Tanganykan suggestions

Here's what I'd put in there if I could get hold of everything...

Julidochromis marlieri
Altolamprologus compressiceps
Neolamprologus leleupi
Neolamprologus buescheri
Neolamprologus caudopunctatus
Neolamprologus ocellatus
Cyprichromis leptosoma

You can probably keep pairs from each of those species.
You can also replace the Ocellatus with a large group of Multifasciatus but beware that the Leleupi may kill females to get to their babies unless there are enough males to protect the shell bed from the yellow monster.

Might also want to throw in a few "extras", a single Brichardi or even two or three females should do.
Let me know which species you decide on, can help you source some species.

Cheers vir eers,
Jack

 

@Jack Stone Thanks I will do some research on these species, it sounds like a potentially awsome setup! Im still waiting for the tank to be finished but I will def post when everything is setup

 

fronts are def at the top of my list, stunning fish and they grow nice and big

 

@EnvironmentalBro.. Nice to see you back after the unfortunate incident you had..

Can't wait to see your tank.

 

@MHD Yep Thanks for the advice Hopefully it will be up and running in a couple months!

 

I agree with Jack, the Caudopunctatus you would also have to take off your list. Julidochromis species are nice to have, I had 4 species and they stayed away from each others territory. Lots of slate rock stacked high providing lots of grooves which will only allow them to pass through. Brichardi are nice to have but try a keep 1 male to 2 females.

A shelldwelling species tank should be fine but also provide plenty of shells and fine sand, especially when breeding as some species like to cover shells to protect eggs.

Leleupi species becomes very aggressive during spawning period, so a no with any shelldwellers inside a community tank, Leleupi and brichardi as they both are territorial but provide with lots of ceramic clay pots for breeding. But remember these species form family groups and can become a nightmare when you have less aggressive species with them.

 

Hey @keith1964 - Don't you think Leleupi and Brichardi can be kept with larger / more aggressive shell dwellers (like Ocellatus) - I suppose when they're breeding they will become terrors unless territories are well defined - problem with Brichardi types is they'll be breeding all the time. I guess Leleupi will do the same once they get going. Why remove the Caudopuncs? They're nice.... Hehehe, aggressive little buggers but they'll make for a lot of excitement in the tank, I reckon all of those fish could hold their own.

 

I had 4 pairs of Caudopunctatus in my community tank and they vanished into thin air only left with 1 male & 2 females. Leleupis are to nosey and will terrorize anything, had about 18 in a group. Multies are aggressive but vanishes into shells when Leleupis are around. My leleupis went on a breeding spree after having them for a year very nice but could not raise the fry very delicate water must be tip top. I had ceramic pots full of fry all over my tank, because of what the LPS wanted to pay, I rather left them inside my community tank. Lots of them became food for the other tank dwellers. A commpressiceps are very nice to have, but also a tropheus tank of 1 species, max of 2 species but a large tank is required. I get carried away when it comes to Tanganyikan cichlids.

 

Sheesh! I imagine 4 pairs would cause some trouble, as you probably know they're pretty intolerant of each other, not as bad with other fish from what I've seen. Had a pair myself, they spawned once and the female chased the male out of the tank (bad fish keeper, I saw problems brewing, just never did anything about it). A friend of mine had some in a community, they killed each other off until one remained but never gave the Julies, single Leleupi, Calvus or Buescheri any major problems, though I remember the Caudo and some fish didn't like each other, when I watched they always ended up fighting near where the Calvus stayed, it's a big Calvus who quickly came out to put everybody in their places, harmony ensues until the Caudopunc starts cruising the tank again... and that's why I like 'em.

You must admit that keeping 18 Leleupi in any tank is going to cause problems in the long run, even 6 is going to be tight. Pretty sure they are solitary predators in the lake. Agreed on the Compressiceps! Stunning fish, have some relatively young ones, I'll post some photos in 5 years time when they're a good size and in full display. Tropheus are great but probably much like the Malawis with that boisterous behaviour, that doesn't mean I don't want them myself, simply CAN'T dedicate a tank to them just yet.

 

Hi Jack

I had a 2m x 0.6m x 0.6m sump tank, loaded with rock-work giving each species their own territory to swim around. In the 2 years having this set-up I only lots 2 fish out of my 100's of fish. My brichardi tank only 1 killing female wipe-out a agro male who stay eating the eggs and fry. My community tank had the following julidichromis 1pr dickfeldi (with fry) ,3pr marlieri(with fry) & 1pr transcriptus(with 4 generation of fry); tropheus duboisis, ikolas & mbemba; multies; (3m 10f) Leleupis; 3prs brichardi; small group frontosas; caduopunc, brevis (got wipe-out by brichardi).

