# *UPDATE* Mixed Cichlid 60g - 105lbs Dragon Stone



## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

Yesterday was an exciting day! The rest of my Dragon Stone arrived!

I would like to thank everyone who has guided me on these lovely forums here as well as all you folks who took the time to upload photos for people like myself to browse through! Wish I stumbled across these forums earlier though, could have saved me a couple hundred bucks.

Here is what I am running

60g Marineland Heartland Setup
2 x Fluval 306 Canister Filters
1 Aquaclear 70 Powerhead + Quick Filter attachment
1 500gph Fan
200 Watt Heater
Flourescent Lighting + Custom LED Strip Lighting with Remote =)

Stock (Mixed)
2 Red Zebra (Mama & Papa)
2 Kenyi (Kenny & Wesley Stripes)
1 Aratus (Dexter)
1 OB Peacock (OBI WON)
1 Sunshine Peacock (Dora the Explora)
1 Assorted/Hybrid Peacock (Rick James)
1 Venustus (GI Jane)
1 Ice Blue Zebra (Stanley)
1 Electric Yellow Lab (Pepe)
2 Bumble Bee (Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dumb)
1 Jewel (Lone Ranger)
1 Plecco (Plectomus Prime)
& 11 Red Zebra Fry?

And the photos (My web hosting service is taking a beating today, so might be a bit laggy):

















































































Here are some shots of just the LED strip lighting I added:

















































































I absolutely LOVE the Dragon Stone look! It's a great stone for stacking too, very light, almost punky feeling, edgy so it stacks good. Now to get some algae to grow on it, perhaps some plants to grow in the many holes. If you use this rock though, rinse it thoroughly.

And the fry, they're doing very well. Had to make them a new bin, the breeder bins they sell are simply too small. I picked up a plastic bin at the dollar store and took a drill to it:









Thanks again everyone for the help and advice. I look forward to sharing my future aquarium setups with you all! Just gotta reno a few more rooms for the wifey, make her happy, then one random day build a stand that fits a 120g and just make it happen! =)


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## sumthinfishy (Jan 26, 2013)

i think the dragon stone is very cool. i had never heard of or seen it until your post. however, i think that the texture and color is so busy that it takes away from the fish. i like to have my fish be the centerpiece in the tank that stands out above all else. i feel that the dragonstone is the centerpiece and fish are secondary in the appearance of your tank. everyone is different and has different goals in their tanks. i'm not saying mine is better or worse than yours just a personal preference. i hope u dont take my honesty as an insult


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

I thought that too as I added another 50lbs of it last night. I feel the fish still have lots of growing, and as that happens in the coming years I will be aiming to get a larger tank which should make the stone mass seem a little less.


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

The dragon stone is doing very well! I was concerned there might be some seeping from the clay within the holes. However none of that has happened. The fish are SO MUCH more active. I picked up a few new guys to put in there. 2 Bumble Bees, 2 Flamebacks, & 2 Demasoni's. Got them small, all at around 1 inch or so. Just so they have a lot of time to grow while I make plans for future larger tank.

Definitely didn't expect cichlids/fish to be so much fun! They have kept me busy all winter long and it's been a long frickin winter here in Canada...

I will try and get some more photos up later this evening. I added some plastic none wire "Moss" that the wife picked up while at Michaels, it's fake, comes in a 12 x 12 flat decoration (kinda like carpet). I just pulled all the clips off and zip tied a bunch together to jam in between the rock cracks, holes. Almost has a Scotland feel to it now lol. I did look into real moss, like Java Moss, and it seems like it may be to much maintenance for me to take on this winter. I heard it's very invasive, can get into your filters, your ripping it out by the handfulls on a weekly basis...


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

Figured I'd share a video... First video uploaded to my YT Partner account in years... lol...

Subscribers be like, hmmm fish? lol...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I absolutely love the look of the rocks and the way you have them arranged, very nicely done!!! I'm also surprised how well the fake 'moss' looks on the rocks. Nice job!


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## Klikcichlid (Feb 3, 2015)

Very nice tank, but I think you might have size issues later on with the venustus and aggression. But it seems like you are planning it out, really cool tank!!


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

Thanks! I was surprised at how well the fake moss looked too. I was lucky enough to have a LFS that had a few hundred pounds of the stone in so I could look at them in person and pick out certain pieces I needed. Still supported a local reptile shop though for ordering the other 50lbs in.

I've been looking at 120gallon tanks but may look at bigger. We shall see!


