Getting back into fish

[Josh Mills]

Hi all,

I'm finally getting back into cichlids after 15 years. I haven't yet
settled on a tank, I'm thinking something between 55 and 80, or so. I
need a tank no more than 4 feet long. I saw an 80 gallon tank at petco
for $180, is this a good deal? I saw a 55 gallon rig at walmart for
$152, but I think the 80 gallon would be better since I would like to
get top of the line components, not just some thrown together kit. What
would be the difference in capacity for african cichlids between the
two? I don't mean how many you COULD fit in each, but how many you
SHOULD fit in each. I'm talking moderate sized fish that reach maybe 5
or so inches a piece, I'm not up on the scientific names, so cut me some
slack:). If anyone could recommend any species in particular I would be
grateful. I just want a nice looking tank of happy, lively, fun to watch
africans. For a filter I'm leaning towards the rena filstar 3, it looks
like a very good filter for the money. Money isn't that big an object,
but I don't want to spend more than needed. Any comments or suggetions
are welcome.

Josh

[Amyotte]

hello,

I think some frontosa's (or maybe even a colony) however frontosa's get
rather large, but they are very slow growing, you could also get some
mbuna's they are always colorful and are almost always out and about, or you
could get some peacocks they stay smallish and are also colorful. hope that
helps

later
shawn

"Josh Mills" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi all,
>
> I'm finally getting back into cichlids after 15 years. I haven't yet
> settled on a tank, I'm thinking something between 55 and 80, or so. I
> need a tank no more than 4 feet long. I saw an 80 gallon tank at petco
> for $180, is this a good deal? I saw a 55 gallon rig at walmart for
> $152, but I think the 80 gallon would be better since I would like to
> get top of the line components, not just some thrown together kit. What
> would be the difference in capacity for african cichlids between the
> two? I don't mean how many you COULD fit in each, but how many you
> SHOULD fit in each. I'm talking moderate sized fish that reach maybe 5
> or so inches a piece, I'm not up on the scientific names, so cut me some
> slack:). If anyone could recommend any species in particular I would be
> grateful. I just want a nice looking tank of happy, lively, fun to watch
> africans. For a filter I'm leaning towards the rena filstar 3, it looks
> like a very good filter for the money. Money isn't that big an object,
> but I don't want to spend more than needed. Any comments or suggetions
> are welcome.
>
> Josh

[Amateur]

"Josh Mills" > wrote in message
.. .

Josh,
My recommendations are to get the largest tank possible. ;-) As far as how
many fish should you put in each? That all depends heavily on the species.
Frontosa were recommended, but I believe a four foot tank is a bit short for
fronts. Not saying it can't be done, but I believe they exist happier in a
longer tank. Especially as they reach maturity. If you were to try frontosa out,
http://www.amateurcichlids.com/fish/cyphotilapia_kigoma.shtml then stocking
would be about five fish in the 80 gallon. If you were to go with some type of
Mbuna, http://www.amateurcichlids.com/fish/pseudo_redtop.shtml this would be any
of the Pseudotropheus, Metriaclima, Melanochromis, Labidochromis, to name a few,
species, then you could put thirty in an 80 gallon. All-Glass makes a 90 gallon
tank that's four foot in length. It would make an excellent Tanganyikan
community tank. You could keep three pairs of Xenotilapia sp "papilio sunflower"
in it, with maybe a dozen and a half Cypichromis. That would be an amazing tank.
The best thing to do is to have your water tested and find out the pH and
hardness from the tap. Looking for fish that fit your tap's water parameters
will make maintenance a whole lot easier.
You may want to check out the articles section at www.cichlid-forum.com as
they have some "cookie cutter" setups dependant on tank sizes. I don't agree
with a few of the setups that they suggested, but disagreement in this hobby is
par for the course.
Amateur
www.amateurcichlids.com

[Josh Mills]

In article >,
says...
>
> You may want to check out the articles section at www.cichlid-forum.com as
> they have some "cookie cutter" setups dependant on tank sizes. I don't agree
> with a few of the setups that they suggested, but disagreement in this hobby is
> par for the course.
> Amateur
> www.amateurcichlids.com

