# Tropheus Duboisi Aquarium



## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Hello All,

Been a fish keeper for a while, took a break after moving to another country. Then caught the bug and getting back into the hobby again. At first I was exploring different tropical fish to keep (Altum angels, or brackish monos) but couldn't resist going back to my favorite Tropheus :fish:

Currently setting up a new Tropheus Duboisi species tank. Previously had a Tropheus Chipimbi tank. 








Here's a pic of my previous Tropheus set up.

Specs: 48x18x18 (online calculators says 67gal? 250litres)

Fresh set up without any established tanks near by (Anyone from Hong Kong in this forum to help me seed my tank?). Impossible to source any pure Ammonia here  So I have to start my fishless cycling with table shrimp...

Anyway, going to treat this as my journal as it's always nice to document and share =)

















Setting up the hardscape









Water filled and equipment running! time to cycle!

Always been a fan of the ADA style planted tanks. So that's my inspiration for the hardscape. Please let me know what you think!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Welcome to C-F

Old tank looked great. Is that an AquaTerra BG?

New tank looks sharp. Good luck with the cycle. Gonna take a while...


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Thank you!

Yep, background from Aquaterra on the old tank.

Yes...not really looking forward to the cycle.. haha asking everyone I know if they have an established aquarium to steal some biomedia from :lol:


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## mbuna_territory (Jan 18, 2016)

That's a nice looking tank, your previous was nice as well. Like the hardscape.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Let us know how the cycle goes


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

mbuna_territory said:


> That's a nice looking tank, your previous was nice as well. Like the hardscape.


Thank you! =)



Iggy Newcastle said:


> Let us know how the cycle goes


Will do!

Update - Day 3 in Cycle.
Table shrimp in a little pantyhose sock is slowly seeding the tank with Ammonia. Been in there for three days now. Getting readings between 0.25-0.50ppm (API Test kit) today. Since I couldn't get my hands on any bb from established tanks, I just went for my only option, bottled bacteria. I've had success previously with AquaSafeStart in US, but of course I couldn't find any in Hong Kong, Same with Dr. Tim's. So my only option was Seachem Stability heard mixed reviews, but I guess this can be my little experiment! I'm logging all my test results with dates, will start sharing my results as I get a little further in the cycle.

Tiny bits of white fungus starting to show up on my driftwood. Good thing that SOMETHING is growing in the tank lol. (I know it will go away after the bacteria stabilizes)

Also my driftwood is leeching some brown tannins into the water. Will be adding purigen to the filter to remove it after the tank cycles. So we can test another product as it'll be interesting to see before and after pictures. :thumb:

Waiting game continues! opcorn:


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Day 4 - Weird test results

Getting some strange test results from my water parameters today:
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10?
Temp: 30c / 86f
pH: Higher than 7.6 (maximum this test kit reaches, will need to get another tester with higher pH readings)
Have surface agitation from filter output + powerhead in water to circulate oxygen for bacteria

Only theory I have is that either the Seachem Stability bacteria is working, keeping the nitrites down and is starting to process it into nitrate. Ammonia still present due to decaying shrimp that's still in the tank constantly releasing ammonia? Or the tank hasn't even started to cycle yet. If so I find it odd that the tank water has traces of Nitrate (see below for tap water comparison). When dosing stability I usually spread it around the aquaruim and 1 capful directly into the canister filter intake. Reading online I see other people getting ammonia readings of 4ppm+ from the shrimp method. Will continue to monitor to see if Nitrates levels continue to rise although strange that I never got a nitrite reading - only heard of this from people who seed their tanks with established bacteria.

Here's an image of the tests (my LFS didnt have stock of API's nitrite tests so I'm using Tetra brand)









Ammonia tests tap water on the right for comparison









Nitrate tests, tap water on right for comparison


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

That's a head scratcher. I don't know what to tell you. There's no way to know how much ammonia you'll be producing with shrimp. Perhaps the Stability is working. The tap water does show a slight nitrate reading, but tank is most certainly higher.

Only thing you can do is proceed as planned and keep testing.


