SupersoNick95

Always love to see some tangs! The Brichardi is my fav fish of all time. Feisty but can be a great addition to a Tang community provided you avoid breeding pairs. Here's a video I posted on my tank which is also a 40-gallon!

Aquaclears are my favorite filters for small tanks. I have a 20-long and use an AC30 and so far it has been running great. I would like more room in the basket for floss and purigen. I know Cory and many others advocate for the use of sponge filters because they have immense surface area for beneficial bacteria. I assume the same would apply to the sponge inside the Aquaclear. Would removing my existing ceramic media cause a crash?

I noticed a lot of aquascapes, especially MD Tanks, have pristine-looking java ferns after sitting in an established tank. They never seem to have baby planlets growing off the leaves. I have a good amount of java fern in my planted tank with c02, daily dosing of ferts, and around 30ppm nitrates. They are growing new leaves, but a lot of the older leaves are pushing out tons of babies. I don't like the look of this in my setup. Is this just what happens to java fern when it adjusts to a new tank? or is this just the normal life cycle no mater what you do with lights and ferts?

Ha! My bad, assumed you were in the US. And, you’re close, I’m 28

Thank you! Alot of my fish are local but I did order a couple online for a decent price. Imperial Tropicals has lots of tangs, and so do several other online breeders. Price is mostly due to shipping!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTXNsKrrT5A Please check out my first fishkeeping video on YouTube! In this in-depth guide, I'll give you some tips & tricks on creating a Tanganyikan Cichlid aquarium. From selecting the perfect species to setting up the ideal underwater landscape, I've got you covered!

Thank you! Your tank looks awesome, that’s what I’m shooting for! Yes I’m running a fluval 3.0 which is close to the aqua sky. Right now I’m at 8 hours a day with a 2 hour ramp up and 1 hour ramp down. I’m at 45% intensity so as to balance out possible algae growth but I’m thinking about pushing slowly up to 75 over the next three weeks. Hopefully this helps the Val explode. I’m mostly worried about getting algae on my buce which is why I’m being careful with light intensity.

Hey Cory thanks for the tips! Yeah my water is very soft with a low ph. I’m going to try to buffer the water and see if that helps. The aquasoil is advertised as an “acid buffer” and I have a feeling that’s why my ph is so much lower than out the tap

Thank you! The rummy nose are thriving! I have no clue which species it is. I usually buy bunches from my Lfs and they don’t denote the type of val. I did just order some valisneria spiralis online. I’m going to plant it as one bunch to see if it does better.

I remember when I first started in the hobby I bought one Val bunch and it exploded in a very low tech tank with inert substrate. Now when actively trying to grow it just seems to be stunted. I have had a 20 long, high tech setup with c02, high fert dosage , and UNS soil capped with coarse sand. It’s been going for about 8 months now and I can grow everything but Val. Crypts grow incredibly fast, dwarf sag has sent out tons of runners after only having started with about 4 bunches. Buce is thriving with little to no algae on the leaves. Java fern has recently been added and it also seems to be growing relatively quickly. I dose easy green about once every day, 2 pumps. 10% Water changes twice a week. Nitrates stay consistently low. I can’t seem to get past 20pmm using the api test kit. I’ve made sure to add root tabs to areas where Val is planted as well. no matter how many times I buy a new bunch of Val it all seems to melt back completely and rot at the crown. I always make sure not to plant too deeply as I know that can cause rot. I do split each bunch into several plants, could this be causing melt? I want to experiment and just plant a single bunch and see what happens. I suspect it may be my ph? I’m at about 6.1 ph. All my fish are thriving as well and are all Amazonian species so the ph has been great for them. However I suspect the low ph may be the culprit of the Val melt. Photo of my tank is attached. I’d really like to get the Val growing from the back corner so that it floats all the way to the other side. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

I wish I had space but I’m really trying to avoid pairs. I already have a pair of tropheus and am afraid of breeding aggression. Thank you so much for the offer though!

