New Tanganyika Tank

T

tongpakfu

Members
Hi all,

New to the area, new to the board.

I'm setting up a new Tanganyika tank, and was wondering if anyone on the board had any advice on where I could get the fishies I'm hoping to stock it with. The tank is 45G, tall, and I was hoping on having Julie's and Neolamprologus Brichardi (and maybe others?). From what I've gathered on this board and others, they should play together well. I see that some members sell to each other. Do most people go through this association to find Tanganyikan cichlids, or is there a local store (or online store) that does a brisk trade?

Anyway, thanks for the advice, and I apologize if this message is under the wrong topic.



tongpakfu
 
Pat Kelly

Pat Kelly

CCA Member
Welcome,
What part of the area are living. There are a couple of good stores around and it depends on where you live. I am north of Baltimore and there is nothing within 15 miles of me. There are a couple of stores I would reommend. Scales in Silver Spring and on the north side of Baltimore is Exotic Aquatics.
Both have good reputations and Scales is owned by a couple of members of this club.
There are also several people in the club that raise those types of fish and advertise on here or sell
at the meetings.
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
Thanks for the response. I'm living in Washington, DC, near dupont circle....without a vehicle. I managed to check out a few places that are near the subway line, but wasn't able to find any places with Julie's. Guess I'll keep up the search. Thanks for the advice. I'll try and find a way to Scales sometime in the next few weeks and in the meantime, keep my eyes on the buy/sell/trade board.

tongpakfu
 
A

AndyNarwhal

Members
Julies and Brichardi should do well together. Be sure to provide several caves with small entrances for the Julies. I picked up a number of caves at ACA from www.cichlidbreeding.com that my julies love. You may want to consider L. helianthus instead of the brichardi. They are very similar looking but I think the Helianthus are much more colorful with the orange dot on each scale. They are not a rare fish and not expensive either.

Andy
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
Thanks everyone for the advice. The tank is basically setup, cycled, and ready to go. I've decided to match J. transcriptus with Lamprologus stappersi/meleagris. Any local breeders in the area have these or know where I can find them?

Thanks!

Duncan
 
D

daniel4832

Guest
There are Neolamprologus stappersi at ScalesTFW.
Daniel
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
ScalesTFW had the stappersi, so that's great news.

jeffsanchez73: Thanks for the offer! I think I want to find some NON-gombe transcriptus if possible, as I've read that the gombe variety is as aggressive as J. Marlieri. Because of the size of my tank, and my shellies, I want to find a non-aggressive non-dickfeldi julie...if possible.

Duncan
 
L

Larry-T

Guest
Hi all,

New to the area, new to the board.

I'm setting up a new Tanganyika tank, and was wondering if anyone on the board had any advice on where I could get the fishies I'm hoping to stock it with. The tank is 45G, tall, and I was hoping on having Julie's and Neolamprologus Brichardi (and maybe others?). From what I've gathered on this board and others, they should play together well. I see that some members sell to each other. Do most people go through this association to find Tanganyikan cichlids, or is there a local store (or online store) that does a brisk trade?

Anyway, thanks for the advice, and I apologize if this message is under the wrong topic.



tongpakfu
[/b]
Click to expand...

Tropical Fish World also stocks Tanganyikans and supplies. They are in Montgomery County and accessible by public transportation. To get to them from Dupont Circle, take the Red Line to Shady Grove and the Rideon Bus 59 toward Montgomery Village. Get off at the Walnut Hill Shopping Center, just North of Shady Grove and after you go under 370.

Their phone number is (301) 921-0000
 
A

AndyNarwhal

Members
I bet those L. stappersi that Scales had were the ones I traded them in June. I traded a bunch of them and some H. lifallilli for a book before I moved. Great fish I hope you enjoy them.
Andy
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
Well, the tank is finally ready (cycled, changed substrate to sand, added shells), and everybody seems to be out of L.Stappersi. Anybody on here know of a local breeder with some in stock?


Thanks again,

Duncan
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
Just to keep ya'll updated, I finally got my stapps today from Scales. I bought the four they had, and put them in the tank tonight. I've got the lights out at the moment, but I already noticed that one of the stapps was floating around in an odd way, and now I see that he/she is stuck next to the filter intake.

In my SA tanks, this was usually a precursor to a dead fish, so I've got my fingers crossed, but I'm still quite worried. Is there anything you all would recommend to get this fish out of his/her funk? At such an early stage?


Thanks for the wisdom.


Duncan
 
D

daniel4832

Guest
Duncan,
Sorry to hear that you are having problems, my suggestion would be to move her into a small hospital tank, or put her into a net breeder in the same tank. Please let us know how things work out.
Thanks,
Daniel
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
Well, sad news.

The fish didn't make the night. I had the light off all last night, and when I turned it on this morning, the fish was upside down, mouth open, on the sandy bottom.

The other fish are doing well, however. When I added them all last night, the one that has now passed on was very weak, kept floating to the top, and getting blown around by the power jet. I was hoping he'd relax with the lights out, and as the stapps are the only fish in my tank, I figured he'd have enough space to get his bearings.

In any case, 3 out of 4 ain't bad, I guess. As for sex, I think I've got two males and a female. Unfortunately, the female is the biggest of the bunch and she is holding down the side of the tank with shells, while the two males posture by the rocks.

I'll see how things proceed this week, and then see about swapping a female for the sub-dominant male. I think these three are about the most stapps my tank can hold, but maybe I'm wrong.

next up I hope to add the paracyps, and then julies.

Thanks everyone for the help, and thanks Daniel for the ride.


Duncan
 
D

daniel4832

Guest
Duncan,
I'm sorry you lost one. I'm pretty sure that the largest is a male, and I would suggest speading the shells though out the tank.
If you would like, give me a call at the store Wed. between 3 -8.
Thanks,
Daniel
 
T

tongpakfu

Members
Daniel,

Thanks for the reply.

I was doing some research on the various boards dedicated to discussion of shelldwellers, and there appeared to be a consensus that determining the sexes was done by examining, among other features, the snout of the fish. It's my understanding that stappersi males have a longer, less steep snout, while the females have short, almost puggish snouts. Ha, I could have it backwards!

Here are the remaining fish in the tank, as I see them:

The largest Stapp (what I thought was female): (2 photos)

fem1.jpg


fem2.jpg


The Dominant Male (or so I've termed it):

DomMale.jpg


The Sub-dominant male (the only pale one in the tank):

SubMale1.jpg


The two males, facing off, with the dominant one showing his colors:

bothmales.jpg



Have i got it backwards?

Sorry for the fuzzy photos - these guys don't stand still for long.

Thanks


Duncan
 
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