1 tank dedicated to multies 9 breeding pairs with 1000's fry.

1 tank dedicated to my brichardi breeding pairs with 1000's fry.

1 tank community tank with all the above species inside, was a challenge especially with the variety of diets. I would feed my tropheus veggies, but keep the away from the meaty eaters like brichardi, leleupis and the rest of the species.

Was a nightmare but managed for over 2 years.

 

Hey @keith1964

Have read about your set up before.
I aspire to getting a community like that going one day, in as big a tank as possible.

Must have been a very stunning tank but as you say, high maintenance, mostly because the feeding is complicated by their diets. I suppose having a 2m long tank does make feeding fish separately a bit easier. Most people reckon that Tropheus should only really be put in with with Julies or Eretmodus because of their natural diet and tendency towards bloat. Recently checked a video on Youtube of a Tang tank with pretty much all the fish breeding, Leleupi, some or other Julie babies around, Brichardi types, Occies I believe, I want, I want, I want....

I bet those species only tanks didn't lack for excitement either, how big where those tanks?

 

Hi,

So did you manage to stock that 600L with Tangs? if you need some help let me know i have some, they are awesome

 

Are you asking me? @Naathir

 

Glad to "meet" hobbyists interested in tangs.The forum has so far given you a list of species thats available on more or less regular basis.Just to keep in mind is that the growth rate on some of these fish is very slow(like the calvus and commpressiceps).too many neo/lamprologus species(brichardis,leleupis,caudopunctatus and the like) tend to hug the bottom of the tank especially around breeding time....so many pairs(which you might probably end up with) will create alot of drama when breeding.The other brichardi type cichlids are the daffodil(like my profile pict),the helianthus(a multitude of yellow spots that makes the fish look yellow,and the olivaceous(brown/red spots with a sort of lyre tail)
The tropheus moori species are incredibly attractive(save for a few) such as the ikola(broad yellow band on black body),bemba(broad orange on black body) illangi(red head and fins with sunflower yellow body) but mind you these tropheus need to be kept in groups to alleviate the amount of aggression that the dominant male displays.
frontosas are relatively easy to come by and its your choice as to what you want to look at everyday when you get home.

Leptosomas(sardine fish) will occupy the upper region of the water in the tank,fronts tend to prefer midwater and neo/lamprologus the bottom..............the tropheus are all over the place.

Point to note is that the tropheus moori species food requirements are very differant from the rest of the species,so thats also important when choosing tankmates

All the best

 

@enviromentalbro- yes i was wondering if you stocked the tank and what you managed to find, also do anyone know where i can find shell dwellers

 

Hi guys! So its time to stock my tank! I have been waiting a year but I finally have the tank... It came with a couple Tangs though:

3x Tropheus duboise
2x T. morilo red
1x Julidochromis marlieri
4x Neolamprologus brichardi
1x N. tretocephalus.

Any suggestions here guys?

 

Some of them are here in the pics...
Pics with new Dslr Canon 60D (Large pics))

Here are the species I am considering based on your suggestions:

Altoporlogus compressiceps
A. calvus
Leptosoma kitumba
N. leleupi
N. buescheri
N. caudopunctus
Cyprichromis leptosoma

 

@Jack Stone @Naathir @fishcrazy @Reedfish

 

Hey @EnvironmentalBro

Tretocephalus is a nice find, pity it's just the one, I'd love to try breeding them one day.
How long have you had the fish? What are you feeding your Tropheus?

Based on your lists above and not taking into account prices and availability... here's what I would try....

1 x Brichardi
2 x Julidochromis (somehow get a pair, I'd sell lone Julie and get another group)
1 x Tretocephalus (may need to be removed if it decides it doesn't like another species or particular fish)
1 x Leleupi (as long as any shell dwellers in the tank can handle it).
4 x Compressiceps
4 x Calvus
2 x Caudopunctatus (a pair)
2 x Buescheri (a pair hopefully)
16 x Multies (shell dwellers, a large colony should be able to keep 1 Leleupi from killing it's females, if female Multies go missing remove the Leleupi)
20 x Cyprichromis

Yip, I would remove the Tropheus (dietary requirements largely) and won't let the Brichardi breed.
There will be enough breeding going on and I have a disliking for Brichardi when they're ready to breed and I have other fish in their tank.