# 50-gallon Tanganyika Riparium



## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

*50-gallon Tanganyika Riparium*

This new journal thread is a continuation of others that I have been maintaining on a couple of other sites off-and-on for a couple of years. Here's the link...
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=206583

I have cycled a few different kinds of fish through this planted setup, but it has always housed the group of seven _Synodontis lucipinnis_ that are still in there.

I am redoing the planting and the fish stocking once again. I will keep the group of _Synodontis_, but this time I want to combine them with one or maybe two Tanganyika cichlid species to make something more like a biotope representation. The addition of plants growing above the water is unusual for a Tanganyika aquarium display, but I intend for the setup to be more or less representative of a rocky near-shore environment where plants might not be so far away.

Here's an old picture of this tank with the complete riparium planting.










I have a few pictures of my recent work redoing the tank.

This picture shows the tank from a few months ago after I removed the existing riparium plants.










And here's another one from just a week ago showing the new riparium plants and previous rock hardscape removed.










And lastly this picture shows the new hardscape.










I'll have more pictures on the way. My first priority right now is to figure out some Tanganyika cichlids that will combine well with the catfish. I had wondered about using _Julidochromis_ in a group, but I have noticed the catfish using all of the crevices in the rocks. Does anybody have any ideas?


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## Cooder (Jul 19, 2011)

Its beautiful, honestly, but in my opinion plants in a tanganyikan tank look weird, especially that highly planted! the last pic is more like it i think, with some vallisneria species from the lake in the tank, that would be natural and look awesome....

i dont suggest you change for me though, thanks for posting,

About the julies, i think a pair would work well, they will most likely kick the synos out of their rocks. any more than one pair in that sized tank would not be recommended, as the first pair that forms will get very aggressive towards them... it is often recommended that a group of 6 be bought initially, so that a pair can be aquired, but that only works if you have other tanks to put the outcasts in, until if/when another 2 pair up, then do the same...

hope this helps

Cooder


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Well I'm sorry that you don't like the plants, but I like them and I am going to keep them in there. It's my house! I hear a lot of people asking about plants for Rift Valley setups and this is one solution that can work well. For some of the fish species that live in habitats closer to the shore this can be a more or less representative kind of setup with the emergent plants growing above the water. I don't know that one can validly write off a non-conventional approach as no good just because it "looks weird" and might be out of the ordinary.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I have a lead on some _Julidochromis ornatus_ that I can find locally. If I get a pair from a little group of fish will the _Synodontis_ still be OK in the tank if I give them extra hides? I wonder about adding just one additional lone fish, such as an _A. calvus_, for a little bit more interest. Would a single calvus be able to hold its own with a pair of julies?


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## badspellar (Oct 14, 2009)

This is the first time I've heard of a riparium. Its beautiful. I really liked the first setup, with the round rounds. The plants were interesting and arranged really nicely.

The second one is nice too, but not as mature yet. I presume you'll adjust the arrangement as the plants grow.

What a cool way to keep plants with digging fish. Also nice how the plants suck up the nitrates with no fussy co2 injection. Never have to worry about light vs water depth. Plus you sure have some beautiful choices.


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## Cooder (Jul 19, 2011)

I think it looks really good, dont worry about that. I think they should be alright the synos, not sure about the single calvus...

i think you should add some vallisneria in the tank if you want, overgrowing plants look really cool aswell.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I'm looking for Spathodus sp., Eretmodus sp. or Tanganicodus irsacae. I'd be interested to hear any tips on sources that anybody might have.


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

What sort of containers do you use to put the plants in?


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

metricliman said:


> What sort of containers do you use to put the plants in?


The plants are all in Riparium Supply riparium planters.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

I like the 1st picture plants and the last picture rocks...that would be just the right combo for me. Love your idea and the look of what you have done. Keep us informed with lots of pics as that's how we get our ideas. I also love the rimless tank look...awesome.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

cichlid-gal said:


> I like the 1st picture plants and the last picture rocks...that would be just the right combo for me. Love your idea and the look of what you have done. Keep us informed with lots of pics as that's how we get our ideas. I also love the rimless tank look...awesome.