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## dalto (Aug 20, 2006)

Did you test your tap water for nitrates?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

dalto said:


> Did you test your tap water for nitrates?


Last picture shows tank vs tap


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> That's a head scratcher. I don't know what to tell you. There's no way to know how much ammonia you'll be producing with shrimp. Perhaps the Stability is working. The tap water does show a slight nitrate reading, but tank is most certainly higher.
> 
> Only thing you can do is proceed as planned and keep testing.


Yeah, hopefully it's the Stability bacteria doing the work, similar like seeding the tank with established media. Anyway, this is the beauty of fishless cycling, we can see what happens without any drawbacks =) Time will tell! Hopefully 0 ammonia and more nitrates


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Day 5 - Tiny update

Nothing exciting today, 
Ammonia: 0.25
Nirite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10

SEEMS like nitrates are rising? but I'll give it a few more days to confirm. Strange that Ammonia is stuck at 0.25 though If the bacteria is working I would have thought Ammonia would be at 0 by now. After confirming my nitrates are rising maybe i'll pull the shrimp out to see if my ammonia drops to 0. I'll wait a bit more before I do that.


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Day 6

Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
pH: 8.2

Nitrates do seem to look like they are rising. Yesterday it was difficult for me to tell if it was 5ppm or 10ppm. Today it's clearly 10ppm. What's bothering me is the 0.25 Ammonia though. Should I pull the shrimp and see if levels drop to 0? I've read online that people just leave it in until tank is cycled though.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I would definitely leave it in. Not really sure how Stabiliy works. Does it need a food source?


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> I would definitely leave it in. Not really sure how Stabiliy works. Does it need a food source?


Treat it like any other bacteria, yes it will need a food source.

Did a little experiment yesterday. I pulled the shrimps out (sorry I should have been clear earlier, there are two pieces of small frozen shrimp in the sock). Anyway I placed it in a container with tank water overnight, tested ammonia in the container and wow it turned dark green, over 8ppm within a few seconds. Of course it's normal since the container is much much smaller than my aquarium, but I was curious since my Ammonia levels in the tank have been 0.25 for a week now. Just to rule out that somehow the shrimp was not leeching enough ammonia for the cycle to start.

Day 7: (Without ammonia source for 16 hours)
Ammonia: 0.25 (less than 0.25 but not as yellow as tap water)
Nitrie: 0
Nitrate: 10

I was hoping that the tank water will be 0ppm Ammonia to prove the bacteria is working. But now I'm not 100% confident. Strange that it couldn't even take down 0.25ppm? I have read online that others have had this issue with the API Test kit, where tank water shows up at 0.25ppm even when tap water is 0. I DID use Seachem Prime to dechlorinate the water at Day 1, so the ammonia binding from Prime would have been released long time ago. I have not done any water changes, and have not added anything else into the tank other than the daily Stability doses and topping off the water level with regular tap water (that's 0ppm ammonia).

There's definitely bacteria in there or else the ammonia tests should be off the charts. but something is stopping my tank water to get to 0ppm Ammonia :-?

Anyway here's the results of the tank water vs shrimp water.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I have never, ever, had the API kit show 0 ppm ammonia. I'll test tank vs tap vs bottled. Always somewhere between 0 and .25. Maybe double up the shrimp? Get a good detectable reading and monitor?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

My API ammonia test is always absolute zero...bright yellow with no hint of green. I thank goodness for my well.


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Quick update! Yes! 0 Ammonia finally! (as yellow as tap water).


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

:thumb:


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## caldwelldaniel26 (Jun 11, 2017)

Awesome man, never have done a "food cycle" before but it's cool to see that it actually works. Congrats!


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Here we go! Added fish in two batches over the last few days after a 25% WC. Water is still 0 Ammonia and Nitrite readings after introducing the fish. no feedings for 24 hours. Had some Black Beard Algae on the wood growing nicely, and within 2 days all the algae is gone lol everyone active and hungry! :dancing:

From the colony there are two fish that have caught my attention upon introducing them to the tank:
1) One guy has a bit of his fin damaged. He's a bit skinnier than the rest, and I'm closely monitoring him every day in case he gets bullied.
2) Another one looks like it has swollen gills? I noticed it already at the store but not exactly sure if it's a disease or if it's born deformed? It's behaving normally with the group, grazing on algae and active. Is this alarming? Hoping it will heal itself?

