60 gallon Tanganyika, need help

[fishfreek]

These are the fish that are mainly what I have planned:
12 Cyprichromis Leptosoma
8-10 "Multies" (not worried about keeping possible fry)
4-5 Julidochromis Transcriptus
4-5 Comps. or Calvus (someone else recommended the Sumbu dwarf?)


But these are the fish I find really attractive, and I need to know if and which species I can keep in that tank. I don't mind getting less of one fish to possibly make room for another:

Eretmodus Cyanostictus


Could any of these fish work together in a tank? How many of each possibel? I will get them all as smaller fish. And what order should I put them in my tank for the greatest chance of success?

I will use pool filter sand from a local pool supply store that I will clean well, and I will have plenty of rocks and open space for shells. Will an Emperor 400 be enough for filtration?

I really appreciate any help you can give,

Josh

 

[Ewok]

Hi, I'm only a newbi, but I keep calvus & my only suggestion would be to reduce the calvus to say 2 or maybe 3, but the rest of the mix should be ok. May I ask the length & height of the tank? Just cos I know Cyps need a lot of room to swim around, especially if there's more than one boy. Hope that's ok to suggest, being like, brand new n'all.

 

[freddyk]

Is this the standard 4 foot 60 gallon?

It sounds like a very nice mix - but the numbers are all very high. These fish are territorial, so need space, and need pristine water, so overstocking is best avoided.

In the end you will only have room for a pair of Julidochromis, though you will probably want to start with a couple extra to achieve a compatable pair. You may be able to squeeze in two pairs, but you'd have to be lucky and aquascape very cleverly. Once a pair forms they are known to go on seek and destroy missions against fellow conspecifics.

I agree about the number of Calvus if you're getting them older, but they actually take security in groups when young so getting a few will bring them out more, and you'll notice they all hang out together and get along quite well. I've never encountered a fish that grows as slow as these - it will be a long time before juveniles are old enough to pair - but eventually you'll be narrowing these guys down too.

The multis are also on the high side, but judge this based on how much free room you have in the tank for them. You basically need a space for them away from the territory of the Calvus and Juli's - most especially the Julies, so you may not be able to fit this many. Again though, you can always start with more and narrow them down.

12 cyps are a lot, but they do and look best in a larger group - as long as you are confident in your abilities to keep the tank clean, go for it. Tank height is important to consider with these guys as well - short and shallow tanks are not ideal.

Eretmodus Cyanostictus is an Herbivorous mouthbrooder, and I don't recommend it with the rest of this mix even if you had any room left over.

 

[fishfreek]

The dimensions are 48" long, 20" tall, and 16" deep. I also have another question: In what order should I add these fish for the greatest chance of success.

 

[freddyk]

Order doesn't matter as much. If done properly everyone will find a space either way. I'd be inclined to start with the Multi's so they can confirm their territories first, simply due to the size differences, but even still they don't share the same territory as the others.

 

[Kevdogg852000]

with that number of fish, you might have them so too packed for territorial disputes. One guy I know has a 220 malawi tank with about 50 cichlids in it. Too crowded for constant fighting, and he pulled it off beautifully. Requires awesome filtration though.

 

[freddyk]

Here's a pic of the setup of my community tang tank when the fish were first added. The leleupi I had in mind wouldn't stop harassing the multis, so they were returned. The final result was a trio of Calvus, 8 Multi's, 4 Syno. Notatus catfish, and 12 Cyprochromis and a active and compatable tank. The multi's dug pits in the sand to clump the shells into 4 piles of shells - 4 territories, and I added more shells later on to increase the size of the piles.

The Calvus/Multi Mix worked perfectly and losing that pair of leleupi gave all the bottom dwellers plenty of space. Because of their territory disputes each species is generally limited to a portion of the tank - the less species, the more space they have to live and thrive in the tank. the wall of rock segragating the shells gave the calvus a good definition of it's territory. Those Juli's might be worth a try, but they are pretty feisty, and likely small enough to bother the multi's in their shells now that I think about it. Definately make sure you have the option of returning them, at least.

Hope this helped