# Stocking a 125 gallon Tang community



## ldregz (Jun 25, 2013)

I recently got the go ahead from my wife to start a new Tang community! Right now I'm thinking the tank will be a 125 gallon (72" Long x 18" Deep x 21" Tall)

I'm looking for input on stocking and any advice about the species and their compatibility.

Must haves:
- Alto. Comps either Gold Heads or Red Fins (hoping to have a full grown F0 group with 1 male and 1-3 females)
- Lamp. Multi colony (I'll start off with 6-8 fish and let them multiply at their own rate and fill the 80+ shells I have for the tank)

Others I'm interested in:
- Cyprichromis (I have never had these before but they seem common in communities to fill the upper portion of the tank)
- Lamp. Julies (I know there a lot of variants here, but maybe a pair/trio would work?)
- Alto. Calvus Black (would a group of F0s work along with the Comps?)
- Ophthalmotilapia boops (I've read these can be mean and not work well with shellies)
- Alto. fasciatus (another favorite of mine from the past, I know they can be fairly mellow and work well as a pair/trio)
- Lamprologus Brevis (another shellie, is the tank big enough to hold two species?)
- Anything I'm missing????

I think 4-6 species would be idea for a tank this size. I would love to hear your input to help fill my tank!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I had a successful 72" Tang tank for a long time centered around the calvus.

I had shellies and cyps and julidochromis.

I also had leleupi even though I was advised against it. True to the predictions they killed the shellies so I had to remove them.

I would not mix the Altolamprologus.

Boops need the entire 72" bottom to themselves.

I would do one shellie species/tank. I have heard you can do 2 in a 72" tank if you first established the brevis on a high shelf and later introduce another species on the bottom. My brevis were all over the tank including swimming with the cyps, so FWIW.


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## ldregz (Jun 25, 2013)

So based on your experience you'd suggest I go with something like this?

-Altos (one species)
-Multis
-Cyprichromis 
-Julis

Anything else? What quantities do you recommend of each species?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

20 cyps
6 multies
6 each of the altos and julis with the expectation that they will form one pair and reject the others.

If you want more fish you can try for a colony of altos, but you would want to stock more...maybe 12 and hope for 3 males and the rest females.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

DJRansome said:


> ...Boops need the entire 72" bottom to themselves...


Amen to that!


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## ldregz (Jun 25, 2013)

UPDATE - I am going to bite the bullet and step up to a 180 gallon tank (72" x 24" x 24"). I feel the 6" of extra depth is worth the price.

I would assume the stocking stays relatively the same though?

Does anyone have suggestions on julidochromis or cyprichromis species?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like the Cyprichromis leptosoma Mpimbwe ''Fluorescent'' and the Julidochromis sp. ''Ornatus Kombe'' Kombe. They changed the name since I kept Julidochromis.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

ldregz said:


> UPDATE - I am going to bite the bullet and step up to a 180 gallon tank (72" x 24" x 24"). I feel the 6" of extra depth is worth the price.
> 
> I would assume the stocking stays relatively the same though?
> 
> Does anyone have suggestions on julidochromis or cyprichromis species?


Some Cyp/Paracyp combinations, as well as certain Julies, do not mix well because they have such similar requirements that they compete with each other. You will need to decide on which fishes interest you, and then research their compatibility.

The stocking of a 125 _vs._ a 180 would be similar. I've had both, and unless you just like the aesthetics of the taller tank, I'd stick with the 125. 24" deep tanks are a PITA because you can't reach the bottom. Good luck. :fish:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Agree I like the 125G better...even for aesthetics.


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## ldregz (Jun 25, 2013)

sir_keith said:


> Some Cyp/Paracyp combinations, as well as certain Julies, do not mix well because they have such similar requirements that they compete with each other. You will need to decide on which fishes interest you, and then research their compatibility.
> 
> The stocking of a 125 _vs._ a 180 would be similar. I've had both, and unless you just like the aesthetics of the taller tank, I'd stick with the 125. 24" deep tanks are a PITA because you can't reach the bottom. Good luck. :fish:


Any recommendations as to what Cyp/Paracyp and Julies pair well together from your experiences?


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

ldregz said:


> Any recommendations as to what Cyp/Paracyp and Julies pair well together from your experiences?


Sorry, you misunderstood my post. There are some Cyps that don't pair well with other Cyps/Paracyps; likewise, there are some Julies that don't do well with other specific Julies. Cyps and Julies occupy different parts of the tank, and basically ignore each other, so compatibility is not a problem.

I particularly like _Paracyprichromis nigripinnis_ 'Blue Neon,' but they can be hard to find, and it's my impression that they are not at their best when kept with _Cyprichromis_, which seem to make them nervous. As a rule of thumb for the Julies, avoid keeping species that look very similar (why would you want to?), or that vary widely in size. Good luck.


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## ldregz (Jun 25, 2013)

I gotcha! I did misread it. Thanks for the input!

Today I made a good step in the right direction when my shipment of shells arrived. 84 shells should be enough to give me a good sized shell bed or two for the Multis.

And thanks for all the recommendations, I'm staying put with the 125 gallon. Hopefully picking it up this week!

Next step after that will be the stand/canopy build.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Put all the shells in one pile for the multifasciatus.


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

ldregz said:


> ... And thanks for all the recommendations, I'm staying put with the 125 gallon. Hopefully picking it up this week! ...


Cool; I think you'll be very happy with the 125. I've had lots of tanks, bigger and smaller, but the 125 is still one of my favourites. To my eye, it's proportions are just perfect, and while it's big enough to do all sorts of interesting things, it's not unwieldy. I have a number of these in which I house mixed _Opthalmotilapia_ and _Xenotilapia_ colonies; here is one of them. Have fun! :thumb:


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