dk77 Posted March 23, 2008 Report Share Posted March 23, 2008 So Im planning a new Big Tanganyika tank (220 Gallon) and have my heart set on these fish so far: 3 Black Calvus, 3 White Calvus, 3 Yellow Calvus, 3 Goldhead Calvus, 3 Altolamp Dwarf Sumbu's, 2 tanganyika eels (either elipsifer or plagiostoma), around 5 sydontis multipunctatus, a Blue/Green phatom pleco, and a King/Zebra/Butterfly (1 of the 3) pleco. My question to the guru's around here is: Would it be O.K for me to add a couple Neolamprologus Tetracephalus or Neolamprologus sexfasciatus to the mix? I read these guys are agressive buggers so was wondering if they would hound the Altolamps? Any input to the setup would be much appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairdeal Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 I have wild caught neolamprologus sexfaciatus gold in with some wild caught frontosas and black calvus and so far they all get along, but having said that I read that if the golds ever breed that everything in the tank is in extreme jeopardy. They are very aggressive protecting their broods and will kill anything that even looks threatening. I have to keep my eye on them all the time to make sure that has not happened. If you get all males or all females no problem otherwise be prepared to move them quickly if you get both. Never had the false frontosas so can't tell you about them, but according to cichlid-forum profiles they are highly aggressive both to other fish and to each other. Both of these fish you want get to 6" and a fish that size can inflict serious damage to other fish if they so desire. My suggestion would be to stick to more docile types since you want the calvus and compressiceps which are pretty laid back. The eels could raise a little mayhem being fish eaters, so these others would have to be a fair size. Frontosas would work really well in a tank that size. So would jumbo leptosomas and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk77 Posted March 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 (edited) Hrmm, never even considered putting Frontosas in there, but now that you mention it they seem like a good fit. Also the more I read, the less I think getting the tetracephalus or sexfaciatus would work. Thanks for the input Fairdeal. Edited March 24, 2008 by dk77 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishyfish fishy Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 I have had both trets and sexs in with my tangs but only one of each. I was told the easiest way was to only keep one of them. If there are more than one they can get more aggresive. Wasn't the most reliable info though. They both did fine in my tank and didn't seem to be overly aggresive towards any other fish. They didn't really like each other though. I had a large problem with my tank and unfortunatly have not found any to replace them. On that note "FAIRDEAL" you have any gold sexy's avalible? I would love to track down at least one, they are one of my favorites. "DK77" x2 on the fronts would do awsome in there, maybe some dafadils or caudopunctatus may be another choice for some more passive neo's? just a thought good luck and post some pics when its up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk77 Posted March 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 Im loving the suggestions guys, think I will take out the Dwarf Sumbu's and replace them with some Daffodils. Have a feeling the Dwarf Sumbu's would most likely become eel food Really like the looks of those Daffodils too. How are they on the aggressivness scale? are they as aggressive as the Brichardi's? Still going to be a while till I can get things up and running, but as soon as I do I'll post some pics for sure. Keep the input commin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishyfish fishy Posted March 24, 2008 Report Share Posted March 24, 2008 in my limited experence with dafadils they are very pasive except for the area they clame as thers. once they pair up and find a cave look out if you come around, but other than that area they seemed really chilled out. When they start breeding though the older generations will help keep and protect the young ones so if there becomes an overwhelming number in the tank it could be a problem. I recently added a group of seven dafi's to my tang tank and they just seem to chill out on their own and don't really get involved with the other fish (calvus, comps,fronts, ect...) Hopefully someone else can add to this though cause as I say limited experence and as every good fish person I have ever known says "what works for me may or may not work for you" good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairdeal Posted March 25, 2008 Report Share Posted March 25, 2008 Any of the related daffodils, pulchers, etc.do not take any guff when protecting their fry. Mine will attack a full grown frontosa male if he gets too close.They go for the eyes and gills and it doesn't take much of that and the other fish learn pretty quickly to stay away. The only fish that don't learn are the big plecos - nothing seems to deter them. Their skins are so thick that no amount of pecking seems to work. If you don't want to breed them you could get some that have lost their mates - probably will never pair up again as they mostly mate for life. I have 4 or 5 in that situation and even with others to choose from they just don't seem interested at all. They do make good babysitters though for my mated pairs and pitch right in to help out whenever there is a new brood to watch. If you decide to get some and breed them you can expect to give up a square foot on the bottom of the tank for their territory and more if you leave the fry in the tank and get 2 or 3 generations going. These fish are much more manageable in a species only tank of @25 to 30G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishytime Posted March 27, 2008 Report Share Posted March 27, 2008 I wouldnt mix the altolamps. Interbreeding between them will be an issue. And as far as the Daffodils go, they are closely related to brichardi, and if allowed to start breeding they will form a colony and can quickly take over a tank.Neet thing about them though is they are one of the few fish that will defend territories in a group/pack mentality. My suggestion would be to pick ONE of the altos and consider one of the juliedochromis spieces to help fill things in a bit. And if you dont go with fronts, a 200g+ tank would be awesome with a big school of cyprichromis or paracyprichromis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Just a question.... isn't the water conditions required for Tanganyikan tank (very hard and alkaline) terrible for the Pleco's your planning on, who like softer water and require driftwood to chew on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishyfish fishy Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 I heard this too but was told when I bought my pleco's that if you add little bits of your water to the water they come in and let them ajust slowly they wont die from the shock and they will do fine after. Take this for what it is and remember what works for one might not always work for the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Most people and stores keep their fish in city water... doesn't matter if it's Tang or SA. I've had BN Plecs in with both angels (SA) and Tangs - no problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk77 Posted April 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 At first I was looking into plecos that would like the hard/alkaline water, but after some reading I found that lots of people have kept soft/acidic water pleco's in their tang tank. I will probably do abit of acclimation in another tank, to get them used to a higher PH and water hardness before I toss them in the tank. Will let you know how it goes down. Might be an expensive lesson, but if it works, blue phantoms in my tang tank = awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Posted April 25, 2008 Report Share Posted April 25, 2008 I suppose if you are not doing anything to buffer up your Tang tank water and just using tap water, the pleco's might be o.k. But if it's buffered up to 8.4 pH I would guess that they may have a problem or just a shorter life. On the other hand, I think many people (that I've talked to anyway) try to lower pH in SA/CA tanks by using driftwood, which of coarse it great for plecos. Hopefully it works out for you. I had no luck with a $50 King Tiger pleco in my tank. He was very stressed out and died. Not saying that was only cause of the water though, but it may have contributed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk77 Posted April 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2008 Sorry to hear about your king tiger boom. Did you buffer your water or use it straight from the tap? I don't plan on adding anything to the water, but will probably use 50% seachem onyx sand as the substrate to keep the PH up a bit. My goal is to have the PH around 8, hopefully the pleco's can handle that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted April 27, 2008 Report Share Posted April 27, 2008 The Neolamprologus Tetracephalus are pretty aggressive, and things like the calvus are less aggressive. Though in a tank that size you might be able to get away with it since we have 3 white calvus and our Neos in a 45 right now together with some frontosas and Neolamprologus brichardi. They all seem to do fine together for now. We will be upgrading them all to a 75 gallon this year though. I find that the brichardi's can also be pretty aggressive. I really don't see a huge problem mixing these fish. I would only worry about getting so many different types of calvus, they can cross breed with each other. Try just getting a larger group of whites, and a larger group of blacks, to help separate the similarities a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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