[J.B.]

COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME

Well, I've finally acquired my dream tank and fish; all in one swipe! This weekend, I drove to North Carolina and I bought a 125g along with some C. frontosa, A. calvus, S. petricola and an Ancistrus sp of some sort. Thank you to kdwilson972 for making this possible.

This will be my first foray into species from Lake Tanganyika. On to the specifics...

Tank & Equipment

Tank: 125-gallon Oceanic measuring 72" x 18½" x 22½"
Lighting: Two single-tube, T8 light strips w/ ZooMed 36" Reef Sun 50/50 bulbs
Filtration: AquaClear 500/110 HOB (rated at 167 - 500 gph); Magnum 350 Pro System w/Marineland Double bio-wheel; Lifegard FB300 fluidized bed filter powered by a Penguin powerhead
Heat: Marineland 250w Stealth heater
Substrate: Mixture of White Diamond pool filter sand, Tahitian Moon Sand, Flourite and natural colored gravel

Livestock

• 2 - F1 Cyphotilapia sp. "North" (Burundi)
• 2 - F1 Cyphotilapia frontosa (Kigoma)
• 4 - F1 Altolamprologus calvus (Ink Fin)
• 3 - Synodontis Petricola
• 1 - Ancistrus sp? (not albino, but pale white'ish in color)

I'll likely be moving within a couple of months, so for now, the aquascape (or lack thereof) will only consist of some sporadically placed lace rock to give the fish some structure to move in and around. This tank, will serve as my inspiration for aquascaping this one. I'm not sure I'll go with a DIY styro-foam background like this one, but I'm looking to make this one as close to a Lake Tanganyika biotope as possible.



Shortly after I got it home, I set it up in the garage and begin painting the background black. It took 6 cans of flat-black spray paint to effectively cover it The three cans I initially purchased provided little more than a hazy look to the back wall. With the back painted and dry, I moved it into the house and perched it on a "poor man's fish tank stand" a.k.a. cinder blocks.



From there, I added the substrate mixture, placed some of the rock structure and set up the lights.



From there, I began filling it up. This is the largest tank I've ever had, so I was a little curious how long it would take to fill up. It only took about 15 minutes, not bad!

Gettin' started filling it up...


Couple inches worth...


Almost there...


Done...Prime, Cichlid Essential and Cichlid Chemistry added...


Full, full tank shot...


After cranking up the filtration, the fish were transferred from their temporary home into the tank. Here's some pics. I'll try to get some better ones later.

[Crazygar]

Impressive JB! I can't wait to watch this tank develop! That Rockscape would suit you for some reason as well! Good job! And what a great deal!

Gary

[kb46]

Do glad it is finally sitting in your home after all the Triple-J wierdness...
Shall enjoy the evolution of this tank,
Kylie

[adechito4000]

That is one majestic piece of work! Congrats on the new acquisition! Hope everything goes well! Please do post more pictures too!

[Hurriken]

I hate you. That looks so awesome. I imagine once things settle the Calvus will darken up and look stunning. How big are the Calvus and can you sex them? I think I would remove one set of the Fronts. I might even remove them all and add more Inkfins and a large school of Cypichromis Leptosoma! There is so much you could do with that tank. I don't care for the cement DIY backgrounds even though they look great. I feel they take up too much space that I could use for more Cichlids!It is also very difficult to match your rock work. I'd also build a stand...a taller stand.

[Crazygar]

Oh, Cyps! Now that's a plan, this will fill your Middle/Top layers nicely in such a large tank! The possibilities J.B. ! Wow,

Yeah, a nice custom stand would be the cat's rear-end and the final touch on such a wonderful piece of living art.

Gary

[kdwilson972]

i'd put more 7-stripes in there (that was my plan for the tank before i had to move and sell it to J.B.) one problem with the cyps is that they eat so differently than the calvus and fronts, and it's hard to get everybody fed and happy. i originally had some in the tank but they are very, very fragile. the calvus are so interesting i would definitely make them a focal point for the tank. i was hoping to get a breeding colony of something started so the calvus could do their natural thing and go after fry. the places i mentioned to you were reserve stock cichlids and dykemyster's fish (if he has calvus or comps in). there are a number of good breeders listed, and reviewed, on cichlid forum. if you order something do it all at once, like i told you, the shipping killed me.

[J.B.]

Thanks for the compliments guys, I'm really excited at the possibilities of this setup. I was looking at one of the major distributors list of fish tonight and found that they have several genus/species to chose from. So, that means the two LFS I have here can "special" order for me, depending on availability. Here's what I found so far, any recommendations from the crowd?

• Fish List

• Catfish List

Ken - was it you who recommended against keeping comps w/ calvus? I need to go find some info on this mixture, as I'd really like to have some of the "gold head" comps.

Kevin - when we were talking the other night, you said some of the fronts were the one that started with a "K", but couldn't remember which one. From the quick looks I've taken, I think they are "Kigoma" as I indicated at the top of this. Does that sound correct to you? The big male doesn't mess with the calvus at all, but has an affinity for chasing one of the other larger fronts, possibly a sub male, I guess. The little petricola cats are really something to watch...always cruising around and chasing one another.

[Hurriken]

Comps and Calvus will cross. You don't want that. I'm a bit worried about your two types of Fronts. Those are really nice ones and it would be a shame if the crossed. If you put Cyps in with Fronts they would become a very expensive snack. The Calvus will eat the Cyp fry but that is about it. What are the floor dimensions?

[J.B.]

It's 72" x 18"

[Sigh Monk Owl]

I'm happy for you in a way that strongly resembles violent envy. I was planning to do Fronts in my 100 gallon with Calvus and Leleupi but it turned out the gosh darn thing was a foot too short. At least I can live vicariously through your tank. Congratulations on the score!

[kdwilson972]

Yeah, they are two separate kinds. i was actually hoping to sell the F-1 Burundi, as they are the most common, and do a colony of seven stripe (Kigoma). you'd be surprised at what the bigger ones with get at the LFS. another place to check is a gentleman from FL who only does fronts, i think the site is Mosta Frontosa. it has an amazing guarantee.
as for the calvus; if you do add others, i would do a small group, or larger ones. when i tried to add one singly that largest calvus killed it within two days. definitely DO NOT try cyps or shell dwellers with any of those fronts; they become very expensive ($180 for me) feeder fish.
again, good luck with the tank, i'm glad someone can enjoy it.

[Crazygar]

Kevin, I think we are all enjoying it!

Gary

[J.B.]

As mentioned previously, I've not done anything with the scape of the tank, since I'll be moving next month. However, I've taken some decent shots of the fish I'd like to share.

[shriyans]

thats simply amazing. is that a DIY background in the first pic?