Wackinator

:welcome: and really nice rays from the pics you posted!

:welcome: and looking forward to the pics!

hey guys, I got a filter with my 35 gallon tank a couple weeks ago and just curious about what filter it is, Its got no top so I dont know which type it is, I have tried to search online and compared it to my Aquaclear mini (which is apparently not Aquaclear 20) and my guess is that its an Aquaclear 30, if it is then I am pretty happy as I really like that company.

Anyways heres some details about the filter.

Mod A-6. RN

120 VAC 60Hz 7W Z.P.

(Fancy SA Logo) L R 4 3 8 7 5

Made in Italy

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks again guys!!!

Thanks JLake and yeah thats my backup

I feel really bad for going ahead with it because of the couple of people that have warned me against it but I really want them and I honestly think I can keep a small group of Electric Yellows in a 35 gallon if I only stick with one male.

Thanks

The advice that Boom gave you was spot on.

Take it, leave it, your choice - but the dynamics will change once those mbuna mature, and you will soon find out just how small a 35 gallon tank really is with regards to mature mbuna. Sure, all cichlids get along when they are little pip squeaks, but as they become sexually mature the tighter the fit, the more severe aggression levels will become, even with yellow labs. I've had male yellow labs get along great for almost 2 years, only to have the dominant male kill one of the sub dom males for attempting to breed with one of the females.

And that was in a 6ft 125 gallon tank.

Now factor in all of the rocks that you plan on adding, and you'll be lucky if you have 20 gallons of actual water in that tank. The volume of water, and size of your tank, rules out everything but a few yellow labs, perhaps 1 male, and 3 females, at the very most. Personally I wouldn't even do that, IMHO all mbuna require a min of 48x12" to have any type of decent life in a glass cage.

Forget about adding red zebras, pseudotropheus acei, rusties, or anything else.

Thanks RD and unfortunately I cannot get a bigger tank, trust me I would love to get a bigger tank so that I could keep cichlids properly but its just not something I can get right now. I do appreciate your opinion though so thanks.

And I dont remember if I brought this up earlier or not but yeah I have changed my mind to only go with Electric Yellows, I am planning to start out with a handful and end up 1 male and 3-4 females so sort of close to what you suggested. I would love to add a dozen more fish in there but I understand that it's just not practical. If it doesnt work out I guess I will just get rid of the tank or turn it into a shell dweller community tank.

Thanks!

Okay well yesterday I came across this short article and its old but still the fact that idiots like this still exist in the world shocks me.

http://www.petsintouch.com/nwposter/?p=5256

September 30, 2009

Woman ate ex hubby’s goldfish after a dispute over jewelry

Goldfish

Pasadena, Texas – A Houston woman fried her former common-law husband’s goldfish after arguing with him.

The seven goldfish were purchased by the couple when they were together and Pasadena police say it is a civil matter therefore no charges will be field.

Vance Mitchell spokesman for the police department said that the man reported, the woman took the goldfish from his apartment.

Apparently they had disputed over jewelry he had previously given her, but had taken back and she wanted the jewelry to be returned to her.

Therefore she took the goldfish from his apartment as collateral but when she realized he was not going to give it back she ate the goldfish, and that’s how police found her with four goldfish on her plate.

Thanks Neesmo!

As soon as I get enough rocks I will start setting up the tank, just one more question is the filtration good enough? I do not know the type or name of the filter as the top of the filter was missing when I got it, I will post pictures when I get the chance, but apart from the HOB filter, I will do either 2 DIY filters or one big DIY filter.

Thanks!

Thanks Vallisneria I will try to see if I can go to Home Depot sometime during the week, Its difficult because I have to get my dad to take me there, but Ill spend the time collecting rocks for the setup.

I was planning on making sure that I make it as sturdy as possible but its still something that Im worried about lol.

Thanks though! and two more stupid questions, do they come in huge sheets or various sizes? and how much do they cost generally?