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## PhinFan1981 (Nov 15, 2014)

I like the look of your tank.Although off topic,I can't help but comment on your stocking choices. Too many issues to list at this time. You have a group of fish that won't work for you long term. The question isn't even (if) but when will the ticking time bomb go off for you. I would at the very least...stop adding random fish and figure out what you really want out of your stock. Once you have a goal...research and stock accordingly.


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

@PhinFan1981

Totally agree with you here. I just want to get an idea of the different characteristics before I decide to choose certain groups to go with. I have always planned to rehome certain fish if anything becomes a problem.

I work from home so I am constantly checking in on them, walk by the tank every 10 mins or so, gotta work on that cardio right lol

I have 3 breeder bins on hand now if I need to put anyone in while I find new home or bring to LFS.

Currently only fish I find that causes any aggression issues is the OB Peacock.

Also noticed the Auratus is starting to call the left side of the tank his, however aggression levels with him are currently low.

My female Red Zebra who was brooding took on a lot of aggression from the OB Peacock. Which has leveled off from doing the rescape. Also had problems first time cleaning where she got into his "area" and he beat her up pretty good. Since then it continued then wore off after rescape. Still the odd chase but not the way he was attacking her earlier.

I am sitting back and getting to know all these guys now and will not be stocking anything more.


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

Welp... First bomb went off a couple days ago. Just been a busy work week haven't had time to share... Nothing to serious, but lets just say my awesome fry bin I made was at the bottom of my tank one morning this week. All fry released... There we're 11, and I pulled out 2 floaters. Astoundingly the other 9 after doing great. The first day I monitored them closely, they all swam behind the rock structure, and stayed in the dark holey areas of the dragon stone. Day 2 they came out when feeding, and this is the really cool part, all 9 of the little guys all swam together right to the top of the tank while the others were feeding and foraged themselves!

This does suck for me big time, as I had no plans to keep these Red Zebra fry, just wanted to grow them out big enough to give away as free fish in order to get to know a few local cichlid keepers around here. Nephews had interest in them too. I tried catching them with a net and no luck yet. I am over filtered so I am not to worried on the well over stocked tank I got now. But I do need to get them out asap and rehome them.

Anywho, the little fry are doin great, however, their "Momma" doesn't like them at all. I can easily accuse her for killing one of the young. She then chased many of them around on day 1. The Auratus didn't like the action she created while doing this and really really took it upon himself to battle Momma. And welp, lets just say the Auratus won, big time... I put Momma in a breeder bin and the Auratus simply wouldn't give up, he was trying hard to get the breeder bin to flip. The OB Peacock would come over to the bin while the Auratus was there and they would court eachother and the Auratus would bail. Was weird watching another fish I guess "protect" an injured fish.

So this led me to rethink my stocking choices like you said above PhinFan. Seeing as I am running mixed, and many other folks do too, successfully. I want to continue trying. So in order to do this I need a "Triage" tank. Yesterday while I was out at LFS I picked up a 10gallon starter kit for $70 bucks.

Got "Momma" in there now recovering from 98% tail fin loss and some scale loss. I've been reading and it's around 2 weeks for fin regrowth?

She seems very happy in the 10 gallon, perked up, swimming and eating. So hopefully she starts showing regrowth sooner then later.

I will try and get a video up of the fry swimming around the tank with all the larger fish this afternoon / evening. It is a pretty cool site I must say!


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## PhinFan1981 (Nov 15, 2014)

First off-would like to say congrats on your fry. Even though your plan is to rehome them...its still a pretty cool feeling to watch your own little ones function in the main tank. As far as your mixed tank I'm not one to ever recommend some one rid their entire stock...so I wont make the safest recommendations. I have a mixed male mbuna tank and it is a challenge to this day.It took years of tinkering the stock to get it to where it is...and this is with no females and no duplicates. I would monitor your tank closely and rehome rejected fish (hovering at top) and overaggresssive ones (Auratus attacks and nearly kills mama). Normally for success in a mixed tank you want no duplicates (2 Demasoni) and no females (see a couple females in your video). The hospital tank is a great start to working out your stock.


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## RyTheFryGuy (Jan 23, 2015)

The fry experience has been fun. I had the pleasure to breed bearded dragons for a few years and it feels great to experience it all. For some reason the fry function very well. Maybe there to small to be caught? They do school together too though, which might create more confusion if any of the other larger fish are feeling predatory.