Hey thanks so much. That last picture shows what the tank looks like now. It will look better as the plants grow in some more.

I sure hope I can find some goby cichlids somewhere...


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## Mschn99 (Dec 24, 2012)

While i will say it is not something i would personally like the look of in my home, it is something that would catch my attention big time in someone else's. Its not my "flavor" of aquarium but i love that its a style different to most! Im very interested to see the finished product. And the bottom line is all that matters is that it ends up being what YOU want. Many people would not like the looks of my tanks because i mix lace rock...river rock....and driftwood in a manner to create hiding spot that might not be natural. I like it. It works for me. I personally could care less and you should not as well. Kudos for trying something different!!


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Gobies are really difficult in a smaller tank. I have 6 Tang Irsacae in a 5ft 120, and they are always bickering.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Floridagirl said:


> Gobies are really difficult in a smaller tank. I have 6 Tang Irsacae in a 5ft 120, and they are always bickering.


What do you think about putting a 1/2-dozen juvenile fish in there and letting them pair to leave just one pair in the tank. Would that work?


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I think I have a good idea for an additional fish to add to this tank!

There is quite a bit of open water space up in the front of the tank and I have thought that it might look best if I could include some kind of schooling fish. One idea that I had earlier for the fish stocking was to use a group of _Cyprichromis_, and then call it good. These active fish get to be several inches long however and this 36" is rather short for them. While snooping around I encountered this fish that I had never heard of before...

*Google: Lamprichthys tanganicanus*
https://www.google.com/search?q=Lam...g&biw=1101&bih=566&sei=38L7UN-oLoX9qAGWqIHwAw

What a cool fish! This is a killi that occurs in open water habitats in Lake Tanganyika and it's gorgeous. It looks something like a rainbow. However, _L. tanganicanus_ also gets to be rather big, to 6", and it would be better suited to a bigger tank.

While looking around some more on the Internet I saw some descriptions of using this fish as a Tanganyika tank dither and something of a stand-in for the more delicate, larger-growing and hard-to-find _L. tanganicanus_...
*
Google: Oryzias wowerae*
https://www.google.com/search?q=ory...g&biw=1101&bih=593&sei=X8T7UMrcD4-uqQGt04HABg

What a great idea! _O. wowerae_ is not from Africa at all, but it makes sense to use it in a Tanganyika setup. The area in Sulawesi where it originates has karst (limestone) topography and streams with high dissolved mineral content and probably few underwater plants.

I should be able to track down a group of these, then if I can just add one Tanganyika cichlid that will use the rocky areas in the tank this setup will be complete.


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## Shaky (Jan 2, 2003)

SO you've ruled out a pair of Julidochromis? I thought this was a great idea, and yes, a single calvus could hold its own with them.
I'm not at all sure the Oryzias wowerae could, though. 
Calvus would do OK with the Oryzias wowerae or the killis. I've heard that the Lamprichthys tanganicanus are difficult to keep alive until established, but they get large enough to make predation by a calvus a non-issue. 
Julies, however, would harass any schooling fish, and likely kill them one by one.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I have wanted to try these myself.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Shaky said:


> SO you've ruled out a pair of Julidochromis? I thought this was a great idea, and yes, a single calvus could hold its own with them.
> I'm not at all sure the Oryzias wowerae could, though.
> Calvus would do OK with the Oryzias wowerae or the killis. I've heard that the Lamprichthys tanganicanus are difficult to keep alive until established, but they get large enough to make predation by a calvus a non-issue.
> Julies, however, would harass any schooling fish, and likely kill them one by one.


