# 90 gallon 48x18 stock



## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

I wanted to do a Tanganyika community, here's the stock I was thinking:

Open Water:
Cyprichromis leptosoma Bulu Point x12

Rocks & Caves:
Chalinochromis sp. ''Ndobhoi'' x 4
Eretmodus cyanostictus Chaitika 'Blue Dot' x4
Julidochromis ornatus Congo ''Yellow'' x4

Shells:
Lamprologus ocellatus ''Gold'' x6
Lamprologus brevis Katabe ''Orange Head" x6

Open Sand:
Xenotilapia singularis Ndole Bay ''Ochrogenys Ndole''x 8

Questions, comments concerns? I normally only keep Mbuna but I wanted to try Lake Tang. so I am not as familiar with these fish so all the help I can get is appreciated.


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## JAfishman (Jun 24, 2011)

Pick one or the other of those shellies. Occies and brevis do not do well together.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The Cyprichromis are fine, though you could increase the numbers to 18.

The tank is too small for the ochrogenys, unless there are no rocks, and no shell dwellers... so it looks like a pass.

From your rock dweller, you could pick two substrate spawners, but I wouldn't pick the Chalinochromis and the Julidochromis.

Pick one of the shell dwellers.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Are you thinking of doing all, or is that your list to choose from? 3-4 species for a tank that size would be all I'd do. Cyps, either julis or ndobhoi, and gobies, for instance. Or cyps, julis or ndobnoi, and a shellie. But, my cyps tend to dive bomb sand/shell dwellers, so I don't think it's a good combo. Particulary with the brevis. Take a look at the tanganyikan cookie cutters for a 75 to get some ideas. I prefer a minimalist approach when stocking tangs.


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## starplayer (May 3, 2011)

Sandsifters and shellies do compete for floorspace. That said if you reduce your enants to 4 you may have enough space for a pair of brevis with good aquascaping. I would also add the cyps, but limit myself to one rockdweller of choice. Think it would be an interesting tank.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

The tank is to small for xeno ochrogenys, IMO.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

Thank you all for the replies, sorry it took me awhile to respond I was working allot the past day or so. Those were Ideas for the tank because I don't think I could stock all of them. For a little more info on the tank It is a 90 gal like I stated but I made a 3D background for it that looks like a rock wall with lots of hiding spaces. I still have a good deal of space left on the bottom of the tank as well. I will also be running a Eheim 2217 and a Rena XP4 with DIY spray bars.

So here's what I am thinking:

~Cyprichromis leptosoma Bulu Point 
~Eretmodus cyanostictus Chaitika
~Julidochromis ornatus Congo ''Yellow'' 
~Lamprologus ocellatus ''Gold''

If I didn't put in shellies could I go with the Xenos still, or would the above list work better? What M:F ratios should these fish be in?

Thank you again in advanced for all the help I am a Tang newbie and want my tank to be a success.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Four species is pushing it, but I've done that, it could work with that list. I'd just go with juvies and let the ratios work out as they will. Adjust as they mature and show need. You could get two breeding pair/groups of juli's, a couple of male occies each with a female or two, a pair of gobies, and then the cyps. My only concern might be the gobies clashing with the juli's. This is a first tang tank and you sound like you want something with a high probabliity of success, so just mentioning that.

I wouldn't mix the cyps with the xeno's, I'd stick with plan A. Plus, I'd agree, six feet would be better for the xeno's to be fully appreciated. Consider also that females will need a retreat from the males if you have so many males that they inhabit the entire floor space, which is what's typical.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

So maybe just Cyps, Julies and Ocellatus, would that provide a better success rate? My first concern is the health and happiness of the fish, not what looks "cool"


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

mogurako said:


> So maybe just Cyps, Julies and Ocellatus, would that provide a better success rate? My first concern is the health and happiness of the fish, not what looks "cool"


I think it would. And I think it'll look just as good. I like gobies, but you won't notice them missing really. You can always change things out down the road. I tend to do that.

If you really want a fourth species, I'd go with an altolamprologus. Just be aware that you may have to thin both them and the juli's more. In other words, if you start with the typical number of six of each, you'll unlikely be able to keep all six of each long term. But, it'll take a while for the need to thin, particularly with the alto's.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

Ok I will go with those three species for sure :thumb: How many should I do of each? some thing like 12-18 Cyps, 6 julies and 6-8 Occellatus? I am ordering all these fish online as juvies too from Daves fish. I am also really excited that you mentioned Altolamprologus I really like those guys, is there a type you would recommend? How many could I squeeze in like 4?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Typical number of each of the rock and shell dwellers would be 6 to get a good ratio. I'd go with that. I'd also go with 18 cyps.

Lots of good choices on the alto's. I'd suggest the yellow or orange or red comps, but comes down to personal preference. The black/white can vary a lot in color intensity at times, so keep that in mind. Don't go for white calvus, for instance, thinking they'll always display the way they look in pics. Alto's are one of the few where I keep different variants of same genus. Nice fish and usually very easy to work into tang communities.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

18 Cyps check! Will the bottom seem empty with only 6 Shellies? So could I go with different color Comps in the same tank, like 2 red 2 yellow and 2 balck?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I wouldn't mix alto's, but only for reasons of potential crossing, as they're not considered the same by hobbyists. Also partly because of the purist in me.

The occie's will more than hold their own entertaining you from the sand/shells. Trust me. They won't need the whole bottom. You can extend the rock pile out to accomodate the rocks dwellers better. Which brings anpther question about territories. Are you trusting the background alone to accomodate the rock dwellers and not adding any rocks? Do you have a pic of this?


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

All right I will have to just pick one color variant of Alto, I am not a fan of hybirds. Here is the picture of the background, I still have a little work to do on it so a few more caves will be added. The background was originally designed with Mbuna in mind but I fell in love with Tangs. There is all different size of caves.










Sorry for the poor quality its a quick snap from my phone.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Looks nice, but not sure how ideal it will be as far as allowing for enough territories. Both juli's and alto's like to wedge themselves into clefts, but no where really for them to get down behind rocks. It's all about territories. You might be better off sticking with juli's alone, not the alto's. With a free rock pile, more can be done.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

You cant really see it because of the angle but those caves are anywhere from 3-6" deep and 3-8" wide. I may just stick with Juli's though.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

mogurako said:


> You cant really see it because of the angle but those caves are anywhere from 3-6" deep and 3-8" wide. I may just stick with Juli's though.


You're right, hard to tell from the pic. Some of it comes down to how easy it would be to rehome fish. If ordering online, and paying for shipping, best to bump up if you have a way to deal with extras.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

My LFS will take any fish I need to rehome. They have tons of display tanks and they take in allot of oversize fish. So order some extras? I may try the Altos and rehome them if i need to. I also have a 40 breeder to put them in if need be.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

mogurako said:


> My LFS will take any fish I need to rehome. They have tons of display tanks and they take in allot of oversize fish. So order some extras? I may try the Altos and rehome them if i need to. I also have a 40 breeder to put them in if need be.


If you can easily rehome, then I'd give it a go. As said, it'll work fine for quite some time as alto's take a while to grow out.


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## mogurako (Jan 17, 2005)

Sorry for so many questions, but I greatly appreciate all your help. I will post pictures when I get everything all set up.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Looking forward to the pics, and happy to help.


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