# A screw up turned out ok



## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Not great like I wanted lol but ok.
opcorn: The story goes like this....
I have an overstocked & kinda poorly stocked 55g. and have been wanting a new bigger tank for some time now. I finally found a good buy on a new 75g. and hubby said I could use my next pay check for it since I didn't get it for my birthday. Well I skrewed up and went on a shopping trip a couple days ago with a girlfriend and blew my whole check :roll: . I did get some fish related stuff (like a pirate ship for my grandsons little tank and a new master test kit that I seriously needed) lol but not the darn tank. I know I know, I could kick myself in the rear.

Now for the good part :dancing: ...
The same friend I went shopping with who doesn't know anything about fish but knows how mad I was at myself for not getting the tank called me today and said there was a 29g. tank with light, stand, filter etc. on freecycle.com and it was only a few minutes drive from me. I called and got it. FREE!!!!!

It's one of those nice black metal stands with scrolls on the sides that has a glass shelf and room for another tank on the bottom. The gravel is a nice light natural colored gravel (but I think I'm going to try sand). It came with 3 big fake rocks, a lighted hood and a Fluval 304 canister filter.

So I skrewed up and didn't get my 75g.... yet, but I did get a very nice FREE 29g complete setup. I've been wanting a 29g. too for the 2 N. brichardi that I have in my mainly mbuna tank that I think are starting to pair up. So even though I'm disappointed about the 75g. I'm thrilled about the 29g. and it will give me something to work on until I do manage to get the 75g. tank. Did I mention it was FREE lol you can't beat that and it really is nice. I wasn't expecting it to be nearly as nice as it is.

Now I need to go to the right section of the forum and find out how to use this filter. From what I remember reading, it's suppose to be a pretty good one. I just don't know anything about canisters. I might put it on my 55g. since it could hide in the stand of it and use one of the 2 HOB filters off the 55g. for the 29g.. Does that sound like a good idea or not?


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## sweetsummerrose (Mar 11, 2008)

Nice screw up!!!! Cant get any better than free!!!! I also have 2 brichardi, and was a little sad that I wound up with 2 males, so that is wonderful if you have a male and female, Im sure the 29g will be perfect for them!!!


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## copasetic (Nov 26, 2007)

too bad a 29g is only good for grow up! your making same mistake of a undersize tank! Dont waste the floor space!


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Sweetsummerrose, I'm just thrilled. I thought I had 2 of the same sex N. brichardi too at first because they didn't act like they liked each other much but now they are staying together all the time so I guess time will tell and I have my fingers crossed.

copasetic, the 29g. is a good size tank for a breeding pair of N.brichardi to start a colony. I have 2 brichardi that I think are pairing up and have been looking for a tank just this size for them. I'm not sure but the stand might hold another 29g. too. If not it will at least hold a 10g. tank. That's 2 tanks in the space of one. I don't have alot of floor space but I'll make room lol. Oh, to be sure I'll still get a bigger tank too...just not as soon as expected. :thumb:


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## copasetic (Nov 26, 2007)

Ok even if the tank is big enough for you. you will need to increase the female ratio for success.. A male will harass a single female pretty bad the 3 weeks she is holding..


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

copasetic said:


> Ok even if the tank is big enough for you. you will need to increase the female ratio for success.. A male will harass a single female pretty bad the 3 weeks she is holding..


Actually, should they pair off, a 29G will be plenty of room for brichardi. And they are substrate spawners, not mouth brooders. They don't "hold".

Dewdrop, this is a prime example of why you should wait to buy the fish until you have the space for them. Life gets in the way. Unfortunately, it's usually the fish who pay for it.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

For sure Kim. I went about it completely backasswards and got the fish before the tank. Fortunately I got lucky and found a tank before any harm was done. I'm still not positive that they are pairing off and thought if they didn't I'd probably end up with just one. Still could turn out like that I guess but now I have the tank for them just in case. Oh, I measured and the stand will hold another 29g. tank too. I'm pretty excited. Hubby put a fresh coat of paint on the stand while I cleaned the tank and painted the back of it black. I washed the gravel really good and added it and the water. I really wanted to try sand but hubby didn't want to wait. I used one of the HOB filters (the one with bio wheels)off the 55g. for the 29g. so hopefully it won't have much of a cycle and put the new fluval304 on the 55g., which still has a HOB on it too.

