Meet Cichlid Chateau

[FishHobby99]

I picked up the sump system tank yesterday. Took 3 hours to dismantle. Mostly I observed while the husband and previous owner did all the work. These fish are housed in a 90 G tank with a 20 G sump below, all in a nice cabinet with a canopy top. I am not liking it’s height of over 6 feet. I (5’2”) have to stand on a utility ladder to feed the fish.

I am unable to ID everyone, 20-25 fish, & should have taken notes. There’s a huge fat spotted catfish, ~6 ”, by far biggest fish. 3 or 4 smaller cats. Rest are African & South American cichlids. Blood parrots, yellow labs & I can’t remember what. Seller is 45 and has been into fish since age 20. His wife feels this unit was taking up too much space in the living room & he plans on another saltwater tank. He’s owned & bred many species over the years & sells to the LFS I frequent. It’s the largest in the county and probably for many surrounding counties. So I’d have to say this man knows a thing or two or a ten thousand about fish.

He did bring up housing African & South America cichlids together & has been doing so for years. Many of the ones I have have lived in harmony, he tells me, for over 5 years. He had much to say about fish forums and all the varying opinions that don’t bear mentioning here, if you get my drift.

The most surprising thing he said when asked about the water temp was he does not heat the tank & keeps his house at 70F. This kinda blew me away. LFS keeps their tropicals at ~

78 & so do I. He told me to do whatever I want & gave me a large heater. We do not keep our house at 70F, although it is above that now due to ambient conditions. It runs 63-67 in the winter, so plan is to use the heater then.

Unfortunately the husband & his buddy broke a pipe below the main tank that goes to the sump. We called the seller & he said to use any filter we had available & advised him on replacing it. The husband thinks he can buy the part today at Lowe’s & if he can’t fix it, the seller said to call the local saltwater fish store.

I have attached some godawful pics taken with my iPad. Plan is to use my SLR Canon later. These fish are gorgeous! Such a joy to observe the breakfast feeding frenzy: flakes, brine shrimp & blood worms.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Congrats on the new setup and fish.

 

[Wills]

Interesting set up

I cant see any american cichlids in the pics. Looks like a mix of Peacocks and Mbuna and a few Parrot Cichlids in there and I think a Frontosa from Tanganyka. The big catfish is a Synodontis Eupterus and the smaller ones are Pictus.

The challenge with African cichlids is they live in hard water with a high ph which wont work for other fish. They also need a lot of rockwork so the tank looks quite bare right now. Mbuna actually means rock dweller in Malawi.

Wills

 

[noobfish]

Congrats! Lots of time now to add scape and toy with setups and ideas, but you got it moved and running! Watching this for updates!

 

[Colin_T]

If you can post pictures of the broken pipe we might be able to offer ideas on it.

1st picture
top fish on left is a blue zebra (Mbuna cichlid)
big catfish is Synodontis eupterus (as mentioned by Wills
blue fish in middle is Haplochromis moorii
big black striped fish is a 7 bar frontosa. they come in 6 and 7 bar, referring to the number of black stripes they have. 6 bar is more common in Australia, no idea about the US
yellow/ orange fish bottom middle looks like one of those
pictus catfish is bottom right


2nd picture
fish on top left not sure
top mid is Haplochromis moorii
mid left, silver fish looks like a female Aulonocara peacock or something similar
blue fish bottom left is Haplochromis moorii
bottom right grey fish looks like another female Aulonocara (peacock)
bottom right orange fish another flowerhorn

last pic
yellow fish electric yellow cichlid
male 7 bar frontosa

 

[FF_Member146894]

He had some very realistic fake plants too.

just add in some hardy live plants

i guess when the guy sold you the frontosa he was expecting you to know that you'll need to make a huge upgrade eventually
but i suppose you have a lot of time until then

 

[FF_Member146894]

No, he did not mention an upgrade of any kind is upcoming.

if the 6" synodontis looks huge, imagine a 12"+ frontosa in your tank
i see frontosa that are well over a foot long at my LFS all the time, mostly from people who give them away probably
it takes years for them to get that big though

 

[noobfish]

I’m feeling like a real dummy for not adding the landscaping I brought home in a large purple bin after I added the sand & before the fish. In his initial pics, I found the 2 large pirate ships and big black skull etc rather on the kitschy side. Plan was to replace with live plants. However, obvious the secret caves are functional & housed fish once I saw the setup & talked to the seller. He was very careful to gently dislodge residents before moving the big ships & other decor.

