# 55G Tang Community Stock Suggestions



## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

So I setup a 20L shellie tank and haven't stocked it yet and realized that I wanted to consolidate some tanks and put my spare 55 to use again.

The fish I'm mostly interested in are and want to put all together if possible;

Multies
Julidochromis Dickfeldi
Neolamprologus tretocephalus
Neolamprologus leleupi Karilani ''Orange''
Calvus?

Forgive my lack of Tang knowledge! I'm also curious on how many I can stock of what species that are deemed safe to house together.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

I also forgot to mention that the tank will be filtered with an already established Fluval 406 and if they need more current (which Idk how much current they like) I have a spare Koralia 750 laying around as well.


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## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

Sorry when you say 55 is that gals or ltrs ? what are the dimensions ?,and I would not consider putting Leleupi in with any shellies stories of them pulling adults out of shells to get to fry abound,the Trets I love ,but just go for the one single fish,Calvus no problem at all they are said to be predators of fry but in my view they are very poor at it ,too slow and timid


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

For a standard 55G (55 gallons and 48" x 12") think in terms of 3 species: bottom, rock and top dweller. webbie is right, no leleupi with shellies. But shellies and calvus or shellies and julidochromis would work. I'd skip the trets in a 55G.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks for the response guys! Yes, this is the ol' standard 55 Gallon with the dimensions DJ mentioned. So with the other species out of the list, I've kinda narrowed down my choices and need some verification if I'm on the right path or not.

Julidochromis marlieri Magara
Lamprologus' multifasciatus
Altolamprologus calvus Congo ''Black''

This would be the total stocking list for the tank minus of course a bristlenose pleco. If this would work, how many of each would I be looking at for the tank? I've got an idea on the multies, but really no clue as far as the Julidochromis and Calvus go.

Also, what type of rock and how much rock would most tang guys recommend for em?


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Marlieri (except fopr Gombe) get a little bigger than Dickfeldi. If keeping with shellies, I'd recommend the Gombe or Orntaus. I have 4 Ornatus, 2 Kipili Comps, 2 Gold Occies, and 8 Dewindti in a 55. I'll probably take the Dewindt down to 1m/4F because they breed like rabbits. If you went for a pair of Brevis or Occies for your shellie and the smaller Julies , I think you could swing some Dewindti or Cyps.

Stocking get 6-8 of each to get a least one pair. 3-5 rocks in either corner with a few shells for the shelly, and larger shell for the Calvus works well.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

Floridagirl said:


> Marlieri (except fopr Gombe) get a little bigger than Dickfeldi. If keeping with shellies, I'd recommend the Gombe or Orntaus. I have 4 Ornatus, 2 Kipili Comps, 2 Gold Occies, and 8 Dewindti in a 55. I'll probably take the Dewindt down to 1m/4F because they breed like rabbits. If you went for a pair of Brevis or Occies for your shellie and the smaller Julies , I think you could swing some Dewindti or Cyps.
> 
> Stocking get 6-8 of each to get a least one pair. 3-5 rocks in either corner with a few shells for the shelly, and larger shell for the Calvus works well.


I see. So to grasp what you are saying, you recommend the Ornatus instead of Magara just because of the shellies? I'm personally not a huge fan of occies and prefer Multies from what I've seen, I just wan't to do this right is all. I'm really wanting to find a good combo to go with and so far the Julie Ornatus/Multies/Congo Black Calvus is very appealing to me.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

That should make for a very nice tank!


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

Alright, so final stocking would be;

6 Multies
8 Julie Ornatus
8 Congo Black Calvus

I am also going to checkout a couple local landscape supply stores around me for some rock. I'm debating on Colorado River Rock and or some of the native Texas stone along with the escargot shells I have laying around for the multies.

I also was still curious on how much of a current these guys like. So far I'm gonna use the Fluval 406 I have as the sole filtration but I do have a spare koralia powerhead too if they need more current. Any suggestions on that?


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I like using a powerhead to direct poo to the intake.


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## rekermbuna (Feb 19, 2013)

I would definitely divide down the center of the tank to make two seperate territories so you might be able to pull off 2 pairs of calvus in the end. I had best success rocking my tank in the shape of a 3...leaving the back corners open and an open area on either side of my barricade in the center.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

So I just wanted to revisit this thread and possibly see what people think on changing up my stocking. Instead of 6 Multies/8 Julies/8 Congo Black Calvus, would I be better off going the route of say maybe 12 Multies/10-12 Julie Ornatus/4-6 Congo Black Calvus for the final stocking?


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## ratbones86 (Jun 29, 2012)

Yeah I'd skip the trets in a 55g tank. They really need more footprint to be happy. 125s seem to work great for them. 75 or bigger works also. Mean buggers too. I started with 6 one killed off the other 5 and I had one left that ended up getting ate.....darn my luck on that one lol


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The julidochromis are likely to pair up and reject/kill all but the two in the pair. Calvus have been successful in a harem, but you probably won't get away with more than one male.

If you get 6 multies you will end up with more than 12 pretty quickly.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

DJRansome said:


> The julidochromis are likely to pair up and reject/kill all but the two in the pair. Calvus have been successful in a harem, but you probably won't get away with more than one male.
> 
> If you get 6 multies you will end up with more than 12 pretty quickly.


****, that's kinda disappointing to hear about the Ornatus. Are all Julies like that? I was hoping to have quite a bit of them! So what would be a good suggestion for numbers with my stocking then? I'm all ears (or eyes)! 8)


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Julidochromis in general are not known for living in harems or colonies. Your original numbers sounded good to me, only maybe 6 julidochromis (just to there are enough for the pair to have a choice of partner).


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

DJRansome said:


> Julidochromis in general are not known for living in harems or colonies. Your original numbers sounded good to me, only maybe 6 julidochromis (just to there are enough for the pair to have a choice of partner).


Thanks for the replies DJ! Knowing that now, I think I'm going to go with the following:

6 Multies
6 Julie Ornatus
8 Congo Black Calvus

I Suppose this would be a better stocking list and chance of not having a complete bloodbath huh? :lol:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Well, we would not expect a bloodbath because you would remove the fish as they were rejected. But less fish to buy that you would just have to remove. Sounds good!


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## Darkskies (Mar 17, 2012)

I would go for 4 species in a standard 55 gallon tank. You should add a school of the smaller cyprichromis species to complete the tank. Cyprichromis are open water schooling cichlids and their territories are divided up in the water column so they don't interfere with space constraints or clashes with the rockdwellers and shelldwellers. If you plan it correctly you might even be able to have a pair or two of brevis in addition to the multies since the brevis have very small territory requirements(like 4 inches around their one shell)..

A typical 55 gallon Tanganyikan Community tank usually has Multies, Julies(either transcriptus, ornatus, or the gombe variant), Altolamps, and Cyprichromis(smaller species not the jumbo).


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Don't forget the cyps need space on the substrate to rest at night.

Some like to limit to 3 species in a 55G...only one rockdweller. But I've heard of 2 rockdwellers working too.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

Just thought I would update. I got all my little guys in! After losing some during shipping (bummer  ) I was reshipped the losses (Thanks Dave!) and they all seem to be settling in nicely. I had a question though regarding the food. I predominately feed NLS for all my other guys, but the pellets I use to feed my mbuna are too big so I've been feeding my new arrivals the NLS Small Fish formula. They are readily taking it and seem to have no problems with it however I'm curious if I need to go out and find the NLS fry starter stuff?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Should be fine, or you can crush the adult food.


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