I have heard that Tiger Barbs will nip all others in the tank, even when there is a big group of them. Maybe not such a good idea because Betta and gourami's are slow moving fish.
The Bolivian Rams are much heartier than the Germans and get to be 3 inches or more, bigger than the Germans too. You could get a group of 4.
Stocking a new 55 gallon tank -- ideas?
23 posts • Page 2 of 3
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a1k8t31524 - Posts: 939
- Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am
or you might check to see if anyone around you can get ballon rams they are just like GBR's but have a round body.... and have a little bit brighter colored. they have been "engineered" to be this way but they are alot heartier than GBR's
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bonese - Posts: 30
- Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 3:37 pm
Z dizz knows everything you can need to know about rams. i have bolivian rams but not with barbs. My barbs are in my semi aggressive community with EBJD's and some bengal loaches so far they stay to themselves and really no aggression goes on. I haven't mixed rams with barbs but i don't think it'd be a good combination. Try a large group of rummynose's i love watching them school around together.
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zambize - Posts: 401
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm
What would you consider a "large" group of rummynose? I was thinking of a school of them! I think I've decided to keep my existing tank as is and add my 55 gallon as a "new" tank and add all new fish. It may be an even greater challenge to start with an "empty" tank!
thanks!
Z
thanks!
Z
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dizzcat - Posts: 648
- Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am
If you are going to start with brand new fish, an African Mbuna Cichlid tank is the way to go! They have such beautiful colors, all are around 3-6" and they will keep you amused all day long! You will definitely get to experience fry with these guys, to the point you have too many! Mine has been up and running for 8 months now and I have had about 100 Yellow fry and a batch of Red Zebra fry. I have 3 tanks and that is the one EVERYONE looks in and loves!
You could go with 3 groups of 1 male, 3-4 females each. Like Electric Yellow Labs (for bright yellow and black), Red Zebras (for bright pop-out orange color) and Ps Acei (for purple and yellow). All they need is sand and rocks and they are happy :-) Keeping the right water chems is easy, you just add some cichlid buffer each water change and that will keep the pH in the 8.0 zone. That tank is much easier to keep up then my planted tank.
Even tho I adore my Rams in the planted tank, its my African tank I find myself watching all the time! They dig, spit sand, vibrate at each other, swim all over, constantly busy, and go NUTS when you feed them. Just a lot of fun, more than I was expecting..
I have heard of a lot of people that keep a school of Tiger Barbs with them too.
I am excited for you! LOL :-)
You could go with 3 groups of 1 male, 3-4 females each. Like Electric Yellow Labs (for bright yellow and black), Red Zebras (for bright pop-out orange color) and Ps Acei (for purple and yellow). All they need is sand and rocks and they are happy :-) Keeping the right water chems is easy, you just add some cichlid buffer each water change and that will keep the pH in the 8.0 zone. That tank is much easier to keep up then my planted tank.
Even tho I adore my Rams in the planted tank, its my African tank I find myself watching all the time! They dig, spit sand, vibrate at each other, swim all over, constantly busy, and go NUTS when you feed them. Just a lot of fun, more than I was expecting..
I have heard of a lot of people that keep a school of Tiger Barbs with them too.
I am excited for you! LOL :-)
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zambize - Posts: 401
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm
This is really ignorant, but could I keep a few other things like a plecostomus, panda cory, and female bettas with them?
It sounds interesting!
thanks!
Z
It sounds interesting!
thanks!
Z
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zambize - Posts: 401
- Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:14 pm
bonese - No, no updates. I had some major issues going on with another tank that I had to take care of and my lfs asked me to be a breeder of cherry shrimp for them so I had to set up that tank. Also, I had to order some eco-complete for my substrate and it hasn't come in yet. It won't come until Thursday. :( I also realized that my floor is made of saltillo tile and therefore will not be level so it will take some time to get my tank set up and *level*. This isn't going to be as easy as I thought. I've never set up a tank this large, and it really isn't even *large*! I've always been able to bring tanks home and get them set up same day. This one has been in the back of my truck for a while. I can't wait to get going with it. :)
Z
Z
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dizzcat - Posts: 648
- Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am
Hey Z,
You can't keep Betta or Cory's with them. Mbuna are very aggressive fish. You can keep bristle nose plecos and the sharks. I have a 4" rainbow shark (the kind that is black with red fins) in with mine and he holds his own! He has been great at cleaning up the food the big fish miss.
Once you set up a tank and get your Mbuna's in there, you will be so fascinated with them you wont miss the other kinds of fish with them :-) They pack such awesome color and behaviors! They also swim the entire length of the tank all day too, so its always active.
They love sand, that is the best to give them. You can buy a 50 pound bag of play sand at a place like Home Depot for under $3. That is what I use. I have lava (lace) rock in mine now. You can just go somewhere that is fairly quiet and pick up rocks. I went to my church yard and got a couple tote bags of river rock, took them home and boiled them about 4 times. I now use Lava rock because they grew too big for the river rock caves. My tank is not big enough to put big river rocks in. I also bought a black PVC pipe and cut it into pieces. I place these "tunnels" on the sand and then cover them with the rocks. That gives them extra caves.
An African tank can be fairly cheap to set up. The sand will cost you about $3 for a 50 pound bag. You can get free rock sometimes. Then you can do like I did, get one male and 2 females of a couple kinds and within a month or so they will have kids, then you keep the best of that batch :-) As soon as I get my hands on a 55 I will up my stock. Right now I have 3 Red Zebras, 3 Electric Yellow and 3 Acei.
Its the easiest tank to care for because there is no plants to fuss with. I just vacuum once a week, and take out the rocks once a month.
There is a couple good articles on Africans in the article section here. I had help setting mine up from Miami who is a member here. His help was invaluable!
I always wonder how someone can have a big tank and NOT fill it with these guys LOL
You can't keep Betta or Cory's with them. Mbuna are very aggressive fish. You can keep bristle nose plecos and the sharks. I have a 4" rainbow shark (the kind that is black with red fins) in with mine and he holds his own! He has been great at cleaning up the food the big fish miss.
Once you set up a tank and get your Mbuna's in there, you will be so fascinated with them you wont miss the other kinds of fish with them :-) They pack such awesome color and behaviors! They also swim the entire length of the tank all day too, so its always active.
They love sand, that is the best to give them. You can buy a 50 pound bag of play sand at a place like Home Depot for under $3. That is what I use. I have lava (lace) rock in mine now. You can just go somewhere that is fairly quiet and pick up rocks. I went to my church yard and got a couple tote bags of river rock, took them home and boiled them about 4 times. I now use Lava rock because they grew too big for the river rock caves. My tank is not big enough to put big river rocks in. I also bought a black PVC pipe and cut it into pieces. I place these "tunnels" on the sand and then cover them with the rocks. That gives them extra caves.
An African tank can be fairly cheap to set up. The sand will cost you about $3 for a 50 pound bag. You can get free rock sometimes. Then you can do like I did, get one male and 2 females of a couple kinds and within a month or so they will have kids, then you keep the best of that batch :-) As soon as I get my hands on a 55 I will up my stock. Right now I have 3 Red Zebras, 3 Electric Yellow and 3 Acei.
Its the easiest tank to care for because there is no plants to fuss with. I just vacuum once a week, and take out the rocks once a month.
There is a couple good articles on Africans in the article section here. I had help setting mine up from Miami who is a member here. His help was invaluable!
I always wonder how someone can have a big tank and NOT fill it with these guys LOL