I don't have a quarantine tank/equipment to separate them from the main group. I can get those fry nets/box things and have them separated that way? Do I even need to?

Anyway here are picture! =)


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Keep an eye on the fish, as you are, in particular their feeding. Just be sure they are all actively eating. The one with fin damage may be from being in a small tank at the shop. As long as it's feeding and not being constantly harassed into the upper corners, I'd leave him be. If for any reason a fish stops feeding, you'll need to remove it. This needs to be addressed in a separate aquarium, not an in tank net/box.

It would be a great idea to shove a sponge filter into your existing filtration, or place a small HOB on the main tank. These will be seeded with beneficial bacteria and be ready for a hospital/rehome tank when the time comes.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Finally, some Tropheus Duboisi in the Tropheus Duboisi thread :wink:

Great pics. How many did you get? It looks like around 24.

What location are they?


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> Keep an eye on the fish, as you are, in particular their feeding. Just be sure they are all actively eating. The one with fin damage may be from being in a small tank at the shop. As long as it's feeding and not being constantly harassed into the upper corners, I'd leave him be. If for any reason a fish stops feeding, you'll need to remove it. This needs to be addressed in a separate aquarium, not an in tank net/box.
> 
> It would be a great idea to shove a sponge filter into your existing filtration, or place a small HOB on the main tank. These will be seeded with beneficial bacteria and be ready for a hospital/rehome tank when the time comes.


Yep will do. Actually looking to add another canister filter for back up and redundancy. Thought about getting a HOB but I couldn't stand a big box sitting on my tank =p



noddy said:


> Finally, some Tropheus Duboisi in the Tropheus Duboisi thread :wink:
> 
> Great pics. How many did you get? It looks like around 24.
> 
> What location are they?


Haha yes, it took a while! def more photos to come =)

There are 36 right now. This is more than I intended for the tank but the LFS cleared their stock for me. They are about 1 inch juvies now, will have options to remove aggressive males and adjust ratios as they grow.

I'm not sure what location they are, they were only labeled as 'white spotted tropheus' I guess we'll see when they grow up!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

They don't keep their spots...too bad because they are so cute.


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Wanted to share a vid of my tank! Little dubs schooling like tetras!  All fish are healthy so far can't wait for them to grow!

Noticing that my tank has very low nitrates. I did a 30% WC last week but my nitrates are still only 5ppm? Ammonia and nitrites both 0ppm. I do have two bags of purigen in my filters but not sure if it's supposed to keep my nitrates this low? (Good problem to have of course) are the fish just too small and not producing that much waste yet?


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## hexagonalbolts (Dec 12, 2017)

dakkon227 said:


> Wanted to share a vid of my tank! Little dubs schooling like tetras!  All fish are healthy so far can't wait for them to grow!
> 
> Noticing that my tank has very low nitrates. I did a 30% WC last week but my nitrates are still only 5ppm? Ammonia and nitrites both 0ppm. I do have two bags of purigen in my filters but not sure if it's supposed to keep my nitrates this low? (Good problem to have of course) are the fish just too small and not producing that much waste yet?


Hey Dakkon! Awesome tank. How is it going now? Would be great to see more pictures.

I am moving out to Hong Kong in January from England and would really appreciate your help. Did you get all your equipment from 'Goldfish street' in Mong Kok / are there any shops you recommend? Can you get decent lights for growing plants there? Canister filters? Would any of the aquariums there share some of their filter sponges to kickstart your aquarium?

Thanks for any help!


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## joselepiu (Jul 22, 2017)

Iggy Newcastle said:


> I'll test tank vs tap vs bottled.


did you ever do it?... :-? :-? :-? 
what were the results?... :-? :-? :-?


