# Sick of African Tank....Help figure out a new SA setup :)



## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

I set up my mbuna tank a little over a year ago. For some reason it just doesn't excite me at all. Sure the colors are bright and that is great, but other than that its kinda boring 

I wanted to get some suggestions for stocking on this tank. The tank is 36 inches wide and has the same footprint as a 40 breeder, but it is taller. I know that angels work well in tall tanks, but since I already have six angels, I don't really want to do another angel tank. I would love to hear what suggestions you guys have


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## okcomputer820 (Mar 3, 2009)

Can't go wrong with 6 Bolivian Rams and a few danios if your looking for exciting behavior! :thumb:


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks for the suggestion. I already have bolivians in my 75 gallon though. I am looking to do something different.

Just to clarify, I'll list the South Americans that I already keep below:
Angels
Severum
Bolivian Rams
Blue Acara
A. Hongsloi
A. Borelli


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

You already have a lot of nice South Americans. So what about the mbuna tank is boring to you? If you can pinpoint that, you might be able to go in a better direction. Is is boring because . . . no personality? no breeding? no individuality?

Are your other South American tanks planted? I find that adds a lot of variety and gives me things to tinker with without affecting the stock.

I was going to recommend a planted tank with blue rams, but you have Bolivians already so that might not do it for you . . .


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I am going to make a shocking suggestion for those that know me!! 

Dwarf pikes and Laetacara!!! :lol:

I usually kept a pair of dwarf pike cichlids (_Cr. regani, Cr. notophthalmus_, or _Cr. sp. 'orinoco dwarf'_ ... all top out at 4") with a pair of dwarf acaras (_Laetacara curviceps, L. dorsigera, L. thayeri_, ect.).

That way can have plants, cichlids at both the bottom and midlevels, can have a school of tetras as well (have to be larger bodied like lemons, pristellas, ect with the pikes) and even a group of cories.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

hollyfish2000 said:


> You already have a lot of nice South Americans. So what about the mbuna tank is boring to you? If you can pinpoint that, you might be able to go in a better direction. Is is boring because . . . no personality? no breeding? no individuality?
> 
> Are your other South American tanks planted? I find that adds a lot of variety and gives me things to tinker with without affecting the stock.
> 
> I was going to recommend a planted tank with blue rams, but you have Bolivians already so that might not do it for you . . .


I don't see much personality (other than chasing) out of my mbunas. Plus, I love planted tanks and it bothers me that one of my big display tanks is plantless  To answer your question, both of my SA tanks are planted. I agree it does add a lot of variety which is why I like it  I would love to keep rams, but my water is way too hard and I just can't seem to keep them alive  I am not necessarly set on South American cichlids, but for the most part I like that many of them thrive in planted tanks, their peaceful personalities, and the fact that I can keep other fish with them. I looked into CA cichlids, but most of them are just the big mean fish that will tear up a planted tank and bully the other fish, lol. I was thinking of doing a congo tank with kribs, congo tetras, upsidedown cats, and maybe an elephant nose. If you have any suggestions though I would love to hear them.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

dwarfpike said:


> I am going to make a shocking suggestion for those that know me!!
> 
> Dwarf pikes and Laetacara!!! :lol:
> 
> ...


I like your suggestion  Where in the world can I find dwarf pikes? I have never seen them at any LFS near me. Do you have any pics of yours? I love Curviceps or the Red Breast Acaras, but I haven't been able to find any nice healthy ones. I love cories and I don't have any in my tanks right now which is a first for me


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Pictures? Without owning a camera??? Well of course, I had to borrow one! :lol:

Male Notophthalmus ... lots of subtle pastel colors ...










Female regani:










Male 'orinoco dwarf':










Female 'orinoco dwarf' with a Laetacara dorsigera in background:










As to finding them, those three species took over a year. They aren't really captive bred, so almost all are wild caught, which means they are seasonal (but we should be coming up on the season for them). You can always ask a LFS to look for them, their wholesaler might have them but since there isn't a big demand for them, most LFS won't order them in. None of our LFS had them, but one let me look at the wholesaler's list, hence got all my cash for them plus the dwarf acaras ... :lol:

They have the personality of their larger cousins, but in more managable sizes. Mine never had issues with the dwarf acaras or rams when I had them. They don't really dig, so work well in planted tanks to boot! :thumb:


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

> kribs, congo tetras, upsidedown cats


I like the sound of that. Can you do some plants that you don't normally do? Like a tank full of vals or a tank full of huge anubias? Or some wild driftwood? I've never had kribs because I always have cories, but I find them very attractive . . .


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Dwarfpike, 
Thanks so much for all of the fish. Your fish are all lovely. I would love to find some. I'll ask around at the LFS near me to see if I can hunt some down. They seem like very interesting fish 

Hollyfish2000,
I was thinking of doing some giant anubias like you said above. I already have some large vals in my tanks, but since they grow and spread out so quickly, I could probably pull a few out and add some to that tank as well  Wild driftwood would be very interesting. I agree kribs are very attractive  I was thinking that 2 pairs in a 3 ft tank would be alright, but I am not sure..... Also, you mentioned that you never kept kribs because of your cories....Are kribs intollerant of other bottom dwellers?


