# hello, new member



## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

hi all 
first post 
im thinking of going all cichlid, being doing a lot of research lately of these wonderful creatures and am sure to be setting up soon. *** got a 55gal freshwater setup and have almost rehomed all my fish. the reason im going cichlid is I had a bad outbreak of white spot and lost loads of fish so instead of replacing all the lost fish with the same *** decided to go cichlid.

*** read some threads on here about stocking ideas in the library and have some questions

1)didn't really understand from the idea list about how many fish of the stated species I could have heres the ones I liked dose this seem correct? 
-12 cyprichromis leptosome (mpulungu)
-pair chalinochromis brichardi
-pair lamprologus tretacephaleus

2) are these fish Tanganyika or Malawi?

3)I have a load of rock that was labled tuffa but it looks more like tuff rock to me, also I have sand substrate and 5kg of coral sand to help keep ph high. what else should I use to get water perfect?

please share some knowledge with me to get my setup right before I buy any fish as *** had mistakes before from getting bad advice from fish shops, example a few days ago when looking for rocks the guy in the shop said "just add tap water", lol "that's why im looking for rocks as my tap waters hardness is neutral" I told him.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Welcome to C-F!!

It's possible that the people that viewed your post aren't sure how to respond to your questions.

Q.#1 I think you will be fine with the Cyprichromis leptosoma in a 55G tank, assuming it is a 48" long tank. You will definitely get better advice in the Tanganyika forum.

Q.#2 The fish you listed are from Lake Tanganyika.

Q.#3 You need to know what the pH, GH (hardness) and KH (alkalinity) of your tap water is by buying the appropriate test kits. Don't count on rocks and sand to maintain the proper pH, GH and KH in your aquarium. Stable water parameters are more important unless you happen to be purchasing wild caught fish or your source for fish are different than your water conditions.

Give us a second chance to answer your questions. C-F is a great site to get most questions regarding cichlids answered but there are always times that you will need to wait to get a response as not everyone is online 24 hrs a day.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Moved to L. Tanganyika. Keep in mind that guests count as views, in which case, they can't reply unless they create an account.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

12 cyprichromis leptosome (mpulungu)
-pair chalinochromis brichardi
-pair lamprologus tretacephaleus
Neolamprologus tretacephaleus is not a community Tang cichlid long term for a 55g.
Pair will kill all others long term.

No need of tuffa or coral sand if you buffer your water using baking soda. Can use far more natural and less scratchy rocks and substarte.


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Thanks for replays guys,

2 questions

1) what kind of baking soda to use? And how much? How often?

2) as for stock could I have 
12 Cyprichromis leptosoma (Mpulungu)
Pair- black fin calvas 
(Any think else that could live with these and not overstock my tank?)


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Baking soda as in the stuff used in the kitchen. In order to determine IF you need to use baking soda, you need to test your source water (tap) in order to determine if you even need to use a home made buffer. You can check out the link to the Library articles in my signature for more info on making your own buffer.

Are you planning on purchasing juvenile fish or adults? If juvies, you would want to start with at least 6 or 8 Calvus in order to get a good male/female ratio.

You could also add a Julidochromis species to the mix, starting with 6 or 8 juvies and removing any excess males when they mature, depending on the species.


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Thanks deeda

I Like the fish you suggested, how many calvus should I be looking to keep total? Would it be easier if I had just 1?

Also with the calvus and the Julidochromis you mentioned what is the ideal male female ratio?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I had suggested 6 juveniles and you would need to remove the extra males once the fish matured but I noticed you started another thread regarding a wave maker for a 50G corner tank. Is this the same tank you plan on stocking with Tanganyika cichlids?

What are the dimensions of your tank? If it is a rectangle, give the length x width x height. If it is a corner tank, give the length of the back of the tank x the width of one of the sides x the height of the tank.

We need to know the dimensions of the tank to give you the proper advice for fish species and quantities.


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Tank 
Juwel trigon 190
70x70x98.5 And 60 deep ( all in centimetres)

It's a 190l tank plus 20l external filter


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks for posting your tank dimensions. To clarify for those not on the metric system, myself included  , you have a 50G corner shaped tank, the two short sides are 27.5" long, 39" long across the front corners and a bit over 23.5" high.

This type of tank does limit the species and number of fish you can keep comfortably. I would be hesitant to keep Cyprichromis leptosoma because they prefer a 48" long tank as they are active swimmers and utilize the length of the tank.

Julidochromis species are still a good choice with maybe a pair of Altolamprologus calvus or A. compressiceps.

Hopefully someone with a similar shaped tank will offer their thoughts or experiences with the Juwel Trigon aquarium.


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## IanR29 (Dec 13, 2012)

I will agree with Dee that the most important part of a tank for cichlids is the overal length and not gallon size. I'm still learning about Tangs so I don't have too much to offer other than I love my Calvus and Occelatus. Looking forward to see where this thread goes.


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

I have got my first cichlids (Juvenile, tangayika) 
1x Duboisi Cichlid (Tropheus duboisii)
1x Tretocephalus Cichlid (Lamprologus tretacephaleus)
1x Orange Leleupi Cichlid (Neolamprologus leleupi)
1x altolamprologus calvus black

And I already had 4x Amano shrimp

What other species could I add? 
I'm interested in very colourful or unusual fish,


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Also I see some cyprichromis leptosome (mpulungu) when getting my new fish and was very very tempted but I didn't keeping deeda's advice in mind.

Also didn't know that some cichlids don't have their amazing colours until they get bigger.


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## IanR29 (Dec 13, 2012)

remember that tropheus are schooling fish, they should be in large colonies. not sure about singles.


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Ian I found this what do you think?

they are extremely aggressive towards their own kind, and should be housed in large groups of 6 or more. They are a very personable fish that do best in a species specific aquarium.


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## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

Couple of probs you might have with the tropheous ,as others have said they are best kept in groups,usually species only set ups,single specimens can be a right pain,aggressive and a general pain,secondly are their dietary requirements, they are herbivores and as such require a high algae diet,too much protein food,which your other tangs require can cause bloat in tropheous, I Tried to keep a single specimen when I started keeping tangs,didn't know better,but in the finish he had to be returned to my LFS.


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Webbie Can I put 4 more in so he is in a group of 5 ?


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Was also thinking of some Lamprologus speciosus and some Julidochromis


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## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

Myself I would go the opposite direction and if pos return your tropheous,its their diet that could cause long term probs, Shellie's and leleupi do not make good tank mates,caudopunctatus 'punks' are an easy going tang and would fit in your set up,very active and always on show ,or some Julies,ornatus, dickfeldi or transcriptus


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## baker360360 (Sep 14, 2013)

Cool, I'll see if I can return that 1 and in the mean time I'll google the fish you have suggested

Thanks


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Tropheus as singles are pretty hit and miss community wise. Yep I do it but generaly with ones that get beet up in a group. Prob with singles you tend to buy from LFSs are they are rouge males popped in from iether unsuccessful groups or pruning sex ratio (selling single males). Dubs are the best bet but would still avoid unless you love Tropheus as much as I do.  

Single goby cichlid is an option I would explore. Lovely fish, so cute. Only prob is intraspecific aggression so singles best of all worlds.


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