Fresh_Start
Fish Fanatic
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Hello,
I will give a description below of the five years that my 40 gallon Tanganyikan aquarium was in existence. I had a mix of success and failure with the tank. If I ever attempt to do another rift lake biotope again, I'll hopefully learn from my experiences and do a better job of it.
Part I - The Tank
The tank was bought for me as a Christman present in December of 1998. It was (and still is) 48'' long, 12'' deep, and 16'' inches high. At first glance the tank looks very big due to the length, but it lacks much depth or height to play with.
My plan for the tank was to create a long 'shore' of rocks along the entire back wall of the tank. This would give the fish plenty of hiding places and was what I thought they would like based on my research.
So during the winter I searched for rocks around the area where I lived. Mostly I found granite and sandstone, along with a few rocks I couldn't identify. Once the rocks were home, I boiled them in a big bucket to get them as sterile as possible.
Before placing the rocks in the tank, I added black gravel to the bottom of the tank. I added quite a bit of gravel, around 40 pounds worth if I remember correctly. Then I slowly added the rocks, piling them on top of each other to create several caves along the ridge. The rocks went up to about 4 or 5 inches from the top of the tank. I used aquarium sealent to help keep the rocks stuck together.
For filteration I used a combination of power filters and power heads. The power filter I selected was the Hagen Aqua Clear 300. Rated at 300 gallons per hour, this filter seemed like it had more than enough water flow to keep the tank clean. The Aqua Clear was good at moving and cleaning water but was a bit on the noisy side. To keep noise down, I wedged a pencil between the filter and the aquarium wall and put a couple of books on top of the filter case.
I used two power heads connected to a wave maker for water flow, with each located on opposite sides of the tank. On the left I placed the Penn Plax 'Hammerhead'. Unfortunately this powerhead was poorly balanced and kept pulling it's suction cups off the aquarium wall. The Hammerhead should probably only be used in conjuction with a undergravel filter uplift tube.
On the right I placed the Aquarium Systems Mini-Jet 606. This is really a very weak water pump but works well for pushing water current around a tank. Both devices were placed behind rocks to hide their structures.
The aquarium was covered by two Perfecto hoods, each measuring 24" x 12". Inside of each hood was one 18" fluorescent bulb. I used color enchancing bulbs made by Aquarium Products called Beauty Lights so the fish colors would be highlighted.
I used a 150 watt Aquarium Systems Visi-therm heater to provide heating support to the aquarium's water. The temperature was set at 78F/25.5C, which was the ideal temperature for the fish of Lake Tanganyika according to my research.
The aquarium's water was modified to match as closely as possible the conditions located in Lake Tanganyika. This was done using products called Cichlid Lake Salt and Tanganyika Buffer, both made by Seachem. The salt contains essential minerals such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium while the buffer is used to keep the pH between 9.0 and 9.4
Part II, The Fish
A total of seven fish lived in the tank at one time or another. The seven fish were part of four different kinds of species. There was one julidochromis marlieri, one neolamprologus leleupi, two Neolamprologus brichardi, and three cyprichromis leptosoma.
All the fish were feed a combination of flake food and frozen brine shrimp. This seemed to be the right food as they readily ate it. At first I feed them once a day but slowly cut back on this until they were only feed a few times per week. The ate a lot of algae as well to complement their feeding.
Water was changed once a week, with about seven gallons being replaced each time. Salt and pH buffer were added occasionally. The media in the Aqua Clear 300 was changed every few months.
The first fish were added to the tank in February 1999. These were one j. marlieri and two n. brichardi. At this time they were still small fish, only about an inch or so long. After being let out of their plastic bags, the fish quickly made new homes within the rocks.
The j. marlieri took possesion of a cave located on the right side of the aquarium. The cave overlooked the area cleared of rocks at the front of the tank and the fish would often stick his head out to see what was happening. When it was feeding time, the j. marlieri would dash out of the rocks and come to the center of the tank to fed.
The pair of n. brichardi (one male and one female) moved toward the center of the tank. They both stayed in crevices located near the back of the aquarium and were rarely seen. The male was seen more often and the female was very shy and rarely left the confines of her shelter.
The next fish added was the n. leleupi in late 1999. Unfortunately the j. marlieri did not like this fish and often hurrased it, especially at feeding time. The n. leleupi took up residence on the left side of the tank, opposite of the j. marlieri. Using it's big mouth, the n. leleupi moved much gravel around and created a fortress to live in underneath a large piece of granite.
The last three fish were added in the year 2000. These were c. leptosoma, a schooling fish. They spent most of their time at the top of the tank swimming from one end of the tank to the other. The fish didn't really school, three being apparently too small for this kind of behavior.
At this point I stopped adding fish and they began to die off. The three c. leptosoma didn't last long. The last was probably dead within six months of purchase. They looked healthy enough, but something about the tank wasn't to their liking.
The n. leleupi also died around this same time frame. The harassment by the j. marlieri had finally been too much. Eventually the n. lelupi took to hiding inside of the Hammerhead power head to seek refuge.
