# suggestions for a 100g species tank?



## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

Wondered if anyone had any suggestions here?

I'm planning a new tank with the intention of keeping a single species, or at most two. The tank will be l 72"x h 24" x d 16" (180x60x40cm). There'll be good filtration and water quality. I have experience with Tangs but not Malawis. The tank will be well lit with metal halides and have as much rock work as is suited.

My aim is to establish a display tank featuring a single species. I'd like a species that would breed readily in the tank, creating a colony of adults and varying ages of juveniles.

At the moment my front runners are:

1 neolamprologus. brichardi - not the most colourful, but graceful shape and movement and great colony builders.
2 tropheus - I love these fish but would they get too big and rowdy? How readily would they breed? 
3 labidochromis caeruleus
4 pseudotropheus saulosi

I don't know so much about the last two but the colours look stunning and their social and breeding behaviour sounds very interesting. Will the young prosper left in the tank? Would they establish a reasonably harmonious colony?

Any other species I should be considering? Any thoughts much appreciated.

All best and happy xmas Tony


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Of the choices you sufggested I would recomend either the tropheus or the saulosi.

The tank size you have would work well for a tropheus colony and tropheus are stunning as a single species tank. The down side is they can be expensive to get and can be known to have sensitive tummies (though the understand of their needs is getting better by the day and there are lots of resources for successful keeping).

While a dwarf species, large groups of saulosi can be very striking. In you tank you could easily have lost of colored males in the mix. (check out this member's massive saulsoi tank)

A lab species tank could be fun, but I personally think that would be A LOT of yellow. If you would consider adding a colony of Ps. demasoni in with the labs, then you would have my dream tank

the brichardi would be my last choice. While I agree they are great colony fish, for a tank that big I think it will not be the statement that a 6ft tank can make. I have seen really nice brichardi colonies in a 55g, but even then they just didn't have that "show tank" feel.

Whith the exception of the brichardi none of these species are really "colonial" fish. They do well in large groups, but the care and acceptance of multiple generation is not high. Given decent rock work and hiding spaces fry will definitely survive and join the adults aas they grow larger, but it won't be the big happy family thing.


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## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks for your ideas.

That saulosi tank is amazing. Are there any pics of it now?

Labs would be a blaze of yellow but I quite like that idea. The tank will be back lit with blue so it would be quite eye popping! Yes I would consider the demasonis too but a bit worried about overload. Would two colonies work?

I once had a colony of brichardis in a 50g tank and while I agree they're individually a bit dull the graceful shape and movement and the multiple sizes of juveniles all mixed together made a great display. I'm still tempted to try them on a large scale.

I really like the idea of tropheus, my concern is that they will get too big. The tank will be only 16" / 40cm front to back. Sometimes you see large cichlids in narrow tanks and it looks very two dimensional. A colony of breeding tropheus sounds really mouth watering but is the tank suitable or should I be looking at the lots of small fish route?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

If you went with dems and Labs you could do a group of 6-8 labs and 14-16 dems quite easily.

Tropheus only get to about 5-6 inches so a small colony of say 10 or so individuals would work if you wanted to go that route. I would check in with the folks on the Tropheus folder for specifics and advice if you have questions.


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## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks. The mix of dems and labs sounds interesting. Would you expect both species to breed and the fry grow in the tank?

I'd heard that tropheus do best as groups of 15 and up but i'll run it by the folks at tropheus corner.

Saulosis could be the answer. They have great colour but I don't know much about their behaviour. Are they interesting to watch? Do they spend time in the open water or do they hide in rocks? Would love to see some pics of that huge tank in the link now its been running a few years. Any ideas?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

You could try doing a search for posts by Ssssssspit_Fire. I have seen post something recently (I think) so he may have other threads going with some pics. You could probably even PM him if you have questions or want some more recent pics.

Both the labs and the dems would breed quite well when mixed. Being mbuna,they don't care for their young and the fry would have to fend for themselves until they were big enough to no get eaten. With good rock work and lots of little hidy-holes some fry will definitely make it, though its not likely to be lots and lots.

The saulosi are also so mbuna so their fry would face the same challenges (Mom and Dad think they are snacks).


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Hi Tony--you can try searches on youtube to see examples of how the mbuna would behave--it's a great resource for researching fish for a tank.


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

tony111 said:


> Would love to see some pics of that huge tank in the link now its been running a few years. Any ideas?


Click on Sssss_Fire's "Tanks" button and then look at the list on the left. You will see by clicking on the first tank that he converted it to an Tanganyikan set up.

kevin


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## Afishionado (Jun 6, 2006)

If you went with Tropheus you could definitely do more than 10 in that tank - in fact it would be recommended to go with a larger number. That is a 72x16 footprint. A slightly unusual size but in a standard 125g US (72x18 footprint) a colony in the 25-40 range is feasible if the tank is well filtered and maintained. So in a 72x16 100g I would say 22-25 should be fine.

As mentionned by MalawiLover check out the Tropheus board for more info.


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

ridley25 said:


> tony111 said:
> 
> 
> > Would love to see some pics of that huge tank in the link now its been running a few years. Any ideas?
> ...


The saulosi tank is still listed as well. I would not surprise me if he has a second 400g tank (the tank one). The man works (or at least used to work ) at an African cichild breeding facility in Israel.


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## rik125 (Jan 3, 2003)

Why would you want metal halides on a African Cichlid tank ?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

rik125 said:


> Why would you want metal halides on a African Cichlid tank ?


If the tank is really deep, regular tank lighting probably doesn't do a very good job.


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## rik125 (Jan 3, 2003)

24" deep Halides are way overkill !!!


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

Maybe its what he already had. Might be overkill, but if its something I already had, I would use it before going out and buying something else.

Think of some of these home made tank stands out there. Some could litterally hold up a truck and only have 100-200g tanks on them. As long as the minimums are met, to each his own.


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## RRasco (Aug 31, 2006)

^ My home made stand could hold an army tank, yet it is only required to hold a 55 gallon tank. :fish:


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## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

rik125 said:


> Why would you want metal halides on a African Cichlid tank ?


Because you don't like the flat even light from fluorescents.
Because metal halides (particularly the ones designed for architectural use) give a controllable spread, creating light and shade and giving texture and atmosphere to the tank.
Because a point source of light creates a rippling effect on the decor making the tank shimmer.
Because you don't think 70w of metal halide in 24' of water is overkill.
Because you like the look of a tank like the one below.
Enough reasons?


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

:thumb: Fabulous answers. I think when a lot of people think of MH lighting, they go straight to those coral tanks that you practically need sunglasses to look at. It is actually a rather common lighting option outside the US for freshwater tanks as well. The ones we see in stores here are often displayed at very high intensity for the reef aquarists, sort of skewing our general ideas about its usage. Not to mention our selection of bulbs is relatively narrow.

Beautiful tank *tony111*!


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## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

Yes it is beautiful, but sadly not mine!
I just used the pic as an illustration of the sort of creative lighting that would be impossible with fluorescents. Its the kind of design I'm aspiring to when I finally get this new tank up and running.
All best Tony


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## tony111 (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks for all the suggestions. I recently fell in love with some tropheus kiriza and brought 18 of them home. I've got them in a holding tank till I get the new tank up and running. Definitely got to get on with it know!


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