# new tank, need help on picking out fish.



## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

I have just set up a 72 gallon bow-front and i need help figuring out which fish to purchase. I am looking for a wide variety of bright colors, any suggestions? :fish:


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

what are the dimensions of the tank? Also are u interested in breeding?.....if not and u want alot of color an all male route is always a nice colorful tank.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

"Bright colours" would be Malawi cichlids. :thumb:

Have you browsed through the profile section?


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

imo i love my new hap/peacock tank.. love it, not as "fun" as my mbuna and they seem to have a little more health problems.. but i love the liquid metal looks of their blues, reds, and yellows when they mature either way you cant go wrong with most africans :thumb:


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

thanks guys, im not really interested in breeding. the tank is 4 feet long i think like 21 inches tall and i cant remember how deep it is right off hand, id hafta check.


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

is it safe to mix?


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## jfly (Feb 17, 2009)

if you arent planning to breed i say hap-peacock for looks, mbuna .ie malawi if you want action.. look at the profiles of copadichromis, and haplachromis some of the gorgeous "liquid metal" electric blues red's and yellow


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

i checked some of them out and they are beautiful


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

is it possible to keep dwarf cockatoos in hard water?


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## venustus19 (Aug 30, 2007)

one thing to maybe keep in mind, is, is this your first tank???
if so, the always so popular combo for mbuna's would be your yellow labs, yellow tail acei(which are purple with a yellow tail), and like rusties(which are your orangish color fish)...
very nice combo IMO, and a great starter tank as these fish are usually readily available in any area...
i would also look around your areas LFS to see what they carry, unless you do not care about shipping fish.


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

this is not my fist tank, but it is the largest one i have had, the other tanks just had random africans that i could pic up at my local fish store. shipping fish would be something i would be willing to try


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

curtis_miller said:


> is it possible to keep dwarf cockatoos in hard water?


Are you referring to SA Apistogramma caucatoides???


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

yes


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

id like to put pictures of my tank on here but i just cant figure it out


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Upload your pics to a photo host like Photobucket. Then copy and paste the img tag below the pic into your post on here.

What's your ph?

Apistos are tolerant of a wide range of water parameters, however, you may not get them to successfully spawn in a higher ph.

And you certainly can't keep them with Malawi cichlids! :wink:


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

i just got the tank filled and dont have testing supplies yet so i do not know my ph


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)




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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

that didnt work


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

[No message]


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

neither did that


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

http://s585.photobucket.com/albums/ss29 ... ure097.jpg

http://s585.photobucket.com/albums/ss29 ... ure090.jpg

http://s585.photobucket.com/albums/ss29 ... ure101.jpg


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

thats the best i can do i guess


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)




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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

background looks awesome :thumb: but the way that slate is laid out looks too artificial for my eyes :wink:


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

thanks brant, glad you like the background it took me quite a while to make. i was kinda thinkin the same thing about the slate now that i look at it in the pictures, but i dnt know how else i would arrange it


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

ya dont have too big of peices...*** never liked a whole bunch of slate in aquariums....i like nice big round river rock....maybe with some bigger slate peices u could make it look a little better.....or get some big rock chunks from a landscape store and scatter the slate?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I think the slate looks fine...It's all a matter of individual taste.

The edges may be quite sharp, though, so if you start to notice alot of injuries to your fish, you might want to remove it.

Any thought of adding any plants?


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

i have thought about adding a few plants but im still not sure if i want to or not


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

i think itd make the tank look great :thumb:


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

would live plants work with the substrate that i have? iv never kept live plants b4


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I'm not the best person to advise on live plants, but I do know a couple of things...Anubias and java fern/moss will work, as they will root to almost anything in the tank - rocks or substrate. But the key to keeping live plants with mbuna is that you have to have ALOT of them. If you just have a few they tend to rip them to shreds. Both these type plants are the safest bet with mbuna, because they seemingly don't care for the taste of them.

There are nice silk plants available, cheaper if bought at a crafts store. That's what I usually use.


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

was wondering if anybody could help me identify these fish. sorry for the poor picture quality, i dont have a very good camera. you cant really tell in the picture but the orange looking fish is actually a pale yellow with very pale bars similar to the ones on the blue fish.


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

Kenyi (blue) and red zebra (orange).


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

when u say pale yellow with faint barring makes me want to lean twards hybrid lab


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

im wondering if its not a male kenyi


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

from the pic i think its safe to say its not a male kenyi....a clearer pic may help out a bit


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

im going to try to get a better pic this weekend when i get home from college, the fish looks really orange here but its really not. it is a really light yellow with some pale veriticl bars


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

i need to get a better camera


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## BRANT13 (Feb 18, 2009)

at least u have one :wink: i dont


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## Amanda71 (Aug 8, 2009)

I like your background - how did you make it?


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

Thanks amanda
i wired a few rocks to some egg crate and then sprayed pond foam around them and everywhere there are no rocks. then when the foam cured i used a box cutter and sand paper to shape it the way i wanted it, then i painted it.


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## fishfanatic15 (Sep 7, 2009)

I would recommend buying a few Blood Parrot cichlids and 1 black ghost knifefish


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## curtis_miller (Aug 24, 2009)

how many fish should i be able to keep in my 72 bowfront


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