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

hexagonalbolts said:


> Hey Dakkon! Awesome tank. How is it going now? Would be great to see more pictures.
> 
> I am moving out to Hong Kong in January from England and would really appreciate your help. Did you get all your equipment from 'Goldfish street' in Mong Kok / are there any shops you recommend? Can you get decent lights for growing plants there? Canister filters? Would any of the aquariums there share some of their filter sponges to kickstart your aquarium?
> 
> Thanks for any help!


Hey! The tank is doing very well! the little dubs are growing well. I'll snap some photos and share in a little bit!

Yes, I got all my equipment from 'goldfish street' happy to help and give you a little tour when you get here! Yes planted aquariums are popular here, so there's lots of ADA-inspired tanks and shops for lights/co2/substrate/plants etc. I wouldn't trust the stores to share their filter sponges to be honest. but I'm more than happy to give you some of mine to help seed your aquarium!

Maybe private message me so we can get in touch.


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## hexagonalbolts (Dec 12, 2017)

dakkon227 said:


> hexagonalbolts said:
> 
> 
> > Hey Dakkon! Awesome tank. How is it going now? Would be great to see more pictures.
> ...


Ah, thanks, that would all be great! I'll send you a PM in a minute!


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## Bryan Evans (Dec 5, 2017)

Just curious, how much was the rock wall in the first picture?


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## Bryan Evans (Dec 5, 2017)

Just curious, how much was the background from AquaTerra? And are they still in business?


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Bryan Evans said:


> Just curious, how much was the background from AquaTerra? And are they still in business?


I'm not sure if they are still in business, i bought the background a long time ago when I was still in US. here's the site if you want to check: http://www.aquaterra-intl.com/index.html

Anyway, it's been a while since I've updated this thread so here's a little post! The green algae has grown in and I love watching the group graze algae together! The trophs are growing slowly, maybe around 2 inches long. Every once a while I see a very very faint bar and blue faces when they are 'displaying'. Can't wait for them to get their adult colorations! Anyway, here's a full tank shot with the algae established!


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## NewkeeperRico (Feb 5, 2018)

That's an awesome tank you got there!


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

NewkeeperRico said:


> That's an awesome tank you got there!


Thank you!

Time for another update! Added a few smaller pieces of rocks to fill up the bottom and give them more algae to graze at. The fish are growing well, should be 2 inches and a bit? Still room for more growth :fish:


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The tank looks wonderful growing all the green algae, nice job on the aquascape!!!!


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

Deeda said:


> The tank looks wonderful growing all the green algae, nice job on the aquascape!!!!


Thank you! It's a funny one, usually people want algae out of their tanks, but here we are wanting to grow more =)


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

dakkon227 said:


> Deeda said:
> 
> 
> > The tank looks wonderful growing all the green algae, nice job on the aquascape!!!!
> ...


You are right, there seem to be more folks who like the look of a pristine tank - think white holey rock etc. yours looks great, the algae on rocks and wood gives a much more natural look to things. I like how the algae tends to even out color variations. I'm amazed that the tank is only a 68 gallon tank, seems much larger.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

It looks big because it is the same length and width as my 90 gallon tank. So the floor plan (footprint) is the same. The difference is, that a 90 gallon is 24 inches tall, not 18.


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## TheMick (Jan 24, 2018)

Awesome looking tank you've got there!!


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## dakkon227 (Aug 4, 2017)

nodima said:


> You are right, there seem to be more folks who like the look of a pristine tank - think white holey rock etc. yours looks great, the algae on rocks and wood gives a much more natural look to things. I like how the algae tends to even out color variations. I'm amazed that the tank is only a 68 gallon tank, seems much larger.


Thanks! Yes, as the algae grew it helped a lot with blending the colors of the rock and wood! Plus the fish love to graze on it! :dancing:



punman said:


> It looks big because it is the same length and width as my 90 gallon tank. So the floor plan (footprint) is the same. The difference is, that a 90 gallon is 24 inches tall, not 18.


exactly! worked out to my advantage! Although now I want a 5ft tank :lol:



TheMick said:


> Awesome looking tank you've got there!!


Thank you!

Recently been posting more updates of the tank and less of the fish, so here's an update on the fish! I feed them veggie tabs in between regular meals and I love watching them eat together. Figured you will too! Enjoy!


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