Thanks again

I got a question for you guys, I am having trouble finding eggcrate/light diffusor, and I had hoped to start setting up the tank this weekend but I took a break from my homework and ran to canadian tire to see if they had any, and they didnt.

Would it be dangerous if I didnt use it? do you guys silicone the rocks together? Its not something I want to do but am scared of the rock pile coming tumbling down if a fish tried going in a cave too big for it or something?

Just so that the whole trip wasn't a waste of time I did get a PVC pipe. My plan for filtration is the Hang On the Back filter and 2 DIY sponge filters, and I am hoping thats good enough.

Thanks

thanks for the posting guys but I had a change of mind, I was about to order a trio of guppies 2 days before my 20 gallon started giving me problems and fishclubgirl for once in a long time I actually had a lot of things planned out, I had 3 tanks that could be used for adults and was arranging for a bunch of grow out "buckets" atleast 2 for each gender, the buckets were off kijiji and the person claimed that they were 50 gallon each. Unfortunately this hobby seems to be trying to tell me something >.> I am still interested in this project but probably wont do anything till the summer.

And JimmyG I had the exact same problem lol, one was prettier the other one was rarer, thats why I put it up here =D

Thanks everyone!

:welcome:

wicked tank and amazing fish!

congrats on the females holding and dont forget to post pictures when you see fry :thumbs:

Thanks Boom. I am still really inspired by your rock kribs, if I ever end up getting another tank, I think I will make it a rock krib tank, just out of curiosity what size of a tank would a small group (3-4) need?

Thanks again

Hey Neesmo, thanks for the info, I do like the look of the cichlids you have but I think Ill stick with electric yellows and if theres space and things go okay then rusties I love those two cichlids I really dont know why but they would have to be two of my favorite fish lol.

Thanks Vallisneria, right now the plan is to put in electric yellows and see how things go, if they seem to be going fine then and only then will I try adding other fish.

Thanks though

You will be fine. Its just Boom smoking crack jk.

If you want to give mbunas a try, buy a group of small yellow labs( 6 or so), start with that. Give them maybe pvc piping or if you want to make it nice, do some little rock work making caves. They also love sand for digging. If in the future,you wanted to start a african tank with more kinds mbuna, haps and maybe even peacocks, you can decide if you are able to upgrade to a tank suitable for a african group. 75 gallons is a great size for a group of african cichlids.

lol thanks red, I didnt mean to sound so pissed or anything, I have thought about it and I will put in electric yellows first, would liek some more color but they will interbreed with electric blues right?

Anyways just put them in there for a couple of weeks to a month and if all seems to be going well then start looking for rusties. I plan on doing some rock work just gotta go get some this weekend and Ill look for an eggcrate/light diffusor at canadian tire this weekend as well.

And trust me I would love to have a 75 gallon but when you are just about to graduate high school I cant afford not would it be smart to buy a big tank.

Thanks a lot!

Your heater should be fine. YOu can get eggcrate at Home Depot or Rona, or any home store. I think they call it light diffusor - if you ask for eggcrate they look at you weird. I build ponds, and I often have a few left-over rocks, so I just use those. Feildstone is $.10/lb at Canaar... or you can just pick them up out and about. If you have access to an acid (vinegar will do in a pinch, but muriatic would be better), put a few drops on the rocks you find. If the rock bubbles, it'll dissolve in your tank; if no bubbles, it'll be perfect for the aquarium.

Thanks Jvision I will look around for eggcrate and rocks this coming weekend, I didnt know that I could use vinegar to test this so thanks again, though I normally go rock hunting around creeks and stuff and last time I ended up being inside the creek to get this one rock that was pretty sweet. Also a thanks for saving me from the weird look I probably would have gotten. Also good to know that I dont need to go out and buy another heater

Oh, and Rusties used to be around Edmonton - there was a guy on AA who was breeding them, but I haven't seen Nevin around in a couple years. They were being bought up at the ACE auctions, so I'm guessing somebody should have some; though, I haven't seen them around very much either.