Thanks. No I have not ruled out the julies, I was just pondering other options. I would still like to get some kind of goby cichlid, but it's hard to justify the express shipping for just a few fish. I can get some nice _J. ornatus_ locally. Calvus are easy to find here too.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I haven't been back here in a while. I did add new fish and they look great.

Yesterday I got back to work on this tank and now I have it replanted and all cleaned up. The water is crystal clear. Here's a quick shot with the morning sun shining through.










The planting will be looking good with about six weeks to grow in.


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## Midknight (Dec 12, 2009)

---What fish did you opt for? I can't see any in the photo.
---The plants look very nice, even in the dim lighting of the photo.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Thanks for the update- what a great tank! I love the natural light and the peacefulness of the setup.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Midknight said:


> ---What fish did you opt for? I can't see any in the photo.
> ---The plants look very nice, even in the dim lighting of the photo.


Thanks so much!

The plants have had a couple of weeks to start to grow in. They look pretty happy. Here is the tank with the normal T5 lighting.










Here you can see the new Lake Inle danios. Obviously this fish is not from Lake Tanganyika, but they seem like a real good "stand in" choice as a shoaling species for a Tanganyika setup. They look good with the julies and the _Synodontis_. Lake Inle (in Burma) is a karst (limestone geology) lake, so it has hard water with high pH.


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## cichlid-gal (Apr 27, 2012)

Looks really good. What is the purple/red plant just left of center? And the taller ruffled leafed one to the further left?


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

cichlid-gal said:


> Looks really good. What is the purple/red plant just left of center? And the taller ruffled leafed one to the further left?


Thanks so much!

The red plant is actually a real East Africa swamp species, _Hibiscus acetosella_.

The ruffled leaf plant is _Acrostichum danaefolium_ leather fern. This one is actually from the Southeast US, but there are similar swamp ferns in the same genus in Africa.


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

I don't have a whole lot of news for this tank. Unfortunately, the 'Pembe' pair has split up. The male turned on the female one day. She is still in there, but banished to one corner of the tank. The male fish has also killed a couple of the juveniles. I might try to sell off all the smaller fish and just leave the male in there with the Synodontis and the danios.

I have wondered about adding just adult individual of some other cichlid that might be able to get along with the lone male 'Pembe'. Any ideas?

I might try to get some new pictures of this tank one of these days. It looks a little messy right now. In the meantime here is another project that I have been working on. This is a bonsai Montezuma cypress tree along with other plants in a shallow 6.5G tank.










I have a little group of _Boraras brigittae_ along with a single chocolate gourami in there with the plants.


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## myswtsins (Jul 28, 2008)

Great Riparium! But I expect that from you. I have been saying for years now that I wanted to setup a rift lake riparium, a shell dweller one in particular though. Guess I have to get started on that before you beat me to it!  Looking forward to more pictures!


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

The lone Julidochromis, are you sure it's the female that got kicked? Female transcriptus tend to be larger, and IME all Julidochromis females tend to be more territorial and aggressive.

That said, you'll need to be careful about adding another singleton Tang cichlid- julies can cross breed with quite a few other cichlids. You could add a singleton goby (E. cyanostictus) or a group of hearty shell dwellers. What is your current stocking list?


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

Oh yes somehow I had it in mind that the larger one was the male. I think they are the same age, so it is probably the female.

I probably don't really need to add another cichlid because there are a number of other fish in there already. I think there are seven each of the Lake Inle danios and the Synodontis. I do however need remove the juvenile transcriptus because they are just getting picked off one by one.

I wondered about adding a single good-sized calvus(?).


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## hydrophyte (Dec 16, 2009)

myswtsins said:


> Great Riparium! But I expect that from you. I have been saying for years now that I wanted to setup a rift lake riparium, a shell dweller one in particular though. Guess I have to get started on that before you beat me to it!  Looking forward to more pictures!


Thanks so much! Shell dwellers could be nice in a small riparium setup. I still think it would be cool to try to get one or more of those species that actually live in the papyrus swamps up in the shallow bays around the lake.


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