.

Arowana, had a nice pink underbelly. A raccoon ended up getting into the garage, and snatching it out of the tank and snacking on it. Quite the nice 70$ snack, I must say.

 

[Dreamz_Of_Green]

Current 75 setup

3x Acei
5x Kenyi
4x Auruatus
5x Jewels plus fry
3x Yellow labs
2x Plecos

 

[BoogerKush]

125 Bowfront

125 Bowfront

We had a ton of rock in there at one point. It started as an assorted african tank then we gradually sold the fish back to our LFS, and made it into a mostly Male Peacock tank with some Haps and a yellow lab we called Scooter. I really like the gold nugget plecos but after ours died, we couldnt find any with similar quality so we just have a candy cane in our tank now.
We got rid of the peacocks as work and children took up most of out free time.
Now the tank is lightly stocked with a school of 6 clown loaches, 7 Angels; 2 smokey leopards with awesome bluing/greening around there heads, 2 platinum, 2 ugly kois and 1 black lace that runs the tank. Also have some platys that we cycled with and since they are still alive we feed them haha. And we also have a black ghost knife that will take spectrum pellets over bloodworms (crazy huh?)

This is the tank, post cichlids, pre community. Just our pleco was in there at this time though.

 

[Dreamz_Of_Green]

Love the tanks keep them coming !

 

[Dreamz_Of_Green]

220 or 250 is muh next tank

 

[arcticjake]

Great thread folks! I haven't had African cichlids for years but I still feel the 'addiction'. So many fish so many tanks so much $. I'm lucky to see guppies locally and all resources are limited (power outage = no hobby).
Great tank advice here. I kept too many fish and had to do constant water changes as well as maintain filters. I wasn't able to keep plants they were nibbled and beaten.
I had breeding colonies of peacocks, Frontosas, Victorian Hap 'All Red' and a few others in a variety of tanks but 70 gals max really needed bigger tanks because I had adult Yellow Lepturas and a Champ. Blue Trout as well as an asst of big Malawi Hap Males.
Pleas post more pics for those of us unable to feed the addiction .

Jake

 

[Karmic Farmer]

I really miss my Rift Valley cichlids and marine tanks. The water changes and maintenance had become so hard after my neck fusion that I had to give up my beloved hobby. I was a manager of a pet store that specialized in fresh and saltwater fish for many years so had acquired some really nice specimens (mostly wild caught breeders) over the years.
Keep on posting your pics, they're bringing up some good memories. I may give them a go again sometime in the future but they are so damn addictive that one tank always leads to many more....

Peace,
KF

 

[Karmic Farmer]

If any of you are able to, try to throw up some pics of your designer Plecostomus or Synodontis Cats as many Cichlid fanatics are catfish people too.
Much appreciated !!!

Peace,
KF

 

[MaynardG_Krebs]

If any of you are able to, try to throw up some pics of your designer Plecostomus or Synodontis Cats as many Cichlid fanatics are catfish people too.
Much appreciated !!!

Peace,
KF

Oh.. I wish I had photo documented all the stuff I used to get. On one shipment, I had 3 different varieties of gold nugget plecos.. several others including the black and white striped jobbies. tons of synodontis varieties.. you make me miss those days..

mgk

 

[SeaMaiden]

I used to work the trade, both in retail and then in wholesale, and after that I got to spend some time at a public aquarium. I sure do miss it!! No time for my own tank, now, but maybe someday. Good thread, some of my favorite shipments came out of Africa.

 

[TacomaComa]

I recently set up a 90 i was gifted with some central and south americans. pair of convicts, pair of firemouths, green terror, pike and couple juvenile red devils(looking for breeding pair).

its been fun getting medicated and staring at the tank

 

[THCello]

MFK..

I've got a beefy GT, a Jack, and recently I picked up a nice fingerprint sized Red Terror.
Hoping for a girl.
(Doesn't everybody hope for girls?)

 

[SeaMaiden]

Uh, not with those fish, or you'll have Dempseys and Terrors coming out of your ears. I can guarantee you most aquarium shops won't want 'em, either.

 

[Al Botross]

anyone catch the show Tanked about 2 guys who make custom, (incredible tanks out of everything?

 

[SeaMaiden]

Yes. All I will say is that what is depicted may not be complete, and so most (good) aquarists are pissed off about the show. LMAO! It's just like pot growers and shows like American Weed, nobody's happy with how the shows are produced because they don't like the spin. Yet, it's the spin that sells the show to those who aren't familiar.

 

[Smoke_A_Lot]

I got a breeding pair of jacks, at least i think so.. They're digging pits and rearranging my decor like crazy, that sound like breeding behavior? I had them for like a year now and never seen them doing that.

 

[Yes4Prop215]

quick pic of my 125...i need way more fish. right now only got 1 compressiceps(sp) female, 1 male blue peacock, 1 small ice blue freiyi(sp), and 3 yellow labs...i had like 6 yellow labs but they keep killing eachother.

 

[THCello]

Uh, not with those fish, or you'll have Dempseys and Terrors coming out of your ears. I can guarantee you most aquarium shops won't want 'em, either.

I was referring to plants at that point.

And the only issue with your statement,
is that the Red Terror can't produce children with either Jack Dempseys or Green Terror.
"Terror" is just a common name.