Andrew
Members
I see build threads all the time on saltwater forums but not many on freshwater tanks, especially smaller aquaria like this 65-gallon tank. Perhaps this is because the equipment we use is not particularly advanced, not having changed appreciably in the last 30 years or more. Perhaps freshwater fish keepers just don't put that much thought into individual tanks, although planted aquarium folks would certainly be an exception to this idea. Whatever the reason, I'm going to go through the process of setting up a tank, including and especially the reasoning behind making the decisions about the setup that I do, that's been sitting dry in my basement for a while. Yes, it will be the only tank in my house... For a while anyway. I hope you find it interesting. By the way, I'm doing this the risky way. Many people will finish the whole process and then start putting the build thread together. I haven't gotten very far and some of the more ambitious challenges I've set for myself may not work very well. You'll know if they don't, because then at least you'll know not to try something that some other knucklehead (me) already screwed it up.
After owning an aquarium shop with a gazillion tanks and access to virtually any fish that I could possibly want to keep it became a process first of selecting exactly what kind of fish I wanted to put in the tank. Most of my "dream aquaria" are of a size that simply isn't possible for me right now and while I could keep some of the fish that particularly interest me, I couldn't keep them the way I would want to in this size tank. For instance, my favorite freshwater fish is probably the Tanganyikan killifish, Lamprichthys tanganicus, but I would want a tank of at least 300 gallons so that I could comfortably put upwards of 100 of them together. 300 gallons ain't happening in a rental house.
For those that visited the store while it was open, you may remember the large sumps (~300 gallons or so) under each of the racks. I put about a hundred Pseudotropheus saulosi fry into the sump under the African cichlid system. A customer had brought them in after breaking down his tank to move overseas. About 30 made it to adult size, escaping the predatory attentions of a few haps and peacocks that were also growing out in the sump. From there, they started reproducing and every few months I could pull 20-30 out to sell. What surprised me is how much I enjoyed these fish.
So I'm doing Saulosi. Not many decisions to be made from here right? Just slap a filter, heater and light on the tank, drop some gravel and pile of rocks and I'm ready to go! No, not for me, not this time. Again, after being in the aquarium business for ten years or more, it has to be a really special project. Think of the European experience in the hobby. For whatever reason, most Europeans dedicate most of their available resources into one or two special aquaria, rather than filling their basements with as many tank will fit like many Americans do. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way, but I find it leads to a lack of particularly spectacular display tanks, again with the exception of the planted tank people. If I sound a bit snobbish here, I don't really mean to. I'm happy for and encourage everyone to enjoy their fish in the way that they want to with only modest limitations on the well-being of the fish and their keepers. For me that enjoyment means taking the time to make a spectacular, well thought-out display tank (I hope).
Back to the fish. Saulosi are dwarf mbuna (rock-dwellers) from Lake Malawi. Males are metallic blue with black bars, similar to the possibly more popular Ps. demasoni. Females are gold-yellow, a few shades more orange than the definitely more popular Yellow Lab. As an aside, I see people talking about Demasoni/Yellow Lab tanks all the time. For a smaller aquarium like the one I'm doing, consider the Saulosi instead. You'll get the same colors all within one species and can do it in a tanks as small as 30 gallons or so. Where was I? Saulosi. As a dwarf mbuna, they grow to about four inches, but are usually not seen in aquaria larger than three. A nice group of 3-4 males and double that number of females will get along just fine in the 65-gallon tank. Other fish? No. Maybe down the road a nice Protomelus steveni "Taiwan"... but more on that later.
After owning an aquarium shop with a gazillion tanks and access to virtually any fish that I could possibly want to keep it became a process first of selecting exactly what kind of fish I wanted to put in the tank. Most of my "dream aquaria" are of a size that simply isn't possible for me right now and while I could keep some of the fish that particularly interest me, I couldn't keep them the way I would want to in this size tank. For instance, my favorite freshwater fish is probably the Tanganyikan killifish, Lamprichthys tanganicus, but I would want a tank of at least 300 gallons so that I could comfortably put upwards of 100 of them together. 300 gallons ain't happening in a rental house.
For those that visited the store while it was open, you may remember the large sumps (~300 gallons or so) under each of the racks. I put about a hundred Pseudotropheus saulosi fry into the sump under the African cichlid system. A customer had brought them in after breaking down his tank to move overseas. About 30 made it to adult size, escaping the predatory attentions of a few haps and peacocks that were also growing out in the sump. From there, they started reproducing and every few months I could pull 20-30 out to sell. What surprised me is how much I enjoyed these fish.
So I'm doing Saulosi. Not many decisions to be made from here right? Just slap a filter, heater and light on the tank, drop some gravel and pile of rocks and I'm ready to go! No, not for me, not this time. Again, after being in the aquarium business for ten years or more, it has to be a really special project. Think of the European experience in the hobby. For whatever reason, most Europeans dedicate most of their available resources into one or two special aquaria, rather than filling their basements with as many tank will fit like many Americans do. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way, but I find it leads to a lack of particularly spectacular display tanks, again with the exception of the planted tank people. If I sound a bit snobbish here, I don't really mean to. I'm happy for and encourage everyone to enjoy their fish in the way that they want to with only modest limitations on the well-being of the fish and their keepers. For me that enjoyment means taking the time to make a spectacular, well thought-out display tank (I hope).
Back to the fish. Saulosi are dwarf mbuna (rock-dwellers) from Lake Malawi. Males are metallic blue with black bars, similar to the possibly more popular Ps. demasoni. Females are gold-yellow, a few shades more orange than the definitely more popular Yellow Lab. As an aside, I see people talking about Demasoni/Yellow Lab tanks all the time. For a smaller aquarium like the one I'm doing, consider the Saulosi instead. You'll get the same colors all within one species and can do it in a tanks as small as 30 gallons or so. Where was I? Saulosi. As a dwarf mbuna, they grow to about four inches, but are usually not seen in aquaria larger than three. A nice group of 3-4 males and double that number of females will get along just fine in the 65-gallon tank. Other fish? No. Maybe down the road a nice Protomelus steveni "Taiwan"... but more on that later.