75 Gallon Tang Community

[Tony]

I've decided to switch the 75 underneath my 150 over to a Tang community.

Filtration will be two AC70s. Black painted background, mixed crushed coral and black sand, with a few rock piles.

As far as species selection, I only have 2 definites so far:

-12 ea Cyp leptosoma Utinta (2")
-15 ea Paracyp nigripinnis (adults)

Other than that, I already have the following other fish to choose from to go into the tank:

-Gold head Comps (x7-8, 2-3.5")
-Red Fin Comp (x5, 2"-2.5")
-N cylindricus (x6-7 2.5")
-J. dickfeldi (x6, 1.5"-2")
-L. multifaciatus x 10 (adults)
-2x Syno schoutedeni (3")

So looking at the fish above, most are rock dwellers, right? (except for the shellies). I'm thinking the cylindricus may pair off and take over half of the tank. I'm trying to keep it somewhat peaceful, so I'll probably just keep them in the 40 with one of the Altolamp groups/pair.

In a 75, can a large group of single species Altolamps work if there were no other rock dwellers (besides the paracyps)? I'm thinking the whole group of gold heads would be pretty cool in there.

Alternatively, if I just wanted to do a pair of Altolamps, I could also do a pair of the dickfeldi, right?

So with the open water and rock habitats being filled up, I'd be looking for one more group of fish to occupy the open area between the rocks. I guess I could either do a sand sifter or the multis. Are the multis even an option or will they get picked off by the altolamps? Were juvenile Altolamps one of the fish that gets stuck in shells?

I remember Sarah talking about a nice sand sifter (ie: not ultra violent) that would do alright in a 75 (or smaller tank). Can't remember the name though.

Am I trying to cram too many fish into this tank?

Thoughts? If you had the groups I have to work with, how would you stock the tank? What would you supplement it with? Gobies?

Thanks in advance. :happy0180:

 

[Leffler817]

Can you add any Ophthalmotilapia Ventralis? or Aulonocranus Dewindti?

I too am still stocking my Tang community and looking for ideas. But I won't steal yours.

 

[Tony]

Can you add any Ophthalmotilapia Ventralis? or Aulonocranus Dewindti?

I too am still stocking my Tang community and looking for ideas. But I won't steal yours.

Beautiful fish, but aren't those guys kind of rough? Thought I've heard stories of featherfins mauling cyps and needing a 6' tank.

(EDIT: Looked back at an old post and I was thinking of Boops. Will featherfins get along with comps?)

 

[iamzrad]

I have no experience with any of the fish you want in your tank, but 27 fish in a 75gal? 6' might be needed.

 

[D-money]

I could be mistaken but i do not believe the AC 70 will fit on the rim of the 75. You will need to modify the rim because its too wide. I had to use an AC 100 on mine.

 

[Tony]

I have no experience with any of the fish you want in your tank, but 27 fish in a 75gal? 6' might be needed.

I'm definitely going with 12 of the Cyps. The leptosoma are the smallest cyps (I think) and only get to be about 3". I think folks keep groups bigger than that in 55 or even 45s. You just need a tall tank.

I was thinking that the 15 paracyps may be overkill, but that's the size group I'm getting (along with 3-4 juvies). Should I split this group in half and go with 8-9 of them?

Maybe just the three types of fish.... Cyps, Paracyps and Yellow-head comps, along with the 2 syno schoutedeni (they stay small).

Will the bottom of the tank be empty?

Thought about it and realized that gobies would not be a good idea with the different diet and all.... better suited to a troph tank.

 

[Tony]

I could be mistaken but i do not believe the AC 70 will fit on the rim of the 75. You will need to modify the rim because its too wide. I had to use an AC 100 on mine.

Yeah, I've got two of them on an old Oceanic right now. They sort of sit up high.. a little funny. I wasn't sure if it would be a permanent thing, so I haven't cut them yet. Probably will do it eventually though... it'll cut down on the trickling sound.

Thinking of perhaps adding an old Marineland canister that I have sitting around, adding a prefilter sponge and just stuffing it with crushed coral to buffer (and as bio). That way, I could leave the crushed coral out of the substrate.

 

[longstocking]

Sorry Tony for the late response... Mom has been in town

Well there are lots of theings you can do... but keep in mind over crowding tangs is a bad idea most of the time.

I think I'd stick with two bottom species at the most. The reason is that the Paracyps will use both the rocks and the open water.

You could do the Alto's and shellies or the Alto's and Julies...

Either will work just fine.

If you wanted you could do Alto's and sand sifters. For this tank I'd probably stick with the ones that aren't as easy to stress out. Asprotilapia leptura or Xenotilapia spilopterus, Xenotilapia flavipinnis...

There is a really nice variant of spilopterus out at the moment. I think Doug has them.

 

[longstocking]

FYI the A dewindti are the most easy going of all feather fins. They can be kept and kept easily in 4 foot tanks. But, I wouldn't keep anything with them on the bottom. Paracyps and Cyps would be about it.

Boops... are the real meanies... the worst of all feather fins. Most feather fins are pretty easy going.

Sorry I didn't talk about them... not enough time to and I didn't want to entirely exclude people that don't have large tanks! It would have been a talk of " all the lake tang fish that need 6 foot tanks" :lol:

 

[UNCLERUCKUS]

GOOD LUCK WITH IT TONY!