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

Your welcome. I'm a cheerleader for all things dwarf pike and Laetacara ... :thumb:


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## hollyfish2000 (Aug 23, 2007)

My two planted tanks are 30 and 33 gallon talls and thus have limited floor space and it was recommended to me not to do kribs with cories in such a situation. Your situation may be different . . .


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## joestreich (Jan 22, 2003)

well if you want south american, you really should find a way to soften your water. If you are looking to go West African you should really soften your water as well.

I know the mbunas aren't doing i for you.....have you thought of a tanganyika tank? Lots of beautiful fish and different types so you could occupy different levels in your aquarium with different fish.

Another option if you want south american are eartheaters. lots of good looking ones and they come in all sizes as well. check out this list and pictures brought to you by this very site. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/c ... php?cat=31

Good luck and keep us posted

dwarfpike.... i love the pics of the pikes. i am casually looking for some. are they hard to breed?


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## Crane (Dec 19, 2008)

Well to add my two cents. I am loving my gymnogeophagus'. It is really nice to have cichlids that like to hang out together plus they are constantly changing color to each other. Lots of personality and they are leaving my plants alone. I have tetras in with them and all get along swimmingly.


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

*joestreich* - If you want a breeding challenge, pikes are it. Out of the dwarves, only compressiceps and regani have been bred so far. Noto's and Orinoco dwarves come from the same waters as heckel discus and altums, so need ultra pure, low pH water to breed though luckily they can be kept in most medium hard or softer water.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

hollyfish2000 said:


> My two planted tanks are 30 and 33 gallon talls and thus have limited floor space and it was recommended to me not to do kribs with cories in such a situation. Your situation may be different . . .


Okay, gotcha :thumb: My tank is only 36 inches long, so I probably wouldn't want to do that either.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

joestreich said:


> well if you want south american, you really should find a way to soften your water. If you are looking to go West African you should really soften your water as well.
> 
> I know the mbunas aren't doing i for you.....have you thought of a tanganyika tank? Lots of beautiful fish and different types so you could occupy different levels in your aquarium with different fish.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the ideas  I really don't like messing with the pH of my water. I usually soften it naturally by using driftwood, but that is it. All of those buffers and powders make me nervous and so far, I haven't had any trouble getting fish to adapt to the pH of my tanks. I had a lake Tanganyika tank a while back and it was alright, but it didn't thrill me. I guess one of the problems is that in my area, you really cannot find any good sized Lake Tanganyika Cichlids. They are all probably about an inch long and grow insanly slow.....I guess I'm just impatient, lol. I really do prefer planted tanks though. I love eartheathers though I do not know much about them. I believe the gymnogeos are the smaller ones? What other fish are they compatible with? Can you put them in a tank with tetras, cories, and other cichlids, or do they need a species only tank?


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Crane said:


> Well to add my two cents. I am loving my gymnogeophagus'. It is really nice to have cichlids that like to hang out together plus they are constantly changing color to each other. Lots of personality and they are leaving my plants alone. I have tetras in with them and all get along swimmingly.


I really like the look of the gymnogeos  Can you tell me a little bit more about them? How agressive are they? Are they compatible with other fish?


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## klumsyninja (Aug 14, 2008)

As far as I know, The Gymonogeos need a 'winter' period of cooler water for them to thrive.


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## DiscusQueen (Jul 16, 2007)

Hi... I think that your issue is gonna be the 36 inch footprint.. most geos need more floor space as they grow... I like the idea of kribs... if you get a pair they have lots of personality and color.. I don't think I would try 2 pair in the tank.. again floor space issues. I'm kinda thinking maybe kribs with a large school of harley rasporas.. They are really nice in a large school and would give activity to all areas of your tank.... I think the congos are great but again I think because of their size and speed would prefer a longer tank.. You could also combine the kribs with some rainbows.. the smaller ones like praecox or boesmani.. I think they would get along nicely with the kribs and provide activity at all levels of the tank.... or you could forget the kribs and go with a pair of pearl gourami, lots of plants and cories.. that would make a beautiful tank, altho the cichlid personality would be missing.... from what you say your missing in your current setup, I would try a krib combo.. I think you would like it and it would be something different than your sa setups.. Just some thoughts.. HTH Sue  ..


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## Crane (Dec 19, 2008)

Hi, the Gymnos need a cooler winter period but most of them are smaller and so far with mine they don't have aggression issues. They like to be in a group and really interact and display nice colors to each other. I have 5 Gymnogeophagus Blue neon Valentines with zebra danios, bloodfin tetras and a BN Pleco with no problems whatsoever (except algae). They are beautiful shiny fish.


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## ktluvsfish (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the great ideas and information  It is going to be a while before I have the funds to re-do my tank but now I have some great ideas and inspiration. I'll let you guys know when I decide to do it


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