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OK, I just checked this guys other auctions and he also has 6 Callochromis pleurospilus "Kigoma Flame rainbow" and 6 Ectodotus descampsi for sale that looked VERY awesome. Would either of those be compatible with my current setup? I'm sorry for all of the questions. Except for a few Venustus in the past and now my Multis I'm pretty much new to Africans, I'm mostly a South American cichlid and Marine type of guy. Thank you so much for all of your help!

Last edited by Dempsey fan at 29-Jul-2005 23:51

This tank sounds like fun...better supply pics when everyone is happy go lucky heheh.
P.S. you got the best shellie help there is on the site IMHO right now. LM knows her stuff when it comes to these guys. of course her haveing a 125g tank showcaseing these little guys its no wonder lol. only thing better would be in the lake itself i would think

The multis are all the bottom feeder you'll need; they'd go after (with extreme prejudice) anything that tried to live in their area (ie the entire bottom of the tank). Don't overfeed and waste won't be a problem. But, hey, snails are always nice.

Lighting - hard to say. Arguably weaker light will allow you to see better colors. Personally I go brighter, for plants and for ease of photography. I'm not sure I'd go with actinics; blue light on blue fish would likely look a bit odd.

-Molly
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Ok, thanks for the help. The multies and fry have all been moved to the 90 and are doing great. I will add pics as soon as everything is complete and orderly. I bid on the Bulu Points today and they should be here Tuesday. Quick question on them. I see that in the juvenile pics they are blue with a goldish/yellow tail. Then I saw a pic on a different site that claimed to be a Bulu and it was an adult and was pure gold, is this correct or was it a mistake? I personally like the blue and yellow combination.
I also added 2 dozen more shells today to the 90 before I added the Multies and they love it. I have around 50 escargot shells and I plan on adding a few more. Thanks on the lighting tips!

There's a jumbo Bulu Point cyp that used to be more common than it is now. If his juvies are primarily blue, they're the non-jumbos, but you still might want to make sure with him that they're not.

They're also polychromatic - some males will be blue with yellow tails, and some males will be all blue. Females, of course, will develop a little bit of color, mostly yellows in the fins, but will basically not be interesting for their color, just for their behavior.

-Molly
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OK, thanks for the reply. I contacted him and he said they are all pretty much entirely blue with a few having a bit of yellow. Now for one more question (bare with me). I know I asked this before but I never really got a straight forward answer. Would a couple of Fronts be ENTIRELY out of the question or would it be possible after the colony is established. I read your article on them at shelldwellers.com and you had them listed in the I believe it was called "might work" section. IF I kept them well fed with plenty of hiding places could it work or would I wake up one day to no fish but Fronts?

P.S. If I were to buy fronts I would buy them at around 1 inch so they would grow up together with the Multis. Thanks!

Last edited by Dempsey fan at 29-Jul-2005 17:57

Fronts would be a very bad choice with cyps and mulits. Cyps are frontosas natural prey and the mulits would be a nice snack for them.

Agreed, no chance Fronts would work. Even ignoring the problems of them eating the other fish (it's been known to work with multis and Fronts in quite large tanks, sometimes - but many times the balance shifts and whoops, no more multis), the tank's just too small for Fronts. Sorry.

-Molly
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Ok, no prob, I figured as much. So, with the fish that are/will be in the tank is there any more room for any other fish to be added or is it maxed out to it's full potential?

Yeah, I checked on his/her feedback and it's excellent. I e-mailed the person about which shipping method they use and how much it will cost, haven't heard back yet, auction ends the 31st. I have a question about lighting. In my tank now I have just regular flourescent bulbs, four 24inchers. I want something that will really bring out the colors in my fish. Do you have any ideas on which lighting to go with? I was thinking 2 colormax bulbs and 2 blue actinics. What are your thoughts?

Also, what can I use as a bottom feeder in this tank?

Last edited by Dempsey fan at 28-Jul-2005 10:17

Sorry, no. Any species of sand dweller would need all the floor space in that 90, which the multis also need.