 

[Rasta Fish]

Oh man!
sounds like a nice setup Tony
wish i have more tanks to do a tang setup like that i like the idea

 

[SubMariner]

Seems like the DarkSide has taken a good Man this time...

May the Force be with you Tonysan.


RM
Master Jedi

 

[Tony]

Sorry Tony for the late response... Mom has been in town

Well there are lots of theings you can do... but keep in mind over crowding tangs is a bad idea most of the time.

I think I'd stick with two bottom species at the most. The reason is that the Paracyps will use both the rocks and the open water.

You could do the Alto's and shellies or the Alto's and Julies...

Either will work just fine.

If you wanted you could do Alto's and sand sifters. For this tank I'd probably stick with the ones that aren't as easy to stress out. Asprotilapia leptura or Xenotilapia spilopterus, Xenotilapia flavipinnis...

There is a really nice variant of spilopterus out at the moment. I think Doug has them.

No worries, Sarah. Thanks for the good advice.

I'll probably throw the altos and multis in there and see what happens. Not sure if the whole group of altolamps will work, but figure that putting in the multis instead of the julies in there will give the altos more room to spread out.

Who knows though... once the fish grow up a bit, I'm sure dynamics will change and maybe I'll swap some groups in/out down the road.

FYI the A dewindti are the most easy going of all feather fins. They can be kept and kept easily in 4 foot tanks. But, I wouldn't keep anything with them on the bottom. Paracyps and Cyps would be about it.

Boops... are the real meanies... the worst of all feather fins. Most feather fins are pretty easy going.

Sorry I didn't talk about them... not enough time to and I didn't want to entirely exclude people that don't have large tanks! It would have been a talk of " all the lake tang fish that need 6 foot tanks" :lol:

LOL, your talk was awesome. It was perfect in that you touched on fish that most Tang novices knew nothing/very little about. Yeah, I'll probably pass on anything fancy for my first setup. There's a breeding group of dewindti up over on ECC, but I'd much rather find better homes for fish I already have than pick up new groups and still be looking for more tank space.

Thanks again, you rock.

 

[Tony]

GOOD LUCK WITH IT TONY!

Thanks a lot DQ. I'll post up pics when I get everything setup... the tank needs to be set up before the ECC auction, so I need to get cracking.

Oh man!
sounds like a nice setup Tony
wish i have more tanks to do a tang setup like that i like the idea

How about the tank in your living room or one of the smaller ones in your office downstairs? Do eet!

Seems like the DarkSide has taken a good Man this time...

May the Force be with you Tonysan.

LOL Rich. After I convert this tank over, I'll still had about 900 gallons worth of Malawi stuff.

I still haven't posted about the next project in line after this one....

 

[mdlnewman]

Sorry Tony for the late response... Mom has been in town

Well there are lots of theings you can do... but keep in mind over crowding tangs is a bad idea most of the time.

I think I'd stick with two bottom species at the most. The reason is that the Paracyps will use both the rocks and the open water.

You could do the Alto's and shellies or the Alto's and Julies...

Either will work just fine.

If you wanted you could do Alto's and sand sifters. For this tank I'd probably stick with the ones that aren't as easy to stress out. Asprotilapia leptura or Xenotilapia spilopterus, Xenotilapia flavipinnis...

There is a really nice variant of spilopterus out at the moment. I think Doug has them.

Lemme get this straight. Alto comps and calvus are considered bottom type fish? or free swimming?

 

[Charlutz]

They are rockdwellers, but will venture around the bottom of the tank.

 

[Tony]

At the ECC auction on Nov 7, I picked up the group of Paracyprichromis nigripinnis and the half group of Cyprichromis leptosoma Utinta (to add to the ones I already had). Got home and threw them in the 75. The next day, I introduced the 8 gold head comps (from Julie) and the two straggler Callochromis pleurospilus "red rainbow" that I got from ACA.

I believe at this point that the two Callochromis are female... which I'm fine with for now. They are now getting north of 2", so I think they would be showing some color by now if they were male. While I won't get the crazy color, they still add a nice variety to the tank, without bothering others.

Anyway, after about two weeks, everyone has settled in pretty well.

The two yellow tail male Cyps run the show... they're all over the place, shaking at anyone who even looks their way. The blue male tries, but doesn't seem as assertive as the other two.

The comps are fun right now to watch... always flexing at each other, but no real aggression or sustained chasing. I believe there's room for the whole group for now and probably will be for a little while. Hopefully, there will be enough rock work for 2-3 pairs in the tank long term. When this happens, I'll pull the extras and get rid of them.

If only one pair takes over, then I'll pull the rest and perhaps get another different rock dweller... maybe a smaller Julidochromis.

The Paracyps just chill out over the rocks to the left and the back wall. I plan on swapping out one of the 10K bulbs in the double fixture for an actinic. Think this may get them a bit more active as well as showcase their color.

Anyway, I'm blabbing.... Enjoy. :happy0180:
[YT]lQueajPyOqk[/YT]

 

[Travis]

Nice cyps!

 

[Tony]

Nice cyps!

Thanks man.

I actually had my small group of 6 spawn in the 40 breeder they were being held in. Got mom to spit 3 babies last night.

 

[mdlnewman]

nice vid, seems like a good set of fish