# New 75g setup questions



## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

hello all,
have had a good run so far in the past year with my 125g Malawi/Victorian tank and an angelfish tank with the help of this forum  looking at some options/advice around a tang setup for a 75g setup. The tank comes with an Aqueon 75 HOB that I will retrofit to increase media/sponge content instead of the spec carbon filter pads that Aqueon provides. I also have powerheads with sponge/filter floss intakes and garden variety sponge filters. 
My two options (if a Tang setup is the final winner) are:
1. Shellies and Cyps
2. Tropheus species

For option 1, i have tons of shells and can load up some nice rounded river rock boulders to create some visual detail and breaks while keeping the top 50-60% of the tank volume open for swimming. 
Shellies = simils OR multies gives me low aggression; brevis - bit more of a terror potential?
Cyps = non jumbo for a 48"L tank and then its a question of species with best visual look/bang for the buck. Also have access to some nice Anubias that have grown up in my other tanks to create some greenery.

For option 2, I see mostly rounded boulders strewn/piled over the substrate. No real caves but i have only seen a few. Maybe some Anubias interspersed with the boulders. Again looking for species with best visual appeal.

I would love to hear from the Tang keepers on what would make sense and give a nice well rounded appearance.



Primary question is around filtration - do I have enough with EITHER of my options or do I need a canister @ 8-10x volume for flow rates?
Which option would be better? OR Are Tropheus a bad idea for 1-yr old hobbyists? OR Is a 75g enough for happy/healthy Cyps? Or do they thrive in the longer tanks?
I dont have extra tanks to rehome the MMA fighters. Does that make it hard for keeping Tangs?
What am I not asking to help my research??

Appreciate everyone's time taken to read and respond. Thank you.


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## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

bump??


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What is the total GPH of your filters and powerheads. You probably do want at least 8X GPH for either option.

Either would make a nice tank.


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## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> What is the total GPH of your filters and powerheads. You probably do want at least 8X GPH for either option.
> 
> Either would make a nice tank.


Thanks, DJR. The HOB is 400gph and I have a sponge filter probably 100-200 gph and another powerhead/intake filter/spray bar unit that is rated for 350 gph. In the time since I posted I got plenty of sticker shock with the fish that I am interested in  so now its a questions of 15 tropheus WC at $25 per or spend more than that getting shellies/cyps/callochromis....
though tropheus will probably see more aggresssion and deaths so maybe my math has to factor that. definitely a different level of hobby compared to the Malawi tank i setup last year


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I am a big believer of overstocking Tropheus tanks and so the larger the volume of water, the lower the nitrates.
Tropheus turn drab and dark once the nitrates start to creep up. A colony of 15 Trophs is a small group which may result in aggression issues.
So, a group of 24 (a good amount for a successful colony IMO) is going to require a lot of very large, frequent water changes in a 75g tank.
Having said that, a lot of people do keep Trophs in 75's (All my groups were in 5' 120's and had 32 -36 in the group.

Non jumbo cyps will work and my vote would be for Utinta.
I have never kept Callos but I'm pretty sure that they are very aggressive and require a bigger tank than 4'


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## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

wow ok. I can see the nitrates creep up every 4-5 days with 24 fish (each 5" eventually) in a 75g. I am looking into sourcing N.similis (6 juvies) and Cyp utinta blue flash (12-14 juvies). Does that seem like a reasonable number? And WC vs F1 vs TR. Any thoughts specific to tropheus, cyps, similis as to the pitfalls or advantages? Thank you.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

Cyprichromis leptosoma (Utinta): I had ten in a 90 gallon tank. They were my first cyps.
Tropheus - I have had them three times. First two occasions, 30 fish. This time around, 21 fish. Always in a 90 gallon.
I cannot comment on shellies.
I use Hang-On-Back filters and strive for 8-10 times turnover per hour.
I do water changes one-third weekly or close to one-half every 10 days.

Are you planning on breeding/raising fry?
Cyp fry are slower to raise (grow). Tropheus have the advantage that both genders are coloured. Cyps have the advantage that they are easier to sex as adults because of colour.

If you want to talk, send me a message and I can give you a phone number.


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## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

punman said:


> Cyprichromis leptosoma (Utinta): I had ten in a 90 gallon tank. They were my first cyps.
> Tropheus - I have had them three times. First two occasions, 30 fish. This time around, 21 fish. Always in a 90 gallon.
> I cannot comment on shellies.
> I use Hang-On-Back filters and strive for 8-10 times turnover per hour.
> ...


I found some TR duboisi juvies for $9 ea!! Left the store before I got weak kneed  It sounds like i need about 20 tropheus in a 75g to make this species work. Start with juvies and then hope for the hierarchy to settle in over time with maybe just a few/no fish lost. Cyps seem to be pricey and appear to carry the "fragile" label. 10-14 seem like a good number for them.

@punman - ty for your responses and for your offer to talk to me in more detail.
75g is all I have and will for some time going forward. If that reduces the probability of success, please do advise me of that. I honestly dont know if I plan to breed/raise fry with any of the fish that I keep except for some critically endangered goodeids that are species only in heavily planted tanks. I can easily bump the filtration to 8-10x like my Malawi tank if it is necessary to keep tropheus healthy. WC is now part of my weekly routine on all tanks that I keep and I am reading up on their specific dietary needs which seems to be attainable as well. It also doesnt seem like there is a need to rehome tropheus because they cant be reintroduced without causing mayhem. sexed adults also dont seem necessary as teh pecking order gets established. What else should I be warned about 

Thanks again for the detailed responses!!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Make sure you like the look of the adult fish, the duboisi don't keep those cute spots.


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## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

DJRansome said:


> Make sure you like the look of the adult fish, the duboisi don't keep those cute spots.


LOL thanks DJR - the folks on this forum have taught me well  I still remain interested if I can get over my nervousness. No rush is my goal for now....


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## DNK (Jun 8, 2007)

Have had a cyp mpulungu and multi tank for the past few years and it's worked out well. Occasionally a male multi will have a go at a cyp if they stray to close towards his shells but that's about it.


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## rookie-cichlid1978 (Mar 28, 2017)

Stocekd with 4 reasonably sized N. caudopunctatus in the 75g. I added some rainbows to the tank (cyps remained a bit too pricey for me) and decided to not risk tropheus with their unique needs. Substrate has tons of shells strewn around with rock work at various points and open sand as well. Thanks for the help!


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