New tang & shelly fan needs assistance

[Prelude2Life]

Hey guys, I was into planted freshwater before but im really liking the Tangs & Shelly tanks. Talked to a few memebers who have some incredible tanks on this site and im sold. Only thing is ive forgoten alot of stuff and im uncertain about the new more effective ways of the hobby.

Ive got a 50 Gallon tall tank with a new rena xp3 and a 2 strip plant light fixture that suspends about my glass lid of my tank. i plan on going with 1 Neolamprologus tretocephalus, 4 Lamprologus Multifasciatus, 6Paracyprichromis nigripinnis Neon Blue and maybe 4+ calvus White and due to another member on this forum i was presuaded to want a Goby and ofcourse some plecos BNP? i dont even know what that means. I was advised against the Neo Trets i dunno what do u guys think?
Some say that add fish all together some say add slowly so there isnt a respike from bioload. My issue is ill probably get all my fish on a group buy since they seem to be hard to aquire :| all this stress i might need some sortta meds soon.

For supplies im assuming same as planted tanks? Same test kits, aqua clear and salt?

[Mferko]

same test kits but for salts youl want this:
Seachem. Cichlid Lake Salt for GH
and Seachem. Tanganyika Buffer for KH

i wouldnt worry too much about putting in all your fish at once especially since theyl all be small and you can do a fishless cycle to tolerate a lot of ammonia, itl prevent the first ones in from being too territorial when the next ones come in

also better to get a few more multi's than that so your guaranteed a pair

cheers

[big_bubba_B]

well u dont realy need salt for one . the Neolamprologus tretocephalus will kill anything it will get around they are verry teritorial fish , basicly pint sized cycos. te niggripinis will be great with the multies. gobys can be little terrorists also depend on wich one u get. a 50 gallon tank u can get a few multies they are a great colony fish and u do not have to seperate the fry . also give ocelletos gold a look u can put them on the other side of the tank basicly a pair and they will turn out ok .

[Mferko]

occies are pretty cool shellies :P definitely worth a look
and i agree the gobies can be a bit aggressive, mines a bit aggressive, but his personality/behavior definitely makes up for it lol.. plus he only gets 3 inches, doesnt like it up high where the cyps go, the multis group up to defend each other, and calvus's have thick skin :P

[Prelude2Life]

well u dont realy need salt for one . the Neolamprologus tretocephalus will kill anything it will get around they are verry teritorial fish , basicly pint sized cycos. te niggripinis will be great with the multies. gobys can be little terrorists also depend on wich one u get. a 50 gallon tank u can get a few multies they are a great colony fish and u do not have to seperate the fry . also give ocelletos gold a look u can put them on the other side of the tank basicly a pair and they will turn out ok .

Thanks for the info. Ill hold off on the neo trets then. Ill give the ocelletos a look. Blame Mferko for the goby hes definatlly gonna be great to have if hes got a simmler or less activity level.

[Mferko]

Thanks for the info. Ill hold off on the neo trets then. Ill give the ocelletos a look. Blame Mferko for the goby hes definatlly gonna be great to have if hes got a simmler or less activity level.

blame hp10BII he's the one that got me hooked on them lol, he said theyre one of the most underrated fish and i have to agree

[hp10BII]

blame hp10BII he's the one that got me hooked on them lol, he said theyre one of the most underrated fish and i have to agree

lol...someone actually listened to me for a change.

BNP - bristle nose pleco for algae control. Handy in a new tank setup because you'll get your diatoms (brown algae).

What's the footprint of your 50g tall?

[Prelude2Life]

lol...someone actually listened to me for a change.

BNP - bristle nose pleco for algae control. Handy in a new tank setup because you'll get your diatoms (brown algae).

What's the footprint of your 50g tall?

good question. I bought the a 32 originally and had a stand. Later king eds had a sale on 50 gallon tanks that had the same base dementions as my 32 gallon so im assuming 30 inches by 12 inches

[hp10BII]

With territorial fish like most Tanganyikan cichlids, the foot print or real estate is more important than height. 30 x 12 is like my 20g longs that I use for shellies and that's for just one species.

You may have to limit the number of species to maybe 3 and that's pushing it. You can try 4, but be prepared to rehome quite a few fish, just not enough room for separate rock piles. Perhaps a shellie of choice and maybe a couple of rock piles for for 2 rock dweller species. Not enough room for 2 shellie species, maybe doable in a 4 foot length separated with a rock pile in the middle.

If it were my tank, I'd start off with 6 shellies, either a multi or occie (hoping for a pair, harem or colony depending on species), a single eretomodus cyanostictus (goby), 6 paracyps (hoping for a pair) and be prepared to rehome the outcasts. A single bnp for algae control. Dither fish to swim in the upper regions of the tank.

[Mferko]

thats the same footprint as my tank (its a 37G, 30x12x22 high, how high is urs??) , i wanna upgrade but my wife says not till after we get a bigger appt in like 8 months :P
BNP/multi's/paracyps (or cyps)/calvus/goby (or other) should work (seems to be in mine so far)
might even want more than 6 paracyps for a bigger school, if that reservestock order goes thru im gonna get another 6 to make 12... lots of room up top that theyl use but your other fish wont

oh and if u can find em, the l144 BNP are super nice imo