# looking for some stocking ideas 75 gall



## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

Its the standard 75 gallon tank. I am going to keep calvus in there and some juliochromis. I am looking for some peoples opinions on stocking. i like color in my tank and would prefer a monomorphic species. There is also a fairly big black and blue species that starts with a K that I have forgot now what its called that i would like to put in there. I am thinking about keeping a few different kinds of calvus in there...not keeping fry of course so not worried about interbreeding.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The only black and blue large species I can think of are Frontosa (72" tank) and Neolamprologus Tretocephalus which are best kept as singles since when they spawn they kill all other tankmates and even sometimes themselves.

You say it starts with a "K"?


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

sorry it was Neolamprologus sexfasciatus (Samazi)
so it didnt even start with a K.
I want calvus
juliochromis
Neolamprologus sexfasciatus (Samazi)
Variabilichromis moori

weill any of this work together?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Prob OK till they breed.
Neolamprologus sexfasciatus (Samazi) and/or Variabilichromis moori breeding in a 75g would I think be too hard on most other cichlids.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

V. moori will fool you. They're full grown for a bit before they are actually sexually mature, when they mature they're mean to everybody. Sexfasciatus is not as hardcore as tretocephalus but a pair of them will mess up even a calvus here and there.

5 more tanks and you'll be good to go AA!! :lol:


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

I want to keep the aggression down as much as possible. Calvus is my top choice so whatever works well with calvus. I don't know that I am too big on having shell dwellers in my tank unless there is a really good reason why I should. It just seems like a big hassle to me almost. Maybe one species and only 2 or 3 of them.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

If you spawned a blue sexfasciatus I wanna here about it ! Or even paired off !

No offense but this fish is RARELY spawned in captivity. If you wanted to keep a single it "might" work out.

V. moori I would stay away from. Too aggressive and they do breed easily in captivity.

You could do soemthing like this :

1 sexfasciatus
Trio Calvus
Pair of Julidochromis

12 Cyprichromis.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

how about

6Cyprichromis (assuming they like to be in groups)
12 calvus
2 pairs of juliochromis
and a sexfasciatus if I can find one.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

In a 75G, why 12 calvus? Are you trying for a harem and figuring to remove all rejected fish? Probably only one male will be tolerated. Cyps like to be in larger groups. Juli's may not tolerate 2 pair in a tank.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

Maybe 9? I want the yellow, black, and white ones. Is it a bad idea to have so many? the aquabid calvus were 8 fish an auction. juliochromis only like to be in pairs? I wasnt going to get the same exact species just the subspecies. Maybe I need a little more education on tanganyika tanks.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Like Malawi tanks, if you put two fish of the same species in a tank you will have cross breeding. If you are not worried about cross breeding and add two species, you may end up with one anyway, LOL. You often start with 6 juvies and plan to end up with a pair. So you can do that and see if you end up with 2 pair, but be prepared that the fish might not allow it. :thumb:

Same with the calvus, except harems are possible. The fish will decide for you however. So get 8 and only remove rejected individuals. Note that it is likely only one male per tank will be tolerated, so the idea of 8 pairs might not be realistic. Whichever color male wins the competition with an assortment of different colors of females is what you are shooting for?

Many tangs (not all) want to exist with one pair per tank, no competition. This is a main difference between them and malawi, who don't pair.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Longstocking said:


> If you spawned a blue sexfasciatus I wanna here about it ! Or even paired off !


My mistake, I did not notice the OP was asking about the blue guys.
I have not even tried them.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

I just really want a calvus tank with all the different colors because they are the only reason that I am doing this lake. I just figured since its such a large tank I mise well throw in a few other guys here and there just so that its a more balanced tank with some color. you know?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

One thing to explore is the fact that calvus try to match their decor. And they change their color significantly with mood. I'm wondering if you might not see huge differences between them when they are mixed in the same tank. Because each will try to make his color the same as the others and the same as the background.

I know it's difficult to differentiate black from white calvus when mixed. I have inkfins and I suspected for a LONG time that one of my six was a white calvus that got mixed in. And my inkfins sometimes appear to have yellowish noses. I've always thought the differences between calvus/comp colors were very subtle.

So your ideal would be to have one male, and say 2 females of each color? Maybe someone who has done this will chime in and say whether they tend to blend when in a mixed group or if the distinct colors stand out.