The husband is rewinding my stupid mistake this very minute. I will hop off the stationary bike & assist when needed. Deeply regret placing fish in a desert after taking them from a tropical paradise.
My hope is that with lots of blood worms & brine shrimp they will soon forgive me.

There‘s a song that says fish have no memory, so the little plastic castle is a surprise every time.

If he's making a run to Lowes or HD, he could pick up some extra PVC pipe. Cut into sections and throw in for temporary hides. That would give you time to sort out what direction you want to go, whether stone or wood along with plants.

Though this isn't the cheapest temporary fix. PVC prices are very high right now (because Covid, why else?).

 

[FF_Member146894]

wood isn't the best for rock-dwellers IMO
i think you should get some real (preferably dark tone) limestone rock and stack them on top and in between the PVC
the limestone will harden your water and PVC will let your cichlids move between the rocks easier
just make sure to get black PVC for better aesthetic

 

[Wills]

I know the guy you bought from had this all together for a while but there are some things in here if it were me I'd change not sure if you are into that.

In terms of the level of decor to aim for I found these as good examples. It can be done with real rocks or go for good quality 3D backgrounds like Aquadecor.

Wills

 

[FF_Member146894]

Not sure I am doing the correct search, but I’m seeing the 3D models are installed inside the tank. Some must be attached by silicone and some slide in. I put in my measurements and got a quote of 352€!
For the cheaper slide in style that is not permanently attached to the interior tank rear wall. I’m not running a Smithsonian Display here.
Will look for something simpler. Thanks for the rock idea. Love it. Hoping I can find an inexpensive film if that’s how much 3D costs.
.

try a universal rocks background
it's twice cheaper and they have a lot of african cichlid style backgrounds
IMO the ship is just something for the fish to cut themselves on - natural decor is much better for aesthetic and fish health

 

[Wills]

they are expensive but look good. When people use the rocks they are just regular rocks you can get big ones cheap at garden centres or you can get lava stone which is usually cheap and big just trying get rocks at least half way up the tank

 

[FishHobby99]

try a universal rocks background
it's twice cheaper and they have a lot of african cichlid style backgrounds
IMO the ship is just something for the fish to cut themselves on - natural decor is much better for aesthetic and fish health

Thanks, I will try that place.
All edges on this particular ship are very smooth. Matt’s first cut concerned me because the edges were not as thick & smooth as the cutouts on the ship. So he used a dermal tool to grind them down. I tried it with a file first, but slow going.

I do greatly prefer the rock look. But some of these guys have lived in the ship for 5 years, others not that long. They immediately went to their various “caves” and I am hesitant to alter their habitat. I honestly don’t know if they‘d know the difference, so long as they had private hiding spots.

 

[noobfish]

Thanks, I will try that place.
All edges on this particular ship are very smooth. Matt’s first cut concerned me because the edges were not as thick & smooth as the cutouts on the ship. So he used a dermal tool to grind them down. I tried it with a file first, but slow going.

I do greatly prefer the rock look. But some of these guys have lived in the ship for 5 years, others not that long. They immediately went to their various “caves” and I am hesitant to alter their habitat. I honestly don’t know if they‘d know the difference, so long as they had private hiding spots.

It could also be good stimulation to change it, never know. As long as it's not outrageous, I would do it the way you want and let them adjust.

 

[itiwhetu]

Thanks, I’ll have to think about it!

You have had a big day take a deep breath, enjoy your new tank for a few days and get used to all your new guys. I'm pleased that the move went well. Remember this is meant to be fun.