copasetic, I don't think you know what fish I'm talking about putting in the 29g. tank. I know I'm posting on the malawi forum but I'm talking about putting Neolamprologus brichardi in the 29g.. It doesn't just suit me, it's what was recommended to me for them. If they turn out to not pair up I'll probably find more for that tank. I've wanted a breeding colony of them for a while now. I just went about it wrong, like Kim said, and got the fish before the tank. All is cool though. Hope you can understand. :thumb:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

From my experience with Neolamps, confining two that aren't a pair to the smaller tank could be a death sentence for one. I tried keeping a group of marunguensis (very similar to brichardi) in a tank that size in an attempt to get a pair and wound up with alot of dead and injured fish.

Not sure you can move any of your other stock to an extra 29G. You really needed that 75G.


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## Exiled (Dec 26, 2003)

I've used smaller tanks for fry-rearing ... or as a recovery tank, or temporary growing-up tank. I'd say use it to your advantage but as far as permanent home for any cichlid (other than maybe _Lamprologus occelatus_)? Nah...way too small. Get that 75g tank...who needs furniture. :wink:


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Exiled,
I will get a 75g. or bigger eventually lol. I'm still pretty sure the 29g. is a good size for N. brichardi though. When I first started checking into them, I ask what size tank I should get for them on the Tang. forum here and a 20-29g. tank size was recommended to me. Please realize they are the only species that will be in the tank.

Hey Kim, 
From what I understand about them(N. brichardi), even in the 55g. it could be a death sentence for one if they don't pair. If that happens, I'll keep the remaining one in the 55g. and look for more brichardi for the 29g. because I've really wanted some of them for a while now. That's why I jumped the gun and bought 2 as soon as I saw some without even having a tank for them :roll: . Probably should have bought more than 2 too but figured if they paired up I'd get a tank for them and if they didn't I'd just have one in my mainly malawi tank.

I know I really need the 75g. and could kick my self in the butt for not getting it when I had the chance and the money. The albino auratus going wild was probably a sign that I skrewed up. Well, it's water under the bridge now. I will get a 75g. or bigger as soon as I can and hopefully before I have any more problems. I really should have went ahead and got the other empty 55g. up and running but hubby really didn't want me to for some reason I don't understand. I guess he decided he didn't want it on top of the dresser. Oh well, that's water....too.

I'm still looking for another used 29g. for the bottom of that stand too. One of our daughters has one with koi in it and hubby brought home a Rubbermaid thing from work (he works at Rubbermaid) that our daughter wants to put in her yard to keep the koi in. It's kind of like a small pond. She'd have to dig a hole and set it in then get a pump for it. If she gets that done, she'll let me have her 29g. tank :wink:

I'm not sure any fish I have would work in a 29g. Maybe the maingano, they're the smallest species I have except for the brichardi. I really don't think I want them in a tank to themselves though. What I need to do right now is get rid of all the extra males that I have. That would be a big help and cut down on the population alot.

Kim, you've had M. callainos. I have 4 of these and there's really only one of them that I think might be female. I'd like to keep it if it is and one male and take back the rest. The one I think might be female is the only one that doesn't have alot of eggspots. It's about 2.5", has one very faint eggspot, & has the prettiest coloration of all of them. I got it last and it's a bit smaller than the others too. From your experience with them, is eggspots any indicator of sex in the callainos? What about the coloring?

Thanks and sorry this is so long.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

A pair of brichardi will be fine in a 29G tank, once they make peace with each other. They might need a bit more space while they are "getting to know each other". (My only experience was getting a bonded pair and putting them in a 25G long tank...It was fine, but they'd been spawning together for quite some time...) One of mine was a jumper, and I'm waiting on getting some more. I absolutely love them.

With the marunguensis (very similar to the brichardi) I had 7 of them, unsexed, in the same 25G long tank. When they hit about 2 - 2 1/2 inches, they started killing each other off. I had to turn my head (I don't like to watch a massacre) and hope for the best. I didn't get a pair, just wound up with one angry fish. I think it might have worked out differently had I tried them in a larger tank. They were so beautiful.

IME, you need more females for the Cobalt. I had two that spawned consistently for a year or so, but the male was really rough on the female, and I wouldn't advise trying it. I eventually lost the female...He beat her to death when I returned her to the tank the last time after releasing her fry. (I knew better than to keep them like that, but couldn't find another female as nice as my male and female that I had...) Strangely enough, the male ruled the tank, but never bothered another fish...He ruled it by size alone...

