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Just wanted to share some pics of my new tanks.

6ft community - ignore the storage below, doors are going on soon.


4ft soon to be cichlid tank - cant wait for my new additions!

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

They look great! I would love to have a 6 ft tank. What is your planned stock for the cichlid tank?

*Kristin*

Thanks Girliegirl. I have been reading your thread about setting up a Mbuna and trying to gather as much information as I can.

At this stage i'm definately going for the Electric Yellows and the Rusty (Lavender)Cichlids.

I went to a really good LFS and they have a fact sheet that has them grouped from 1 - 5 for aggression and size so that has helped me a lot.

I also like Aulonocara Jacobfreibergi (Eureka Red).

There are sooooo many to choose from my mind just boggles!!

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I also like the Eureka red but was convinced that they would be hard to feed with the Mbuna. They aren't as aggressive and have a different diet (more carnivorous while mbuna are herbivores). Also, they get pretty big (about 7 inches)...only a couple people have told me they get too big for my tank though. They also like open swimming space while the mbuna like the rocks.

I just decided I probably wouldn't be able to keep them happy with the Mbuna.

They are beautiful fish though...hard to say no to them!

There are sooooo many to choose from my mind just boggles!!

I agree! Way too many!

What kind of rock do you have in the cichlid tank? I haven't shopped for rock yet, so I'm not sure what's available, but I would like to know what kinds people use.

*Kristin*

There are so many things to take into consideration isn't there ... diet, aggression, size, habitats

The rocks are like a sandstone. They are very soft and crumbly, my husband found them near the coast, checked with the LFS and they said they'd be fine as long as they were properly prepared - you know, washed with hot water, etc, etc. I'm really happy with the way they look.

The LFS where I go has a display tank of cichlids fully grown so you can see what they are going to look like when they become adults. They are really helpful, I need all the help I can get.

What have you decided on?

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Right now, it looks like I'm going to go with:
Yellow labs (1m/4-5f)
Cynotilapia afra "Cobue" (1m/4f)
Red Zebras-Metriaclima estherae or Rusty cichlids-Iodotropheus sprengerae (1m/4f)

I'm still deciding though...and it changes from day to day as I get more advice. I'm worried now that the Cobue and Red Zebras would be too aggressive for the labs, so I'm considering changing them for Pseudotropheus saulosi, if they are more aggressive then labs. The females are yellow, so I would still have some color variance. Or, I'll get the Rusty cichlids instead of the Red Zebras, if I can find them. Also, I'm afraid the Cobue will rule the tank then because Rustys are more like labs and pretty peaceful.

Its hard to find the right combination that I like. I'm set on the Cobue because they are so beautiful. I will just have to plan the tank around them.

Are you cycling your tank now? How much longer do you think you have?

*Kristin*

Yeah its cycling now ... only been setup for about 5 days. I'm not sure how much longer to go. I'll probably give it another week or so and then do some testing ... i've kept the old filter in there but I changed all the substrate from gravel to the sand.

I think im going to go and get a few cycling fish to speed it along.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Is that Tufa Rock you have in there Crusha?

Only Tufa Rock - usually sold for marine aquaria - is an excellent choice for a Rift Lake setup, because [1] it's calcareous and adds to the buffering capacity of the aquarium, and [2] it's soft enough to be sculpted with a screwdriver. So you can dig caves into it with relatively little effort, and turn what would otherwise be solid lumps into an underwater Disneyland of caves for your Rift Lake fishes.

I'd say your Rifts are going to be happy in there.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Calilasseia this could very well be Tufa rock. Its very very soft and we were lucky enough to get the pieces with the holes already in them. Actually I have a few pieces left over that weren't that interesting so maybe I could get my screwdriver out and see if I can make them into something worthy of using.

Generally the rocks sold here at LFS are much harder and sharper with lots of small holes and ragged edges.

Hoping my new additions will like them as much as I do.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

like the 6ft, what fish ya got in that?
maybe you could post a coupla close ups?

Hi coop, glad you like my tank.

At the moment it houses BGK, CL, bristlenose catfish, angelfish, silver shark, various tetras, african butterfly fish, blue and gold rams and some kribensis.

Here are a couple of close ups. ...

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

nice, dont like the castl mutch. im a bit fussy when it comes to decor being natural looking in a tank

Fair enough, i know what you mean about the castle. It stays because the BGK and clown loaches absolutely love it, hopefully in time the plants behind it will grow nice and tall and it will blend in a little better.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

My LFS feature malawi tank(also a 55G) has a black/brown coulered resin rock feature that is about the length of the tank and nearly as high( i think it was made for a reef tank, but it looks rally natural in this tank).
it is siliconed to the rear pane and has lots of holes and stuff in it. if you clould find one of these i think it would really be worth your while coz it looks great.
i think the darker coulered rock and black background really brings out the fishes colours.
it has about 10 bright blue afra and a couple of yellow labs in it.
yours also looks really nice but i think the white coloured rocks tend to make fishes colours look a little washed out.

I've seen those backgrounds your talking about, they are quite pricey but yes I agree they look fantastic.

I'm hoping that in time the rocks will become less bright with the growth of algae.

Finally put some fishies in this weekend, they are loving all the nooks and crannies.

I'll post some pics next week, i've (well actually my kids have) used all my broadband downloads and it just takes forever to post them at the moment so keep an eye out.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!