My Tanganyikan community is finally complete! I have had this 40-breeder tank setup for about a year now in several hardscape layouts. Stocking is as follows: Leleupi (1) Brichardi (1) Julidochromis marlieri (1) Gold Compreciceps (1) neolamprologus Buescheri (1) Tropheus Moori (2) (phoenix and kaiser orange) Synondontus catfish I have stuck to feeding spirulina flake and sera granugreen as to not get the tropheus sick. All fish seem to be thriving on this diet. Alot of these Tang cichlids are classified as "carnivores" but they all are small enough that they graze on aufwuchs and algae in the wild. I am sure moving to a more veggie-based diet cant be too harmful in the long run. I do plan to make my own "shrimp mix" which many seasoned tropheus breeders say is a great food. While many are quick to say this tank is "overstocked", it is simply the only way to avoid excess aggression. There is the occasional chasing but nothing out of the ordinary. While we cannot go by everything we see or read on the internet, I have seen that Prime Time Aquatics has kept many more Tang cichlids in a 33-gallon long with great success. The biggest takeaway is adequate rockwork. a majority of these fish are rock dwellers and I find that lava rock is the most cost-effective means of providing that for them. It is very light and cheap. I do wish I could have sourced black lava rock so that it would look more like a biotope but it is hard to find and quite expensive. The only mistake I made when setting up this tank was buying a tretocephalus about 6 months ago. It is a nasty fish and doesn't mix well with other tangs in a confined space. Thankfully a friend in the hobby was able to rehome him. I replaced the tret with two young tropheus and they are thriving amount the rock work. Fell free to ask any questions about keeping Tanganyikans!

I have been trying to balance a high-tech planted setup. I have rummynose tetras, some corys and an Apistogramma agazzii in a 20 long. I have C02, a fluval 3.0, and an aquaclear 50 which provides excellent surface agitation and circulation. C02 levels are at a safe level running at about 1.5 bubbles per second. Drop checker is a dark green and has never gotten anywhere near yellow. I have UNS aquasoil under a coarse sand cap. This tank is about 7-8 months old but I admittedly neglected fertilizing for several months resulting in a lot of melt. I obviously wasn't dosing nearly enough ferts. My nitrates were always almost 0 and my plants were suffering. Lots of melt in "easy plants". I guess the c02 and light was pushing the pants to grow and the lack of nutrients led to melt. Ive slowly been trying to up my nitrates to somewhere around 40-80ppm, I have plenty of plants to absorb the nitrates. Plants are slowly starting to look a lot better and algae is dying off. I have been increasing my doses of easy green slowly to account for the added light and c02. I perform a 5-gallon water change once a week. So far it has been difficult to get my nitrates past 40ppm. The rummynose are looking great; very active schoolers and their heads are nice and red, indicating good health. However my apisto looks like it is about to die. No sign of heavy breathing but he is sticking to the bottom acting very lethargic and is barely swimming around. A lot of resources online suggest that apistos (and other cichlids from around the world) are extremely sensitive to nitrates. I suspect that this is a common boogeyman in our hobby but who knows? I doubt my apisto is dying due to excess nitrates. Could it just have been sick from the store? He has never looked very active even when I first brought him home. Again, my c02 levels look to be safe as all my other fish are healthy and active with no gasping or signs of stress. I also care for lake tanganyikan cichlids that many consider "sensitive" and that cant be further from the truth, they are very very hardy once provided good stable pH. I monitor nitrates but not as obsessively as many online would want me to with africans. I try not to change pH in my planted aquarium in an effort to maintain a stable environment.

I purchased this fish months ago at a local store that advertised it as Tanganyikan but it wasn't labeled. It looked like a young Ophthalmotilapia ventralis to me but as it has gotten older its colors have not changed and it has barely grown or developed any defining features of that species. It has been thriving in my Tanganyikan community and is very boisterous. after some research, I'm starting to believe it's some sort of Callochromis but I cannot be certain. Any ideas?

About 6 months ago I decided to buy a small canister filter for a 20-long planted tank. I wanted to keep a clean look and that was my primary reason for buying one. I settled on the UNS Delta 30 Canister filter. I have been disappointed since day 1. It rattles like crazy. No matter how long you break it in, it always has an incessant rattle. no amount of greasing the magnet will help. I suspect it has more to do with trapped air. Very difficult to remove air from the system. It doesn't include an efficient way of removing air that gets caught in the system. I have a cheap sun-sun canister filter for a 40 breeder with African cichlids and it is so easy to pump out air and prime the pump. Doing maintenance is so frustrating. Pressure builds up in the head of the unit and there is no shut-off valve to prevent siphoning during water changes. I know this could have been solved with aftermarket ball valves but again, I've seen cheaper filters with this feature included into the head of the unit. It leaks constantly. The seals on this thing suck. I am probably somewhat to blame for this but it doesn't change how overpriced this thing is. Save your money and stick with an HOB or some other brand of canister. I went back to an Aquaclear 30 on this tank.

