# going to get back into cichlids need some help :)



## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

ok so about 2 years ago i tore down my 75 gallon cichlid tank and sold off my approx. 200lbs of texas holey rocks (this was stupid cause they were beautiful and expensive) for a 10 gallon salt water nano reef. I had to tear it down because i was moving to a new apartment and there was no room for it , i didnt want to have no tank so i got the nano  . Well now im gona be moving again and i plan on setting the tank up again. this time i want to either do , yellow labs/demasoni or a mixed tank like i had lastime but id like to make it a complete biotope. In other words id like to add the same animals and plants and make it as realistic as possible like in the wild. So i want to add the malawi blue crabs, what ever plants are really in malawi , whatever real substrate would be in the lake. can anyone tell me all of these things i would need to add? and any other water animals that im missing? mabe synidontis cats as well?what kind of snails are really there?bugs? microfauna and what not? thanks in advance!


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## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

here is my tank from 2 years ago:

Filtration 2 fluval 305's
Air Pump none
Lighting 2 48inch all glass aquarium fluorescent
Substrate crushed coral
Rocks over 100lbs texas holey rock and some lava rock
Background black
Plants none
Feeding NLS , spirulina max, brine shrimp or ghost shrimp once ever 2 weeks

Livestock:
6 Labidochromis caeruleus
2 Labeotropheus trewavasae
1 Metriaclima callainos
1 Metriaclima estherae (Red)
2 Metriaclima estherae (OB)
2 Metriaclima greshakei (Albino)
1 M. crabro
3 Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" (Msuli)
1 Pseudotropheus sp. Elongatus
1 Pseudotropheus socolofi (Albino)
1 Tropheus sp. "Red"
2 Melanochromis johannii
1 Copadichromis borleyi
1 Aulonocara stuartgranti
1 Hypostomus plecostomus
1 M. lombardoi "Kenyi"
1 Metriaclima greshakei







And heres my 10 gallon reef at 2 years old just for fun


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## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

noone?


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## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

tough crowd here huh


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

Wow Twelve both of your tanks are amazing ! I really wish I had a reef tank with all the corals and everything moving around like your 10 gallon. They really are cool. As far as all your malawi just do some research on line to find out what species beside fish all reside in there. May take you a little time but I'm sure our fellow CF friends will help you out to. It's great your getting back in the groove good luck. You seem like you know what you want to do and I know you will do fine!  :wink:


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## metro6775 (Sep 16, 2008)

I am currently getting back into keeping an aquarium also. I went with the demasoni/yellow lab combo in my 75. I purchased 12 dems and 8 yellows (need more dems). I like the yellows better because they hang out and about while the dems are a little violent always chasing and hiding in the rocks. If you go with dems you are going to wish you didn't sell all the holey rock.


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## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

thanks for the kind comments. i wish i didnt sell all of the holy rock but i found an even better source for rock . its marcorocks (dot)com. the rock is amazing and i actually just ordered some key largo for my nano reef upgrade that ill be doing this weekend( going from that 10galon to a 20 high). When i originally bought my THR i paid about $6.99 a pound for about 200lbs 0.o i know thats psychotic and you can get another entire setup for that price haha i was a green horn though . free shipping to so you really cant go wrong. it even looks like texas holey rock but even better with more surface area, and its mined on land so its not destroying the existing reef look here:


now after doing a reef i like the idea of all the little critters of the reef. thats why i want to do a complete biotope of lake malawi .i think i may go that route. 
1.what kind of snails are in the lake?
2.what kind of crusteations 
3.what kind of plants are in the lake?
4. what kind of real rock are in the lake?
5. what kind of substrate are in the lake?
5. what kind of "water bugs, critters " are in the lake?
I really want to make it like a complete biotope and i want to do as much planing as possible. Are all of these other critters even available in the trade?


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## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

i found this. http://malawicichlids.com/mw12000.htm .. but im sure that 90% of these "critters" would be unavailable in the trade.. :-/


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## twelvejewelz (Nov 20, 2006)

1.So far i will do mixed malawi cichlids havnt thought of exact species yet.
2. i will put "Vallisneria spiralis" as a natural plant
3. Potamonautes orbitospinus "Malawi Blue Crab" ( if i can find it)
4. the real rocks in the lake look more like big rocks found here :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlH4oDClKuA&feature=related
im sure i can come up with something

for the rest i need to do some more research and ill report back. i like the idea of making a self sustaining biotope though.


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

there you go


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