With the large calvus group, maybe eliminate the julidochromis (since they are both rockdwellers)?


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

ok then what would you say I should keep with the calvus instead?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think we are saying your list and numbers are too many for a 75G.

This is completely not the way stocking works...but just to make the point. My tank has 6 feet and 3 rock dweller pairs. Your tank has 4 feet and room for 2 rockdweller pairs. But if you take up both slots with your calvus harem...then only one rockdweller. Trading in half the open water swimmers does not buy you more rockdwellers. :thumb:

Take the amount of fish/habitat from Longstocking's post:


> 1 sexfasciatus
> Trio Calvus
> Pair of Julidochromis
> 
> 12 Cyprichromis.


I asked somebody on a NJ forum I know who has various colors of calvus and comps the question about color contrast on the calvus/comps. He said:


> Telling apart some from others may get tough because of the close variation in color but I think it will make for a cool tank. Go for it, the idea is good.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

ok after great help from pam this is what i came up

6 black calvus
6 white calvus
6 'Lamprologus' caudopunctatus (Kapampa) 
6 transcriptus
6 Neolamprologus furcifer (Kambwimba)

now I just have to work on finding them..


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I can't wait to see how it works out! Probably won't know for sure for 2 years however, LOL!

Best of luck...advice I was given was ventralis (way smaller than furcifer) would not work in a 72" tank with pretty much ANY sand or rock dwellers. Just the ventralis and cyps in a 72" tank.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

ummmmmmm I really respect Pam and enjoyed meeting her at the ACA but I really have to disagree on this one.

For one... once you mix the black and white calvus into one tank I would place money on the fact you would not be able to distinguish between the two.

The Furcifer... I have not kept them... but I have heard they are quite aggressive. Very cool fish though. I would take the furcifer out and replace them with 12 Cyprichromis. You have too many rock dwellers occupying the bottom of the tank. The Cyprichromis will occupy the upper levels of the tank and encourage your Calvus to come out and be more active. Plus I bet you will have a hard time finding the furcifer .....


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

ok well I agree that I am going to have a really hard time finding them and once I do find them I'm sure they are going to be really expensive so what kind of Cyprichromis do you think I should do? and should I just get 12 of them? i want to do one that is monomorphic if at all possible and maybe one that has a lot of color.

what about the calvus? just do one species you think?


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

so substitute out the furcifer and put in 
12 Cyprichromis sp. "Leptosoma Jumbo" (Tricolor) ?


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

I would stick with the small variants of cyprichromis. Like utinta... stay away from the jumbos... they get too aggressive and nasty. 12 is a great number 

I would stick to one variant of Calvus...


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

It says mildly aggressive in the profiles section for the tricolor cyps.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

It's all relative. Most people recommend a 6 foot tank for jumbos.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

I don't see why when they get six inch max as well as teh calvus and the other fish?


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

They can get quite aggressive towards each other. That is the issue...


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

My non-jumbo cyps in a 72" tank are quite aggressive. And maybe not just to each other! I see them dive bombing the other cichlids quite often.


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

lol I see my non jumbos dive bombing. I really have to agree with Longstocking and DJRansome. 
There are too many rockdwellers in the tank. Try for 3 species that occupy 3 different parts of the tank. If you put in 2 species that occupy the same niche in the tank, they will compete for territory.

Try for 1 specie for each area.

1 for Open water
1 or 2 for rocks
1 for the bottom.

But were not forcing you to do anything. If you want to do what you want, feel free to do so.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

what are my choices for the bottom? are you just talking about synos(catfish)


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

So its 4 feet long by 1.5 feet deep and about 19 in. tall so its a standard 75 gallon. I also have about 20 shells in my tank so I guess that is what you mean by someone that stays on the bottom. What are some different ideas for shell dwellers that would be cool with what I got?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

aandfsoccr04 said:


> what are my choices for the bottom? are you just talking about synos(catfish)


If you want your cichlids to breed, don't get any. In a four foot tank, if you get lucky and build distinctive territories very well, you might get three pairs of substrate spawners to work. I wouldn't suggest more than three species, plus 12-15 Cyprichromis non-jumbos.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

First choice: 4-6 black calvus (not sure about how many)
Second choice: 6 Juli. Transcriptus Bemba
Open Water: 12 cyprichromis tricolor (I found a website that says just that so I'm assuming they arent jumbo unless they only come in jumbo)
I also have about 20 escargot shells that I would like to use for some fish so what shell dwellers would go good with my list so far.
L. Ocellatus Gold(would these be a good choice for the substrate shell dweller in my tank and if so how many should I get)

If this works too: 6 'Lamprologus' caudopunctatus (Kapampa)

My tank has sand with white texas holey rock.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

Could I put calvus white chaitika in the 75 gallon and then do a species tank of black calvus in a 30 gallon tall tank? how many should I put in the 30 gallon?