Yep. I think I underestimated how low my plant stocking was and was mistaken that i could just leave the tank alone for months using the plants to filter and use up nutrients. Thankfully fish are thriving and water is free from harmful excess nitrites and ammonia but i feel like nutrients built up way too high that's why i am getting slow plant growth and lots of BBA. Will go back to once a week 50% water changes. I am using aquasoil so i probably also was going to heavy on the ferts. I will go to a half dose in the mean time.

I have a 20 long with aqua soil capped with sand. Most of my plants are root feeders: Val, Dwarf Sag, and crypts. The only water column feeders I have are some anubias. I have a slight BBA outbreak and I was wondering if dialing back on easy green might help? I have also noticed a lack of real growth vertically from the valisneria. I'm really striving for an overgrown jungle look. Does easy green contribute much to the growth of root feeders and could I be overdoing it in the water column without many water column feeders to absorb nutrients? EDIT: Tank is about 6 months old; 1 Florida flatfish, 20 lowlight tetras; and 7 corys.

I returned the Fzone lily pipes I bought and am going to use the aquario neo lily pipes. Those do not have suction cups. thankfully I found some brackets on Etsy that may work. I will update this post with a link once I confirm they’ll fit!

Does anyone know of any brackets for lily pipes that can be mounted on a rimed tank (20 long)? All of the brackets sold online are for rimless tanks. I'd really like to keep my lily pipes nice and neat, and without a bracket, they are crooked due to the rigidity of the hose.

I was experiencing some aggression issues in my 40 breeder Tanganyikan tank so I applied all the info I’ve learned from people like Zenzo and prime time aquatics on hard scaling for African cichlids. Rather than focusing on getting the best Tanganyikan biotope I decided it’d be better to provide my fish with the most ideal environment for their behavior. Most of my cichlids are rock dwellers except for my brichardi and Ophthalmotilapia. full stock is: Leleupi brichardi Julidochromis marlieri Gold compreciceps Neolamprologus tretocephalus neolamprologus Buescheri ophthalmotilapia ventralis attached is a before and after picture of the hardscape. Second time around I opted for some cheap lava rock from a local landscaping yard. It is much light than the original rock and everything in the tank weighs about 60 pounds. Much much less than the original rocks. after just one day the behavior has changed for the better. There is still the normal chasing between cichlids but there is no longer any specific targeting by one fish to the other. Seeing the rock dwellers behave as they would in the wild is such a treat. I would recommend lava rock to anyone trying to create the environment for Tanganyikans or Mbuna.

You make lots of sense. I was rethinking that whole perspective… don’t these fish hybridize in the wild all the time? If I don’t have any intention of giving them as a Leleupi or a brichardi then I don’t see the issue. Also, don’t a bunch of haps and peacocks cross ?

So the brichardi was successful in his attempt to fertilize the Leleupi eggs and it seems he is even co-parenting with the Leleupi. Thankfully so far there hasn’t been any unusual aggression but only time will tell. I know it is frowned upon to keep hybrids of Tanganyikans in the hobby but, I do not plan to sell or donate any of the fry. I would like to keep one within the tank. The others will unfortunately probably be culled just to avoid any unwanted hybrids from spreading in the hobby. I hope this is the last breeding group I get in this tank as I’d much rather see the Leleupi acting normal instead of hiding to protect fry all day.

Can anyone help ID this sword plant? I purchased it several months ago and forgot what it was labeled. It has a red leaf sprouting so I am leaning towards a red melon sword. It also has oval leaves rather than the pointy leaves on my regular large Amazon sword. Also featuring my favorite fish 😆

Hey Cory! thanks for the reply. Awesome, ill try and post some updates along the way!

I've had this GE LED Grow light above some house plants, and they were thriving. I decided that instead of buying a new aquarium light for my 5-gallon planted tank, I would repurpose this bulb as an aquarium light. I really enjoy the color rendition. It is not too warm or too cool. It also has the benefit of serving as a desk lamp as well. The bulb is 9 watts, and barely emits any heat. I can't find any specs on it however, so it is hard to compare to other lights. Here is a link to the bulb This tank is low tech, and I did the MD tanks method of substrate: mesh bag of aquasoil on the bottom Layer of a mixture of sand, aquasoil, and gravel. Finally, capped with plain pool filter sand. I am using easy green root tabs anywhere there isn't aqua soil directly beneath plants until the root systems grow in. I am dosing one pump of easy green every other week. Plants are: anubias nana petite Crypt Parva Crpyt Wendtii Red as my main background plant S. Repens