It's a toss up right now between me and the wifey, if we want to go haps or mbuna. Hense the reason we stocked the way we did, we want to learn and see all the different characteristics of the fish before we decide our "final" stock choices. Still lots of research / monitoring to do on that part.

I do plan to go all male though as I can't be dealing with fry all the time. As much as i'd love to, just don't have the space or time to do such.

I need to get a list going so I can write down which ones are female.

Here are some photos of the escaped fry lol




























And here is my "Triage" tank in utility room. Currently housing Female Red Zebra & Flameback. (The flameback was problematic from the beginning, it was a long drive home from Big Als Fish Store and the 2 flame backs must of got into it) The 2 are getting along fine and healing up good. Just used some slate I had lying around to create some comfort zones for the flameback seeing he is pretty tiny. The other flameback is doing great in the main tank though!










Hopefully the fry grow out quicker now seeing as there in a 60gallon tank... Would be nice to start getting rid of those and figuring out stocking routes.


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## Ten Tonne Tomahawk (Apr 24, 2015)

You would be wise to make the first change to your layout the removal off all confirmed females from the tank. Your mix has the capacity to be problematic enough as it is, the females will up the aggression in certain fish. Africans are not fish to breed in pairs or have 2 males in a display tank. Your female red zebra will be spending extensive time in your hospital tank, as will sub dominant males and any single females that have a sexually active male in the tank with them. Phinfan nailed it, you have issues coming and much bigger than a few rouge fry in the tank. I have done some crazy things in the past, if had epic fails as a result. The attitude of keeping them until they become an issue, then swapping them out for something that you think will be less of an issue is an issue in itself. your newcomer is entering a full house. You're throwing a hand-grenade in your tank. Get the mix right from the start. Get the girls out, or get more of them and get the closely related boys out. For example, if you want to breed the Red Zebra, I'd move the 2 Kenjis, the Ice Blue and maybe even the bumble bees out. The Male kenji (Metriclima Lombardoi) is the same size group and has the potential to be a lot more dominant than the male Red Zebra. (M. Estherae) If the 'Ice Blue" is the blue form of (M.Estherae) then it WILL cross with the Red girls. If it is what is also called a 'Cobalt Blue Zebra' (M.Callainos), then the same issues apply as for the Kenji, (M. Lombardoi). The Bumblebees, (M. Crabro) to a lesser extend may be an issue. All fish are from the Metriclima (formelry Psuedotropheus) family so it's like keeping cousins together. Keep it in the family, but not that way....
I have also noted the latin names for these fish in an attempt to help you. most LFS aught to refer to these fish in the more correct, latin names and not what we call 'trade names' because an "Ice Blue Zebra" could quite easily refer to any one of at least half a dozen species. When dealing with some of the older folks on this board, they are used to talking in species names. Names like Bumble bee and Ice Blue help sell the fish, but don't do much else. Often times, the same fish may have several 'trade names' just to further confuse the situation. The same fish can only ever have one latin name.
Kenji = Golden Zebra = M. Lombardoi.
Giraffe cichlid = Venus Cichlid = N. Venustus
Bumblebee Zebra = Hornet Zebra = Chameleon Zebra = M. Crabro
This site has an absolutely brilliant species library where you can find out all sorts of things about the fish you're keeping, including final size and average aggression levels, however, it's best accessed using latin names, since the species are catalogued by them.

On the bright side, the rocks look amazing. I have never seen them, I just have boring old White rock and a white skeleton. I'm going to have to look into them.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

Aggressive looking rocks! :thumb:

I also wonder how did you attach the "plants" to the rocks? Super glue?


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## Fishnut71 (Dec 7, 2014)

Als49 said:


> I also wonder how did you attach the "plants" to the rocks? Super glue?


I personally would of used a hot glue gun, to make it a quick project.


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## Fishnut71 (Dec 7, 2014)

I was rather unimpressed with the new rocks, but once you added the small plants, it completely changed it to a natural looking structure :thumb:


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## Mahseer (Jun 23, 2015)

That is a great looking tank. Unlike anything I've seen and I have been looking at a LOT of tanks on the net. 

I would love to see how it is looking these days. Much algae? My tanks seem to get algae much more quickly - maybe the room gets more natural light.


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## BugHunter87 (Mar 19, 2015)

Where did you get the stone?


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## Fish Jerk (Mar 9, 2016)

Looks like a near ideal habitat for africans. Also quite beautiful.


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