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## GlennC (Oct 5, 2009)

From my current experience, I would recommend putting Brevis in with the Calvus and Cyps. My breeding pair of Brevis have never dug in the sand substrate like what I have read about other shell dwellers (and seen from my Multies). The most they do is bite into the edge of their shell to move it. And, they only patrol a small area of the tank. They seem to me to be almost perfect for a community tank.

I haven't kept shell dwellers with Julis and so can't comment about this.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

well will the calvus eat any of the shell dwellers when the calvus get full grown because they shell dwellers only get about 2.5 in. and calvus get about 6 so..?


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

A trio will work in a 30 gallon.

Calvus will not eat shell dweller aduts. Even the fry will only get eaten once they stray away from the shell.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

So how about 3 black calvus and I want to do shell dwellers but which shell dwellers would you recommend that I get that are fairly easy to find? If you could give me a few different choices that you think would work good in my tank.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

Would you clean this up a little bit for my final stocking for the 75 gallon?

First choice: 4-6 white chaitika calvus (not sure about how many) 
Second choice: 6 Juli. Transcriptus Bemba 
Open Water: 12 cyprichromis tricolor (I found a website that says just that so I'm assuming they arent jumbo unless they only come in jumbo) 
I also have about 20 escargot shells that I would like to use for some fish so what shell dwellers would go good with my list so far. 
L. Ocellatus Gold(would these be a good choice for the substrate shell dweller in my tank and if so how many should I get)

If this works too: 6 'Lamprologus' caudopunctatus (Kapampa)

My tank has sand with white texas holey rock


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Profile says tricolor is jumbo.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1475


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

does that mean that all of them are jumbo? The bluechip website doesnt say anything about jumbo..


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The article on this site also says they are jumbo. I think it does mean they are all jumbo. Maybe Bluechip thinks people already know tricolor are jumbo.

You could always ask them?


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

They are jumbos.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

ok should I just take out the julies and do the caudos instead? or what direction should I go with this tank?


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

> ok then what would you say I should keep with the calvus instead?


Get 6 - white Calvus if you go white sand, and 6 black if you go black sand. (I have yellow wish I did black on my black 3M Colorquartz)

Add 6 shell dweller of your choice - I have multies -love em - I like the colony idea and the interaction with the Calvus is great.

Add 8 non-jumbo Cyps. - you will get plenty more if you want them.

I have Juli Ornatus with the above - not thrilled with the Julies - I have 2 that paired off, they are buried in a rock pile 98% of the time. I think I would do Caudo-punks instead if I were to do it over again.

Good Luck.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

ahhh Glad you showed up to the rescue! How many caudos would you put with that setup? I'd love to see pictures of all your tanks man. Thanks for all the help you've given me.


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## GoofBoy (Jul 3, 2007)

> How many caudos would you put with that setup?


I'd just get 6 and let them work it out.

Thanks for the feedback - I am glad to be of some help.


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## aandfsoccr04 (Sep 2, 2009)

alright I'm going to do a fishless cycle then since its a brand new tank and add the pure ammonia and all that. I am pretty excited to try this tanganyika thing out. I love my mbuna tank. I still want to see pictures of your tanks...


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## Keith1964 (Nov 4, 2009)

I have the following:

15 x bichardi ( will be selling most keeping only 2 breeding pairs)
4 x frontoasas - juveniles
12 x Leleupi - 2 big males, 4 medium - females; 6 small
9 x multific - juveniles
10 x duboisis - juveniles (3 forming bands)
2 x furcifers - juveniles
2 x brevis (moved 114 gallon) (1pair, rest males)
2 x tretocephalus - juveniles
3 x compressic - juveniles
2 x jullies conscriptus - pair (start mating)
3 x jullies dickfeldi - juveniles
6 x jullies regani - juveniles 
2 x bembas - juveniles


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Keith1964, you would not recommend that for a 75G right? How many years have you had those fish together in a 190G? How long is the tank?


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