# My tanganyikan tank 250 gal



## bakl (Nov 29, 2013)

I dream of this tank for a couple of years now and it's finally up and running. It's a 250 gal (1000 liters) tank, custom made on the spot to fit among pillars near my staircase. Dimensions: 5.6' × 3.5' × 2' (173×107×61 cm).

I decided for a mix of five tanganyikan species, so I'm prepared for the unexpected when the fish grow up to adult size. 

Stocklist:
- 24 × Tropheus moorii Ilangi 3-4 cm,
- 7 × Cyprichromis leptosoma Mpulungu 5-6 cm,
- 7 × Julidochromis transcriptus Gombe 3-4 cm,
- 8 × Altolamprologus calvus "black pearl" 5 cm,
- 10 × Neolamprologus brevis Zambia 3-5 cm.

The tank looks almoast empty for now, but I expect it to be quite crowded when the fish grow up.
I feed mostly spirulina and some frozen cyclops.

Pics:


























































































And a short video:





Any comments are welcome!


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## Kleovoulos (Jan 6, 2011)

Bravo! Very nice Tang tank!!!


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## Southcoaster (Jul 14, 2003)

Stunning tank!


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## Wooo Tang (Aug 26, 2014)

Absolutely stunning! Love the little crevis section off to the left between the pillars. Are those artificial rocks? If so can you give further details please, and if mixed with actual rock what type is that please, colours are great.


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## bakl (Nov 29, 2013)

Thanks everyone!

Yes, the rocks are artificial, made by Aquadecor - http://www.aquadecor.rs/en/. It's custom made styrofoam segments covered in epoxy and painted in layers. Check their website gallery for color and design options if you're interested, there are some nice tanks to see also.

There are no real rocks in the tank yet, but I have prepared a dozen gray limestone pieces to create some hiding places behind the scene. It's just that it's hard to keep the bottom clean if it's too stuffed so I've not decided to put them in yet.


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## bakl (Nov 29, 2013)

A quick update, in colors


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Beautiful tank setup, I love the bit of green you have growing in the tank. I envy your gorgeous aquarium setup and love the dimensions of the tank.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

I'm curious what that green in the tank is? They look so refreshing!


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

Wow, that is a sexy tank. Great artistic use of space!

I'm not an expert on Trophs, I wonder if the dietary differences will be a problem.

Also, will you be covering the top? You probably will be losing jumpers for sure.


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## bakl (Nov 29, 2013)

Thank you all!

Als, it's green algae on the bottom. Tropheus love grazing it and Julies also join them occasionaly.

Razzo, you're right about the diet actually, I struggle to find a ballanced menu. I'm not sure if it was the food, but I already lost most of the Tropheus by now. I was feeding no meaty foods, at least not by name (vegetable flakes, spirulina flakes, ...); I should have read ingredients on the labels more carefully. Some frozen cyclops should't be a problem as I was told by the breeder. I switched to 36% spirulina flakes now and cut down food by half, for now it looks promissing. Even my calvus are happy with it.

But I think that food was not the only reason, if it was at all, for dying Tropheus. Most of them were really small, less than one inch, and they were chased by larger ones and by calvus away from some spots in the tank. The larger ones are still alive and as far as I could tell, it is the chasers that survived. I see no other possible reasons; I measure chlorine, ammonium, nitrites, nitrates regularly... water is hard and pH is 8.5, temperature is 25.5 celsius (78 fahrenheit).

Regarding jumpers: I see no problem for now, no fish seem to like jumping. We'll see when they grow up. Thanks for mentioning it anyway.


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## bakl (Nov 29, 2013)

It was Spironucleus parasite that was causing tropheus bloat and killing my fish. I got a metronidazole prescription now from the veterinary institute. Should have cured it from the first day on preventively.


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## tankhead (Aug 8, 2008)

I've seen my cyp's jump and have even lost one or two when I failed to put the top down.


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## Kuon (Apr 15, 2016)

Hello, your tank is very nice. Can I ask which light are you using and what is the spectrum?


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## geektom (Mar 21, 2016)

Gorgeous!


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