# New Tank - seeking thoughts/advice



## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Hello All,

first off I would like to thank you all, I have gotten so much great advice from this site; this process is very new to me. I have posted some pics below of the various stages that I have accomplished so far. Ordered two Rio 1700 powerheads from my UGJ from thatpetplace but the package was damaged in transit and had to be returned to the shipper. Waiting for replacements to arrive. I live in AZ so I will be out rock hunting tomorrow but wanted to solicit some feedback/advice from you all on my current progress. Thank you.

UGF Setup


Substrate Added


Water after about 18 hours


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## walzon1 (Jun 17, 2013)

looks good so far, What kind of fish you gonna put in it?


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

I plan to just put in two Oscars


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

What are the tank dimensions?


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

48" x 18" x 21"


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

Since Oscars get 14-18" you'll need a bigger tank.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Hello all,

have returned from a unbelievable vacation and ready to resume my tank setup. I have added the rocks and a few plants (ordered many more last night, will be here Wednesday). I also ordered the light and airpump with bubble wands. After reading some of the advice I have decided on making it a multi-cichlid community tank. The fish I am considering are (1) Bumblebee Cichlid, (1) Peacock Cichlid, (1) Electric Blue. (1) Electric Yellow and (1) Pleco. Of course, I am seeking the advice of those of you that are way more experienced than I. Will this work? A pic of the latest progress below. Thank you.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The bumblebee cichlid can be a problem due to its aggressive nature.

Have you looked at the article in the Library for stocking using the 75G Cookie cutter general plan? This may also help give you a basic idea of the number of fish that would be appropriate for your tank and which species will do well together.

Do you plan on ordering fish online or will you be getting them locally? If locally, you will be limited by what species your store carries unless they are willing to order specific fish for you.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Dee,

no I have not reviewed the article but will do so now. Yes, I will be ordering online. I live in a fairly small city and we only have two pet stores with limited selections.
Thank you for the feedback.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Depending on what you mean by electric yellow-peacock or yellow lab-it will do better in a group as well. Check out that cookie cutter setup in the articles section for more ideas.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

I have just finished looking at the cookie cutter setup and have decided to go with Metriaclima callainos, Metriaclima estherae, Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba", Tropheops tropheops (Makokola OB), Pseudotropheus flavus, Cynotilapia afra (Jalo Reef), providing I read the directions correctly. Online looking for places to purchase now. Thanks.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Would also like to get some feedback on the rock placement please.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

tloe69 said:


> I have just finished looking at the cookie cutter setup and have decided to go with Metriaclima callainos, Metriaclima estherae, Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba", Tropheops tropheops (Makokola OB), Pseudotropheus flavus, Cynotilapia afra (Jalo Reef), providing I read the directions correctly. Online looking for places to purchase now. Thanks.


That doesn't sound right. I think you are supposed to choose one species from each color group adding up to four species of mbuna. Unless you are doing an all-male peacock tank, then you get one male from several different species of peacocks or haps.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The rock placement looks good but you may need to tweak it a bit depending on which fish species you get. Fish that like hiding in caves will need enough room to get into the cave and still be able to turn around. Keep in mind that if you buy juveniles, they'll need larger caves as they get older.

I'm assuming you are using the following list recommendation which is a bit confusing unless you read it a few times. It really means that you can select only ONE species each from Groups B, C and F and then ONE species each from Groups A, D, E, and G. This would give you FOUR different species with a ratio of 1 male to 3 females for a total of 16 fish. This may be a bit ambitious stocking level if you are new to African cichlids.

I suggest reducing the stocking to 3 species with 1 male to 4 or 5 females but this will depend on which species you decide to get.

Select 1 species from 4 of the various groups below (Max 4 of each) , for a max total of 4 groups, and 16 fish. :

Group A: 
• Labeotropheus trewavasae

Group B: 
• Melanochromis johanni 
• Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos 
• Melanochromis auratus

Group C: 
• Metriaclima callainos
• Metriaclima estherae
• Metriaclima lombardoi

Group D: 
• Labidochromis species

Group E: 
• Tropheops tropheops

Group F: 
• Pseudotropheus elongatus types 
• Pseudotropheus flavus

Group G: 
• Cynotilapia afra


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

OK, now I understand, I will go back and modify my selections. Thank you for the verification.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

i suggest staying away from group B, with the exception of the cyaneorhabdos.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Almost Done!


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Looking good! Are those live plants?


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

No, they are artificial. May try live later on at some point.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

tloe69 said:


> No, they are artificial. May try live later on at some point.


Well they look pretty nice for artificial!

Anubias work really well in malawi tanks. My mbuna leave them along, but they pretty much mow over anything else you put in the tank.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Thank you! I have done some reading on Anubias and it seems to be pretty easy to maintain.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

tloe69 said:


> Thank you! I have done some reading on Anubias and it seems to be pretty easy to maintain.


Oh yes! I find the more you try to encourage their growth the less they do. I have a few in a 10g tank with 26 watts of light, root tabs and I dose with flourish regularly and the anubias in that tank don't look that great. I have a few in my 75G mbuna tank with one standard 48" t8 florescent tube, no root tabs and I do add flourish weekly. and those plants look great!


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Ok, after re-reading the instructions to the "cookie cutter" model and following Deeda's advice, I have decided to go with the following. Out of the 4 Species below, I will only go with 3 species with 1 male to 4 females per. Hopefully I got it right this time...lol. Thanks guys!

Labidochromis sp. "Mbamba" - Group D
Tropheops tropheops (Makokola OB) - Group E
Pseudotropheus flavus - Group F
Cynotilapia afra (Jalo Reef)- Group G


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## amcvettec (May 11, 2012)

You want to avoid doing more than one barred species. The L. mbamba looks extremely similar to the C.afra Jalo Reef - you do not want to mix these two in a tank.

I don't have much experience with Tropheops - head they can be pretty nasty though.

Which one of the barred species do you like the better? Start with that and then choose a solid fish instead like a Socolofi, Rusty, Yellow Lab, Cobalt Zebra etc.


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## tloe69 (Jul 8, 2013)

Ok, I have decided to replace the C.afra Jalo Reef with the Metriaclima callainos- Group C. Thanks for the advice.


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