In 2001 the female n. brichardi died. It was always a weak and tired looking fish, it is a surprise it lasted this long.
This left only the surviving n. brichardi and the aggressive j. marlieri. Both fish continued to grow, with the n. brichardi getting to about 4 inches long and the j. marlieri to around 5 inches long.
The male n. brichardi finally died in 2003 after four years in the tank. With only one fish left, I decided to wait until it died before breaking down the tank and starting over.
Finally in early 2004 the j. marlieri died at the age of five. This left the rocky reef devoid of life and free to be demolished.
Part III - Conclusion
The mixed results of my foray into the world of the cichlids of Tanganyika leaves me disappointed. Although I enjoyed observing the colorful and interesting fish I added to the tank, I believe a more satisfying experience could have been achieved had some things been done differently. The tank selection, aquascaping, and fish stocking all could have been handled better.
The tank's parameters of 48" x 12" x 16" were not ideal for setting up a rocky 'reef' for cichlids. A front-to-back depth of 12" just isn't deep enough to support a large base of rocks to form a comprehensive rock structure. Ideally one wants to have both a large rock base plus space out front for the fish to swim. A tank of at least 18" deep should have been used to achieve this. The 48" length could have been chopped down to 36" to reduce cost.
In addition, the height of 16" was adequate but a few more inches couldn't of hurt. A tank with a height of 18" to 20" would allow the rocks to be piled a little higher and make it appear to the naked eye more like the shoreline of a lake rather than a small ridge on the lake's floor.
The combination of black gravel and local rocks such as granite did not work at all. It absorbed too much light and made it a very shadowy tank. A light colored gravel or sand would of made a better substrate for the tank.
It was a budgetary decision to use local rocks rather than purchasing rocks sold especially for cichlids. I can't call this a mistake but if funds were available rocks like these moon rocks would have been better. They would have provided an overall more professional, realistic looking design and a better backdrop to the colorful bodies of the fish.
Had I known how aggressive the j. marlieri was going to be, I wouldn't have introduced that fish in the first batch, if at all. This julie is best left for bigger tanks I think. Something like the j. transcriptus would have been a better selection.
Also the c. leptosoma needed to be kept in a larger group to really be made comfortable. I'm not sure if beginners should keep these, they might be too fragile.
The world of Tanganyikan cichlids can be rewarding for those who have the time and financial resources to really do it right. The rift lakes are an interesting geological oddity and have created many unique fish for hobbyist to choose from. Just be prepared to put in some extra effort beforehand in planning and shaping your aquarium.
I will give a description below of the five years that my 40 gallon Tanganyikan aquarium was in existence. I had a mix of success and failure with the tank. If I ever attempt to do another rift lake biotope again, I'll hopefully learn from my experiences and do a better job of it.
Part I - The Tank
The tank was bought for me as a Christman present in December of 1998. It was (and still is) 48'' long, 12'' deep, and 16'' inches high. At first glance the tank looks very big due to the length, but it lacks much depth or height to play with.
My plan for the tank was to create a long 'shore' of rocks along the entire back wall of the tank. This would give the fish plenty of hiding places and was what I thought they would like based on my research.
So during the winter I searched for rocks around the area where I lived. Mostly I found granite and sandstone, along with a few rocks I couldn't identify. Once the rocks were home, I boiled them in a big bucket to get them as sterile as possible.
Before placing the rocks in the tank, I added black gravel to the bottom of the tank. I added quite a bit of gravel, around 40 pounds worth if I remember correctly. Then I slowly added the rocks, piling them on top of each other to create several caves along the ridge. The rocks went up to about 4 or 5 inches from the top of the tank. I used aquarium sealent to help keep the rocks stuck together.
For filteration I used a combination of power filters and power heads. The power filter I selected was the Hagen Aqua Clear 300. Rated at 300 gallons per hour, this filter seemed like it had more than enough water flow to keep the tank clean. The Aqua Clear was good at moving and cleaning water but was a bit on the noisy side. To keep noise down, I wedged a pencil between the filter and the aquarium wall and put a couple of books on top of the filter case.
I used two power heads connected to a wave maker for water flow, with each located on opposite sides of the tank. On the left I placed the Penn Plax 'Hammerhead'. Unfortunately this powerhead was poorly balanced and kept pulling it's suction cups off the aquarium wall. The Hammerhead should probably only be used in conjuction with a undergravel filter uplift tube.
On the right I placed the Aquarium Systems Mini-Jet 606. This is really a very weak water pump but works well for pushing water current around a tank. Both devices were placed behind rocks to hide their structures.
The aquarium was covered by two Perfecto hoods, each measuring 24" x 12". Inside of each hood was one 18" fluorescent bulb. I used color enchancing bulbs made by Aquarium Products called Beauty Lights so the fish colors would be highlighted.
I used a 150 watt Aquarium Systems Visi-therm heater to provide heating support to the aquarium's water. The temperature was set at 78F/25.5C, which was the ideal temperature for the fish of Lake Tanganyika according to my research.
