Tanganyikan Cichlids?

[Floyds mum]

Ive just found a thread about someone's Tanganyikan Cichlids and im just wondering if they need anything specific to keep them like an external filter over an internal and why?
I know they will need a heater.

I just love the look of them and im wondering about them in general.

EDIT: just found out that they grow to quite a large size so there is a few i can have: "Lamprologus" ocellatus and "Lamprologus" multifasciatus. Both look great and i already have sand in my tank

 

[kiriyama]

Multifasciatus are the smallest ones and don't require an external filter..... Just some shells to hide in, fun to watch

 

[Floyds mum]

Oh yay, im looking them up online, how easy are they to care for and do they breed like rabbits?

 

[kiriyama]

I've only had mine a short while and they havn't bred, might all be males or it might be the Neolamprologus Caudopunctatus pushing his weight around, naughty naughty. Very easy to care for, just raise the pH as they prefer haredr water, adding some crushed coral sand, tufa rock or ocean rock will do this, if you want you can add special cichlid sand but this is not essential, mine seem happy on vrious flake food, although I do feed frozen brine shrimp , daphnia, have even fed frozen bloodworm twice which they devoured but I will probably get hung my other forum members for doing so, lol, I use Escargot shells, I have roughly 4 shells per fish. They were fairly skittish but as I'm in the same room as the tank they don't bother so much now, they even hover round the yop when I open the lid awaiting food. It's fun watching them dig as it changes the look of your tank each day,,,,,
http/www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/shell_intro.htm

Forgot to mention water change, about 20 - 25% once a week, usually leave the water in a container overnight to get it up to room temp, just been adding the usual dechlorinator, no buffers as the sand and rocks keep the pH up

 

[Floyds mum]

I've only had mine a short while and they havn't bred, might all be males or it might be the Neolamprologus Caudopunctatus pushing his weight around, naughty naughty. Very easy to care for, just raise the pH as they prefer haredr water, adding some crushed coral sand, tufa rock or ocean rock will do this, if you want you can add special cichlid sand but this is not essential, mine seem happy on vrious flake food, although I do feed frozen brine shrimp , daphnia, have even fed frozen bloodworm twice which they devoured but I will probably get hung my other forum members for doing so, lol, I use Escargot shells, I have roughly 4 shells per fish. They were fairly skittish but as I'm in the same room as the tank they don't bother so much now, they even hover round the yop when I open the lid awaiting food. It's fun watching them dig as it changes the look of your tank each day,,,,,
http/www.cichlidrecipe.com/shellweb/shell_intro.htm

Forgot to mention water change, about 20 - 25% once a week, usually leave the water in a container overnight to get it up to room temp, just been adding the usual dechlorinator, no buffers as the sand and rocks keep the pH up

Yay ty very helpful.
How many will fit roughly in a 54L tank? cos i read on several sites that a 40L tank would be ok

 

[kiriyama]

I have read on some sites that a tank of "10 gallons (20" x 10" x 12")", other forum members are usually quoting 10 gallon tanks , or anything between 18" and 24" in length by 12" by 12", the height is not important but more the floor space, if it is Multis you fancy they only really use a few inches square , I did see a cracking picture of a small tank with a simple internal filter, an internal heater , sand substrate and tons of Escargot shells , no decor or plants, so it is possible to keep a very simple set up, good starting point in a 10 gallon tank would be 6 that way hopefully you would get a mix of male and female, if you want them to breed that is, you could always rehome a couple once you have definate pairs or a small harem...

 

[Floyds mum]

I have read on some sites that a tank of "10 gallons (20" x 10" x 12")", other forum members are usually quoting 10 gallon tanks , or anything between 18" and 24" in length by 12" by 12", the height is not important but more the floor space, if it is Multis you fancy they only really use a few inches square , I did see a cracking picture of a small tank with a simple internal filter, an internal heater , sand substrate and tons of Escargot shells , no decor or plants, so it is possible to keep a very simple set up, good starting point in a 10 gallon tank would be 6 that way hopefully you would get a mix of male and female, if you want them to breed that is, you could always rehome a couple once you have definate pairs or a small harem...

So thats 6?
Would they be ok in a pair for a few weeks then untill i add more?

 

[ashemely]

Glad to see another shellie fan on the forums They will do just fine in a pair. When/if you do get more, I would suggest rearranging the tank so that the new fish will be able to establish some territory for themselves and everyone gets a fair fight, so to speak. I would also only put a few of the shells in the tank for each fish you have, and then when you get more you can add more shells for them too. This will make the tank easier to rearrange or at the very least add all of the fish at once with more shells in the tank.

Also, if you are getting multis from a shop, and you do wish to have a male and female pair, my suggestion would be to get the biggest multi in the tank and the smallest multi in the tank, with stripes. Immature multis will be a solid white, and when they become sexually mature they will get their stripes. It's very hard to tell males from females, other than size. My multi male is twice the size as one of my females. I cannot promise anything from this method, but it's what I used and I ended up with a male and three females (I wanted a harem as I feel my tank is too small for two males.)

Good luck!

 

[Floyds mum]

Ok thanx, When you say shells ive heard people use apple snail shells ( i think) would it work using some terracotta shapes? Ive got mini plant pots and like a vase shape fishy decor all made out of terracotta.

 

[kiriyama]

Hiya, I have seen Apple snail shells being used in another forum and also recommended by LFS, not sure if they would be big enough, most folks use Escargot shells which are readily avaliabe and come in packs, you could use small plant pots etc if you want and your fish would use them as small caves, with the shells however you would probably see them dig more and move the shells the way they like, all good though, be good to see some pice up when you get it all together, think shell dwellers are becoming more popular, good luck

 

[ashemely]

I, too, have heard of people using apple snails, and I don't see why they wouldn't work. I've never had apple snails, but I do understand that they get quite large, so as long as the shells are thoroughly cleaned they should perfect. I, and I think most others, am using escargot shells for my multis. They can be bought online, and I've bought twice from ebay.

Terracotta will also work just fine. Before my shells arrived I was using tiny seedling terracotta pots as substitute shells. The cichlids didn't seem to mind at all. I turned them upside down with the opening on the bottom and dug a little burrow in the sand so the fish could swim in and out. They can squeeze into the tiniest places, and if they need to they'll also remove sand if it gets in their way. I removed the pots once the shells arrived, because I didn't like the look of the pots, plus I could fit more 'homes' with the shells instead.

 

[Floyds mum]

Hiya, I have seen Apple snail shells being used in another forum and also recommended by LFS, not sure if they would be big enough, most folks use Escargot shells which are readily avaliabe and come in packs, you could use small plant pots etc if you want and your fish would use them as small caves, with the shells however you would probably see them dig more and move the shells the way they like, all good though, be good to see some pice up when you get it all together, think shell dwellers are becoming more popular, good luck

Ok thanx im just researching atm best to get as much info as possible

 

[kiriyama]

ashemely
Good news on moving to the States, hope it all goes well for you both when it happens, keep the pics coming , great looking tank......