Down the line, when you've got as many Cyps and multis as you want, feel free to add a gentle rockdweller, perhaps A. calvus or J. ornatus, but I'd stick to just these guys for now so you can get fry (I now have my first Cyp fry! ::glows:: ). Trust me, they're more than wonderful enough to fill a tank ten times that size with fun and enjoyment.

Last edited by LittleMousling at 30-Jul-2005 08:02

-Molly
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Excellent, thank you so much for all of your help, you have been a lifesaver. I've got south american cichlids down like none other but these darn africans are another story haha. I really appreciate all of your help and I will have pics up in a week or 2 after everyone is settled in. The cyps are scheduled to arrive at 10:30 AM wednesday morning. I can't wait! In the meantime my Multies are living it up in the 90, a huge step up from the Eclipse 12 that they were in.

OK, I have one more question. I know that it is a bit soon for this as the Cyps are arriving tomorrow but could I get away with adding 6 1" ornatus in about a week? I know a guy who will sell me 6 of them for $20 and he lives in my area, I just need to let him know. Would this be OK and then my tank would be done or is this a bad idea? Thanks in advance.

Also, at what size do cyps reach sexual maturity, and how large were yours when they spawned, and how long have you had them for before hand?

Last edited by Dempsey fan at 02-Aug-2005 23:47

Definately not a good idea atm. as LM said

Down the line, when you've got as many Cyps and multis as you want

those Julis and calvus are renowned fry predators, ur multis wont stand a chance. thats why its recommended that the colonies are established already. also i think 6 will be too many even with alot of rockwork. awesome price tho!

Last edited by sumthin_fishy at 03-Aug-2005 00:13

Agreed about the ornatus, I'd wait.



My Cyps are spawning regularly at about an inch and a half to two inches without the tail; they'll be full grown closer to 3-3.5" without the tail (about 4" with, some males reah 4.5".

-Molly
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Ok, thanks for the advice. LM, I just received the Cyps today and they are a blast. All of them are healthy and eating already. The multies didn't like them at first but after a few hours of chasing they realized it wasn't worth it and gave up haha and now they seem to be getting along fine. How long does it take them to develop their color? Mine are all between 1 and 1.5 inches and only one is blue and it's a very faint blue at that. All of the rest are a drab silver color but all are healthy. A few have a thin line of orange running along their dorsal fin but it too is very faint. Thanks in advance.

P.S. Thank you so much for suggesting the Cyps. I would have never looked into them if it wasn't for you.

It takes time, and a bit of patience. Luckily, as you've noticed, they're great fish to have for much more than color.

Males will start to color up an eensy bit around an inch long, and then will very slowly continue until they hit full size. They can also turn it on and off; when breeding, competing for territory, etc the colors will be much stronger than when a given male's just sitting around.

-Molly
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Upper dwellers can either be Tanganyikan, keeping in the spirit of the tank, or another species. If you want to keep the entire tank Tanganyikan, the only true upper dweller is Cyprichromis..! Which doesn't leave you many other options. Other species from the lake compatible in that setup are going to primarily be rock dwellers. They won't hang out in that open water. Obviously, for many reasons, a pair of Fronts are completely unsuitable.

You can choose other species as open water dwellers, such as rainbows, or pearl danios.

Ya sure i would go with both colonies, and for mid water i would get some other tang. cichlid.

Sounds great! I did something similar - I enjoyed my similis so much I moved them into my 125.

For best fry survival and for general enjoyment, I can't recommend Cyprichromis highly enough. Adult males are dead gorgeous, and watching a big group school (they're the only genus of schooling cichlids) is fantastic. You could easily have thriving colonies of both species in there, just pick a non-jumbo Cyp species. I loooooooove my cyps, and everyone I know who's owned them feels the same.

If you want a rockdweller, I'd add it well down the line, when keeping plenty of fry (to fill out the colony) is much less of an issue. At that point a smaller Julidochromis species (say J. ornatus) or some Altolamps would be ideal.

-Molly
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