The aquarium's water was modified to match as closely as possible the conditions located in Lake Tanganyika. This was done using products called Cichlid Lake Salt and Tanganyika Buffer, both made by Seachem. The salt contains essential minerals such as magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium while the buffer is used to keep the pH between 9.0 and 9.4
Part II, The Fish
A total of seven fish lived in the tank at one time or another. The seven fish were part of four different kinds of species. There was one julidochromis marlieri, one neolamprologus leleupi, two Neolamprologus brichardi, and three cyprichromis leptosoma.
All the fish were feed a combination of flake food and frozen brine shrimp. This seemed to be the right food as they readily ate it. At first I feed them once a day but slowly cut back on this until they were only feed a few times per week. The ate a lot of algae as well to complement their feeding.
Water was changed once a week, with about seven gallons being replaced each time. Salt and pH buffer were added occasionally. The media in the Aqua Clear 300 was changed every few months.
The first fish were added to the tank in February 1999. These were one j. marlieri and two n. brichardi. At this time they were still small fish, only about an inch or so long. After being let out of their plastic bags, the fish quickly made new homes within the rocks.
The j. marlieri took possesion of a cave located on the right side of the aquarium. The cave overlooked the area cleared of rocks at the front of the tank and the fish would often stick his head out to see what was happening. When it was feeding time, the j. marlieri would dash out of the rocks and come to the center of the tank to fed.
The pair of n. brichardi (one male and one female) moved toward the center of the tank. They both stayed in crevices located near the back of the aquarium and were rarely seen. The male was seen more often and the female was very shy and rarely left the confines of her shelter.
The next fish added was the n. leleupi in late 1999. Unfortunately the j. marlieri did not like this fish and often hurrased it, especially at feeding time. The n. leleupi took up residence on the left side of the tank, opposite of the j. marlieri. Using it's big mouth, the n. leleupi moved much gravel around and created a fortress to live in underneath a large piece of granite.
The last three fish were added in the year 2000. These were c. leptosoma, a schooling fish. They spent most of their time at the top of the tank swimming from one end of the tank to the other. The fish didn't really school, three being apparently too small for this kind of behavior.
At this point I stopped adding fish and they began to die off. The three c. leptosoma didn't last long. The last was probably dead within six months of purchase. They looked healthy enough, but something about the tank wasn't to their liking.
The n. leleupi also died around this same time frame. The harassment by the j. marlieri had finally been too much. Eventually the n. lelupi took to hiding inside of the Hammerhead power head to seek refuge.
In 2001 the female n. brichardi died. It was always a weak and tired looking fish, it is a surprise it lasted this long.
This left only the surviving n. brichardi and the aggressive j. marlieri. Both fish continued to grow, with the n. brichardi getting to about 4 inches long and the j. marlieri to around 5 inches long.
The male n. brichardi finally died in 2003 after four years in the tank. With only one fish left, I decided to wait until it died before breaking down the tank and starting over.
Finally in early 2004 the j. marlieri died at the age of five. This left the rocky reef devoid of life and free to be demolished.
Part III - Conclusion
The mixed results of my foray into the world of the cichlids of Tanganyika leaves me disappointed. Although I enjoyed observing the colorful and interesting fish I added to the tank, I believe a more satisfying experience could have been achieved had some things been done differently. The tank selection, aquascaping, and fish stocking all could have been handled better.
The tank's parameters of 48" x 12" x 16" were not ideal for setting up a rocky 'reef' for cichlids. A front-to-back depth of 12" just isn't deep enough to support a large base of rocks to form a comprehensive rock structure. Ideally one wants to have both a large rock base plus space out front for the fish to swim. A tank of at least 18" deep should have been used to achieve this. The 48" length could have been chopped down to 36" to reduce cost.
In addition, the height of 16" was adequate but a few more inches couldn't of hurt. A tank with a height of 18" to 20" would allow the rocks to be piled a little higher and make it appear to the naked eye more like the shoreline of a lake rather than a small ridge on the lake's floor.
The combination of black gravel and local rocks such as granite did not work at all. It absorbed too much light and made it a very shadowy tank. A light colored gravel or sand would of made a better substrate for the tank.
It was a budgetary decision to use local rocks rather than purchasing rocks sold especially for cichlids. I can't call this a mistake but if funds were available rocks like these moon rocks would have been better. They would have provided an overall more professional, realistic looking design and a better backdrop to the colorful bodies of the fish.
Had I known how aggressive the j. marlieri was going to be, I wouldn't have introduced that fish in the first batch, if at all. This julie is best left for bigger tanks I think. Something like the j. transcriptus would have been a better selection.
Also the c. leptosoma needed to be kept in a larger group to really be made comfortable. I'm not sure if beginners should keep these, they might be too fragile.
The world of Tanganyikan cichlids can be rewarding for those who have the time and financial resources to really do it right. The rift lakes are an interesting geological oddity and have created many unique fish for hobbyist to choose from. Just be prepared to put in some extra effort beforehand in planning and shaping your aquarium.