Since posting my question the NG I found that website, and the cookie
cutter setups. Some of them sound pretty nice. I was out driving around
today looking for some of my favorite old fish shops(from 15 years ago),
and only one was still there, and much smaller than it used to be. I
guess petco and walmart has put them all out of bussiness:(.If anyone
knows of any good shops in orange county CA, I'd be very happy. Another
thing I found stupid was the fact that at the places I did find some
fish and supplies they sell fish such as arawanas and red bellied pacus,
and they don't sell tanks half big enough. The largest tank I was able
to find so far locally is the 80 gallon which I plan on buying. I was
going to buy a test kit at petco to check out my tap water, but the
register was unmanned. This hobby has gone down the drain in my area
since I was last involved with it. I couldn't even find rena or eheim
filters in any of these shops. I sure hope I can find a nice LFS to make
purchases, and look at fish. Sorry if I'm rambling but I was really
surprised how the hobby has dropped off in my area.


Josh

[T]

"Josh Mills" > wrote in message
.. .
> In article >,
> says...
> >
> > You may want to check out the articles section at
www.cichlid-forum.com as
> > they have some "cookie cutter" setups dependant on tank sizes. I don't
agree
> > with a few of the setups that they suggested, but disagreement in this
hobby is
> > par for the course.
> > Amateur
> > www.amateurcichlids.com
>
> Since posting my question the NG I found that website, and the cookie
> cutter setups. Some of them sound pretty nice. I was out driving around
> today looking for some of my favorite old fish shops(from 15 years ago),
> and only one was still there, and much smaller than it used to be. I
> guess petco and walmart has put them all out of bussiness:(.If anyone
> knows of any good shops in orange county CA, I'd be very happy. Another
> thing I found stupid was the fact that at the places I did find some
> fish and supplies they sell fish such as arawanas and red bellied pacus,
> and they don't sell tanks half big enough. The largest tank I was able
> to find so far locally is the 80 gallon which I plan on buying. I was
> going to buy a test kit at petco to check out my tap water, but the
> register was unmanned. This hobby has gone down the drain in my area
> since I was last involved with it. I couldn't even find rena or eheim
> filters in any of these shops. I sure hope I can find a nice LFS to make
> purchases, and look at fish. Sorry if I'm rambling but I was really
> surprised how the hobby has dropped off in my area.
>
>
> Josh

Hey Josh, I am in the high desert..Its a bit of a drive from OC, but I would
bet if you are looking for particular fish and can't find them down there,
they might be up here..The local PETsMART here carries a 150 g and sizes
down from there..Show tanks and regular tanks.. Decent prices for most of
them.. Not great but not to terrible eithier.. Cheaper than PetCo.. There
are a lot of people in the Victorville area that seem to be right deep into
the hobby.. One store of particular intrest Josh, is Aquarium world in Apple
Valley ( this fellow breeds many of his cic's, Victorian's ( very soon I
believe ), Malawi's, and Tank's.. Check in the Penny Saver for used tanks..
Great deals at times on some larger tanks.. If you go to Vegas from time to
time, a trip over to Apple Valley won't put you to terribly off the 15..

Tim....

[Amateur]

"Josh Mills" > wrote in message
.. .
> Since posting my question the NG I found that website, and the cookie
> cutter setups. Some of them sound pretty nice. I was out driving around
> today looking for some of my favorite old fish shops(from 15 years ago),
> and only one was still there, and much smaller than it used to be. I
> guess petco and walmart has put them all out of bussiness:(.If anyone
> knows of any good shops in orange county CA, I'd be very happy. Another
> thing I found stupid was the fact that at the places I did find some
> fish and supplies they sell fish such as arawanas and red bellied pacus,
> and they don't sell tanks half big enough. The largest tank I was able
> to find so far locally is the 80 gallon which I plan on buying. I was
> going to buy a test kit at petco to check out my tap water, but the
> register was unmanned. This hobby has gone down the drain in my area
> since I was last involved with it. I couldn't even find rena or eheim
> filters in any of these shops. I sure hope I can find a nice LFS to make
> purchases, and look at fish. Sorry if I'm rambling but I was really
> surprised how the hobby has dropped off in my area.
>
>
> Josh