I will look around for sure, I dont mind waiting and if it doesnt work then Ill go with the acei which a lot of people recommended.

Thanks again!

I think you guys are all on crack. (JK)

A 35 gallon mbuna tank is just asking for trouble, especially when you want to start mixing species. They WILL all kill each other, just a matter of time. My red zebra killed everything but the two toughest cichlids in my 55 gallon. Once he realized he was big enough to do so. Any mbuna who decides he wants to be dominant will likely do the same. Yes, even the "peaceful" electric yellows. My dominant male electric yellow used to chase and pester other smaller mbuna as well. Remember, an electric yellow is only relatively peaceful, ie. compared to most other mbuna, not compared to most other fish.

Do yourself a favor from a guy who's "been there, done that" stick with small fish that can actually comfortably live in a small tank. I just got a group of Rock Kribs (Victorian cichlids) for my 55, and I think a smaller group would do fine in a 35 as well, they stay smaller, and really are less aggressive. The bonus is they are really pretty fish. I'm about to post pics in my folder, so keep an eye out.

Boom :boom:

really? I have been told by numerous people that it should be fine, your the first person to advise me against it, I saw your pictures and the Rock Kribs are truly amazing, but I think I will try the tank with electric Yellows, I will add around 4-5 and if things arent going well I'l only keep one or two of my favorite as I have wanted electric yellows for the longest time, thanks for your advice and I dont mean to sound rude but its something I really want to try.

Thanks though!

A couple of questions, do you guys buy rocks or just find them outside to make the rocky caves and everything? and does aynone know where I can buy eggcrate from? I want to put the rock setup on the eggcrate as I dont want the rock to damage the glass in any way.

Also is my heater okay for a 35 gallon?

Thanks

-roll- I remember when 33 gallons was my big tank. A while ago..

I would skip the rusties and get pseudotropheus acei. They are another peaceful mbuna that mix great with yellow labs. Yes, they should breed in your tank. Just make sure to give them lots of places to dig spawning pits and give them lots of caves for breeding.

lol unfortunately Its my biggest right now, though dont get me wrong I'm very grateful, a couple years ago I thought I was cursed to only have one 10 gallon tank my whole life, now I got a 20 and a 33 as well, so I'm getting there slowly lol.

I have looked into acei but I would still prefer rusties though I must admit I have never seen them anywhere so if I dont have a lot of luck finding them then I'm going with the acei.

Thanks though

agreed i have some yellow tail acei i got from a member and they are a nice bunch, they dont bully anyoone but themselves sometimes

Thanks JLake but I think I will try rusties first, if I cant find them or change my mind, my next choice will be acei

But thanks again!

Thanks Jvision again, and I wont add red zebras then, just a couple of electric yellows and rusties along with a bristlenose, just one question, will they be able to breed in their? are electric yellow or rusties easy to breed? are they both mouth brooders? I didn't really want to take the fish out when they get bigger, so how many can I keep in without having to get rid of them later?

Also another question in my thread was would 150W heater be okay for a tank this big?

Thanks

:welcome:

What fish are you trying to breed in the 10 gallon?

In a 35, I'd stick with just the Yellows and Rusties - both quite relaxed as far as mbuna go, and don't get too big. Go with at least 2x required the filtration and get 4-6 1" juvies of each. Lots of rockwork and a BN pleco for clean-up.

I have set up lots of small tanks with young Yellows and Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos, looks nice.

Thanks Jvision! and so no red zebras? Damn, any other fish that can add more color?

and I planned on a lot of rockwork, just having trouble finding rocks to work with. Does the size of the BN Pleco matter? I had thought about a pleco but wasnt sure if it would work or not. As much as I like the thought of having all those cichlids, would I have to remove cichlids later when they are a bit bigger if I got 4-6 of each?