With the bunch I had, they were easy to sex visually, but that doesn't hold true for all strains. In good quality ones, the males are a different colour than the females, a powdery white/blue, while the females are a deeper, silvery blue. (That won't make sense to anyone other than another woman... :lol: ) My males always had alot more eggpsots than the females, but again, that was just my group. It doesn't apply across the board.

Truly one of my favourite species...I wish I still had them.


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## Dave (Feb 9, 2003)

Exiled said:


> I've used smaller tanks for fry-rearing ... or as a recovery tank, or temporary growing-up tank. I'd say use it to your advantage but as far as permanent home for any cichlid (other than maybe _Lamprologus occelatus_)? Nah...way too small. Get that 75g tank...


If you are talking about Malawis I might agree, but for Tangs there quite a few that will fit in a 29 gal just fine. 1 pair, J. transcriptus, 1 pair N. brichardi (or other pair from the complex), a colony of N. multifasciatus/similis, small groups of most shellies (occies or brevis), or pairs only of the more aggressive shellies.

If they pair, this tank is just fine for N. brichardi. If they do not pair you will definately know it.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Thanks Dave and Kim. I guess I'll find out eventually if the brichardi pair or not.

About the cobalts...If I decide to keep them (the species I mean) I'll try to get more females but I really need to get rid of extra males of these. Like I said, out of the 4 I have there's only one that I think might be female. So far I haven't seen any breeding behavior out of them but I did see the largest cobalt male lip locking with the largest red zebra male. I need to thin out red zebra males too. I don't think I have any female red zebras except for one tiny one in the 10g.grow out tank that might be female. I might have to keep my nicest male of each species in an all male tank until I can get enough females for them :roll: . Once I thin out the extra males, that should help a good bit with the crowding in the 55g. until I get the bigger tank. As long as it doesn't turn more attention on the few females I have. That's a concern too and why I said I might have to do an all male tank for a while. Don't know what I'd do it in...yet anyway lol.

Even though I didn't start out doing the 55g. tank just right and skrewed up big time by not getting the 75g. last week, I'm still putting alot of thought into it and trying to make it work. It's not like I don't care. :wink:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

If you have any intentions of breeding, I wouldn't house those Cobalts and red zebras in the same tank. :thumb:

I've never once thought you didn't care...

In fact, I think you're going to be really upset once things get out of control in that tank and you start having problems...That's the reason I keep "reminding" you!


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Kim, I know you know I care lol but some people reading might not understand. I've tried from the beginning not to get to attached to the fish, first because I was going for an all male tank and knew I'd have to get rid of some. Then when I started likeing the breeding behavior I knew my tank was a time bomb so I tried not to get attached in case I woke up one morning to alot of dead fish because of some crazy auratus or kenyi. I've never named my fish thinking that might help lol. Oh I did call one of the Leporinus "the grumpy old troll who lives under the bridge" because he likes the bridge  . I was kind of upset (not to the point of tears) and really more mad than upset when I lost the female albino auratus, and not just mad at the male that killed her (if it was him) mad at myself too. All in all it's a learning experience for me though and I appreciate the "reminders" even though it's not likely I'll forget that I NEED a BIGGER tank lol.
P.S. If I do decide to keep red zebras and cobalts as breeding groups, I'll keep them in different tanks. Do yellow labs cross with cobalts as much as with red zebras? Or is it just the red zebras that will cross with the two?


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

Never mind. I'll start another post for that question. This thread has gone on long enough :lol:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

No worries with the Yellow labs and Cobalts...I kept them together for years...

And, Dewdrop, I think I've got a diagnosis for you..."Multiple attachment disorder"...Or simply MAD! :lol:


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

THAT'S IT Kim! I knew there should be another name for what I have. I already knew I have Multi Tank Syndrome & Fish Fever but I have other symptoms too and that hits the nail on the head. I really don't have species that I'm not attached to, and I have plenty. There's plenty more I'd like to have too :wink: .

I take that back... This red top zebra I got by mistake can and will go back with no regrets. It isn't a bad fish yet but hasn't done anything to impress me either. Another fish that will probably go back unless it goes in an all male tank is the yellow lab X red zebra hybrid. I do kinda like that fish though so there ya go again lol MAD for sure.


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