55 Gallon Tanganyikan , Yellow Calvus

[digitallinh]

My 55 Gallon I recently setup. 2217 with a powerhead. Holey Rock, Aragonite/Sand mix.

6 Yellow Fin Calvus
2 Syndontis Petricola
2 BN Plecos

Any Suggestions on what to add? stockwise? More color?

Also, do you guys do anything to up the ph?

Pics! Thanks for looking!

[thedude]

Nice rock. IMO, ditch the plastic plants. Julidochromis Regani & Neolamp Leleupi. Maybe some Trets. Cyps? Yeah, maybe some Cyps. I think somebody on the box is always tryin to sell "black kiriza". That would get some movement in the tank too.

[digitallinh]

Those plants are live! I'm probably going to plant some Vals as well. Yeah I was thinking of getting those cyps, gonna wait a few weeks to settle the tank then add something.

Most of my fish hide at the moment. Probably need a dither. I'm worried cyps might overstock, considering rainbows too. A lot of options!

[mnemenoi]

I use 6 Cyprichromis Leptosoma black bees in our 30 and they do fine, I imagine in a 55 they would do even better. I have used tang buffer in my water before, but everything breeds great with no additives. I think it might be an issue if you were dealing with real oddball WC fish, but thats about all that would notice otherwise. I use different anubias to great effect and I have used vals, but they seem to slowly die and only barely hold onto life in the tank.

[mistahoo]

Re: 55 Gallon Tanganyikan , Yellow Calvus

Have you tested your ph? I'm thinking the aragonite and holey rock alone would buffer the ph quite high.

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[thedude]

Don't see much plants where those fish live in the Lake.

[mnemenoi]

Quite few different plants come from Lake Tanganyika and are actually from the lake itself. I myself appreciate the look of plants in my tank and although they don't do much for Nitrate/Ammonia uptake, they do provide for microfauna development and fry sanctuaries.

[danielp]

Very nice start.

I really like the way you did the rock.

Adding the plants is a good idea. The tank needs some color. Don't think i've ever seen live plants in a tank like this will be interesting to see how they survive over time.

Looks like the Calvus have settled in nicely.

[crazy42bmx]

[QUOTE=mistahoo;676854]Have you tested your ph? I'm thinking the aragonite and holey rock alone would buffer the ph quite high.

I wouldn't worry about your ph getting to high. I keep most all my tangs in water with ph in about 9.0 and they all seem to love it. No issues!

Hmm , some ideas on tank mates.
Neolamprologus Walteri are cool
Caudopunctatus, Leleupi, Julies, goby's, if u want odd stuff theres some really cool fish out there. Something on the more aggressive side which will go good with the calvus is Neolamprologus Buescheri.

[digitallinh]

I'm more worried about my ph going too low. I haven't tested the ph honestly, since Daniel didn't adjust his and was simply pouring primed tap in. I may stick a bag of crushed coral in my filter eventually.

By the way, thanks Danny for the wonderful fish! They're a bit shy essentially alone in there, but im sure they'll come around.

How much flow do you guys have in your tanks? I have a 2217 with a koralia blowing in there, was thinking of upgrading the power head.

As for stocking, there are just so many options at this point, the hard part is finding someone local with them. I may just order some awesome expensive fish and try to breed them so we get more local tangs.

And yeah, coming from fully planted setups I couldn't help but add plants in. Running 2 t5ho bulbs at the moment, so will have to stock it to prevent algae. I think the biotope idea went out the Window the moment I added her plecos anyway. There's just too much biological benefit not to have them imo.

[mnemenoi]

With the Ph of the water locally, you should never worry about Ph. I use an AC 50 on my 30 and they seem to do well, though I have wanted to add a powerhead for increased oxygenation. I use plants in ours and also come from a planted tank background, we have some pics of our tanks here somewhere, I'll see if I can find them and provide a link. Here is a shot prior to plants, here is another with some Anubias behind the cyps

[digitallinh]

Man, really nice African tanks. Inspiring. I think I need to keep working on my hard scape. Anything you would suggest aesthetically? Should I extend the rocks to the far left?

I think I sold you guys hat ebi tank last year, it looks awesome. Still have that pea puffer? I'm sure he loves it!

[digitallinh]

And by adding a power head, you point it at the surface to create waves? I was thinking of buying one of those surface skimmers to help with oxygen, instead of bubbles.

[mnemenoi]

I try and seperate any of the rock piles to assist in boundery zones as the goby cichlids are quite assertive and to assist in differentiating the space. I could see it working in your tank as well. I ended up with a collection of large Seiryu stones and their coloration really worked when contrasted with the aragonite sand. The shells were a bit harder to work into the theme and I am still not thrilled by their addition, but with the multi colony they are a must. What about using some darker, more mountainous type stone? Granite or fossil rock even? I think it might give the sense of the hardscape in the lake you might be seeking and the white sand would contrast well.

It is your Ebi! It has been terrific and a true delight to work with. We added another pea puffer, but it never worked out well and ended up finding it another home with more room and companions. Now we are keeping OEBT's in it and rewoking the scape a bit. I'll try and get some newer pics up eventually.

I ussually use my powerheads for added oxygenation and extra filtration. I use a sponge prefilter and keep it close to the surface to agitate the water and create stroger water movement. Most of the tanganyikan stuff is found in the tidal zones and their oxygen content far exceeds what most aquariums could properly replicate, but that was my idea for replicating it in an easy manner.

Thus far we have an out of control multifasciatus breeding colony, our Cyprichromis Leptosoma (Mpimbwe)"Black bee" colony that is breeding regularly and our Goby pair are getting closer.

[mistahoo]

Re: 55 Gallon Tanganyikan , Yellow Calvus

[QUOTE=crazy42bmx;676907]

Have you tested your ph? I'm thinking the aragonite and holey rock alone would buffer the ph quite high.

I wouldn't worry about your ph getting to high. I keep most all my tangs in water with ph in about 9.0 and they all seem to love it. No issues!

Hmm , some ideas on tank mates.
Neolamprologus Walteri are cool
Caudopunctatus, Leleupi, Julies, goby's, if u want odd stuff theres some really cool fish out there. Something on the more aggressive side which will go good with the calvus is Neolamprologus Buescheri.

I was mentioning it because op asked about buffers. I've heard they thrive in higher ph and the aragonite and holey rock are natural buffers. That way you don't have to mess with chemicals

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