Thanks again!

What kind of zebra cichlid are you speaking of? There are Red Zebra's, Lobochilotes labiatus, some people call convicts by this name too. Could you give us scientific names, Zebra is pretty vague. The electric yellows and the Rusty's should get along fine. pseudotropheus sp. "Acei"is another hardy fish you may like. If you look on the web for cookie cutter cichlid setups tanks there is some good ideas that can be found there. Here is one link for you. Shelly's are cool, there are some pretty cool fish available out there, but there is never a guarantee certain fish will jive together regardless of what they are supposed to do. Good luck, and enjoy the journey.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_29g.php

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/cookie_cutter_40g.php

Thanks a lot for the links Jayba! I meant red zebra cichlids, I do like the look of the acei but I think I will stick with the electric yellows, rusties, and red zebras if I can put them in there without causing problems. And yes Shelly's are amazing, i have multies in a 10 gallon with atleast 3 different litters of fries.

Thanks again

I picked a 35 gallon tank today, its the biggest tank Ive ever had so far, and its going to be an african cichlid tank.

I know that its not "a big enough cichlid tank" but its the biggest I can get for some time so it will have to do. I want to have more than one type of fish, and I really want Electric yellow cichlids, so I am wondering what else I can put in. I have thought of adding one or 2 Zebra Cichlids but I have read that they dont really get along together? Is this true?

Another Cichlid that I want to have are Rusty Cichlids.

I was planning on setting up the tank with a lot of rock caves, I want most of the footprint to be covered by rocks which I will turn into caves but adding more layers of rocks, I dont know if thats making any sense but I will be on the lookout for good rocks too, anyone know a good place to get them?

My last question is about heating, I have a 150Watts heater in my 10 gallon, would that heater be good enough for my 35 gallon? I do have a 100W heater that could go in the 10 gallon then.

But so far here is my idea for the stocking:

4-5 Electric Yellow

1-2 Zebra Cichlid (maybe Albino, is there a difference in their behavior?)

3-4 Rusty Cichlids

Is that asking for trouble? Should I change their numbers? Should I replace some fish with something else?

Any opinion is appreciated. Keep in mind the only cichlids I have kept other than multies were the poor Electric Yellow and Zebra Cichlid I kept in a 10 gallon for a couple of weeks, then had the brains to go online and give both the fish away to homes with appropriate tanks.

Just in case it makes a difference, the dimensions of the tank are 36 Inches long,12 Inches deep(wide), and 19 Inches High.

Thanks

yeah I always put smaller shells in as well, but I am always scared of an adult multie getting stuck in the shell lol

I do know of a couple people on Reef Central using them in non photosynthetic coral tanks. These tanks are heavily fed, to the point of being cesspools. The trouble is the water needs to be in pristine condition to keep the animals alive. So some are trying mussels, clams, scallops to help use up the excess nutrients in the water. Most seem to be buying the mussels and clams from people in the aquarium trade, but a few are trying grocery store ones. One of the drawbacks is finding out where the clams or mussels have come from, ones that come from the north Atlantic or Pacific are not going to survive in the temperatures that reef tanks are kept at. Every time I see live mussels at the grocery store I ask if they know where they came from, there has not been a satisfactory enough response yet for me to risk my tanks. I have some hitch hiker clams in my azoo tank, when I first noticed them they were only a few millimeters across, in two years they have grown to almost an inch.

That is a lot of words to say it can and cannot be done. Do some more research and see what you come up with. It should be possible.

thanks bosshog for your reply, it did make sense to me , and yeah I am not going to try with the mussels anymore,lol it was a spur of the moment thing, I definitely will not be able to take care of them like that, and will end up with another crash as mentioned earlier lol. I am fascinated by the live mussels I see at grocery stores but after the help I have gotten from here and the internet I think I'll just back away.

Thanks for your help though!