Taiwan Reef Biotope.

Busy setting up my first African cichlid species tank, so need lots of advice, warnings and suggestions please. I've decided on the Taiwan Reef in Lake Malawi, as suggested by EnvironmentalBro, because I like the look of Pseudotropheus Saulosi and Protomelas Steveni. Apparently they can cohabitate?

i have this 475L tank, speed cycled over 2 weeks with Seachem Stability:


Just busy cleaning these sandstone rocks, recycled from good ole reef keeping days, to stack in the tank. They should leach phosphate, so algae will grow on them easily. This is good no??


First question: How much flow can the mentioned cichlids handle? I can't imagine that a lake has currents? Or does it? I prefer a tank with lots of movement, so I'd prefer as much current as the critters can take.

 

Oh.. Filtration at this stage is just the built in overhead trickle filter. I've diverted all 1500L/hr through the filter section, so 3 and a bit of tank volume per hour.

 

def. subscribing to this one, nice!!

 

Shot dude. Just finished the rocks and flow pump. Will post a pic when the water clears a bit.

 

Rocks in place. Basically all done, other than some cosmetics. Gotta love these plug and play tanks.

 

Mods, I think there is an issue with attached images appearing. I see a lot of people have been commenting about it.

 

Looking good! What substrate are you using? Ideally you should have a pretty fine grained sand.

 

Thanks Jack. The substrate isn't as fine as I'd hoped, about 3mm grain size. Do you think it will hold too much gunk?

 

Howzit @Broder - Lake Tanganyika does have tides and currents but Lake Malawi apparently not.

You definitely don't want your fish to have to fight the flow every time they're out in the open. You should try and setup your tank so that you can adjust the flow in the display tank itself. Sometimes a well placed and shaped rock can do enough to slow down and spread the flow. Good oxygenation and low flow should be what you're aiming for.

I don't think your substrate will collect too much gunk at all, the amount you feed and a good substrate clear during water changes is far more important than the type of substrate you use. Get your flow right (so that solids reach the filter) and this should be a breeze.

Some fish enjoy sifting through the sand for microorganisms and to flush out crustaceans, apparently it aids in digestion for some as well.
It won't hurt to get some substrate about the same grain size as beach sand and add that to the existing substrate.

 

The tank has settled in nicely. The overhead trickle filter, built into these Boyu units works very well indeed if you divert all of the flow from the intake pump through the filter, instead of allowing some to create flow in the tank. Rather get a dedicated flow pump for that, that can be angled in the required direction.

I added 3 fish which I thought were Pseudotropheus Saulosi, but not so sure now. Will post high quality pics later or in an ID thread. Other than Protomelas Steveni Taiwan, which other species could one expect to see around the Taiwan reef in Lake Malawi?

Toying with the idea of mounting this spare 50w led unit in the centre of the canopy. I'll need to brace along the centre longways, as the required hole will compromise the aluminum cover strips in the centre. What do you guys and gals think? Will it be worth it, to get that awesome LED shimmer?

 

Nice looking tank already! I for one , would not cut the lid because I got a similar tank, but hey up to you. Do you u have T8 lamps in there? I have seen on the net some converters for T8 to T5 lamps. Will these work on these Boyu tanks and are the available at the LFS?

 

Scored some more rocks at the beach. Looks a bit too uniform at the moment, but it's a work in progress.

 

@Broder, Tank looks beautiful cant wait to see it up and running!

 

Thanks Ortaega. I received my 7 Protomelas Steveni Taiwanee from Jack Stone on Tuesday. Beautiful fish! They are large adults and completely coloured up already, something I was expecting to have to wait a while for. Shipping went very smootly. Thanks Jack!



The males above, are easily 10cm already.


Males and females together.


Can anyone help with identifying this fish? I'm not having any luck with my search. It was a lot more yellow when I bought it.


Can anyone confirm that this is indeed a Pseudotropheus Saulosi female? I have 2 and am on a hunt for several more. What would be a good male female ratio?

 

Incredible pictures.

 

Awesome photos @Broder - thanks for your patience and understanding!

How those males looking now that they've had a chance to settle in a bit?

The yellows on the flanks should become more prominent and the red on the anal fin will also color up quite a bit when they're comfortable and especially when breeding. Is it just the camera that makes the red seem orange?

 

@Broder

Wow, Looks incredible!!!

The Tank, the Fish everything just looks Amazing!!!

TOTM!!!:woot:

 

Thanks Jack and Ortaega. The colours are unaltered Jack. The flash intensifies colours a little, as it shows them in a daylight coloured light, rather than the fluorescent light in our tanks. The fins are more orange than red. The yellow flanks hardly show under tank lights. I'm very happy with them. They are as vibrant and active as marine fish.

 

Your tank is awesome ( the fish too ) :top:

 

The tank is settling in nicely. The Protomelas Stevensi have started breeding already.


Big Momma being tight-lipped


2 of the 4 adult females are carrying fry in their mouths.


The dominant male has developed a uniform body colour.


The other male seems to be showing more female barring?