Josh,
You may want to do some shopping online. Prices for filters, heaters, test
kits, etc seem to be half the price online than those prices found in the shops.
Once you're done researching and cycling that new tank, there are plenty of
reputable dealers on line to purchase from. It'd be something to look into.
You also mentioned you're not up to speed on Latin names, this site may help
with the rift lake species. www.cichlidrecpie.com/cichlidrecipe/ . Give it a
look over.
Amateur

[Josh Mills]

In article >,
says...
>
> Josh,
> You may want to do some shopping online. Prices for filters, heaters, test
> kits, etc seem to be half the price online than those prices found in the shops.
> Once you're done researching and cycling that new tank, there are plenty of
> reputable dealers on line to purchase from. It'd be something to look into.
> You also mentioned you're not up to speed on Latin names, this site may help
> with the rift lake species. www.cichlidrecpie.com/cichlidrecipe/ . Give it a
> look over.
> Amateur
>
>
>
Yeah I'm planning on doing most major purchases online, but I would like
to find a nice local store with a good selection of stuff. I'm just
suprised by the lack of selection at the places I was able to find
locally. Big Al's looks like they have good prices for an online vendor.
I was thinking of getting a filstar 3 and an ebojager 250 watt heater,
or do you think a eheim 2217 would be a better filter choice?

Josh

[Josh Mills]

In article >,
says...
> You also mentioned you're not up to speed on Latin names, this site may help
> with the rift lake species. www.cichlidrecpie.com/cichlidrecipe/ . Give it a
> look over.
> Amateur
Great site thanks for the tip! Very informative, and just what I needed
to learn the latin names of the fish I'll be getting. So far I'm
thinking peacocks and yellow labs. I know I could fit larger fish in an
80, but they are the ones that have really cought my eye.

thanks, Josh

[Frank S]

> Big Al's looks like they have good prices for an online vendor.

I buy all my stuff (besides tank and fish) from Big Al's. Good outfit, good
prices, good selection.

-Frank

[Amateur]

"Josh Mills" > wrote in message
.. .
> Great site thanks for the tip! Very informative, and just what I needed
> to learn the latin names of the fish I'll be getting. So far I'm
> thinking peacocks and yellow labs. I know I could fit larger fish in an
> 80, but they are the ones that have really cought my eye.
>
> thanks, Josh

Not that it hasn't been done, but mixing different species of peacocks can
sometimes cause problems. I'd recommend in a tank that size, two males, four
females of both the peacocks and labids. As tankmates, you could also look at
some of the Copadichromis species. The smaller species would be better for the
smaller peacock species. If you went with a larger species of peacock, check out
the Copadichromis borleyi.
Amateur

[Amateur]

"Josh Mills" > wrote in message
.. .

Josh,
I've used the Emperor's with much success, hang on the back type filters and
also the Fluval line canisters. All seem good filters. I've heard good things
about eheim but haven't used them. Also heard good things about the filstar 3
canister filters. For 80 gallons, and the fish you're considering, I'd look at
a quality canister filter and possibly some power heads with sponges for extra
biological filtration. You can place them behind rocks along the back and aim
them towards the bottom to prevent debris from settling. If you go with
peacocks, and if you decide you like Copadichromis species, you'll want to do a
sand substrate. This can sometimes get sucked up by canisters and damage the
impeller. Things to consider.
Amateur

[T]

"Amateur" > wrote in message
. com...
>
> "Josh Mills" > wrote in message
> .. .
> > Great site thanks for the tip! Very informative, and just what I needed
> > to learn the latin names of the fish I'll be getting. So far I'm
> > thinking peacocks and yellow labs. I know I could fit larger fish in an
> > 80, but they are the ones that have really cought my eye.
> >
> > thanks, Josh
>
> Not that it hasn't been done, but mixing different species of peacocks can
> sometimes cause problems. I'd recommend in a tank that size, two males,
four
> females of both the peacocks and labids. As tankmates, you could also look
at
> some of the Copadichromis species. The smaller species would be better for
the
> smaller peacock species. If you went with a larger species of peacock,
check out
> the Copadichromis borleyi.
> Amateur
>
>

Generally I get one male to every five females in my Cic tanks.. I do have
some Yellow Lab fry right now, there very small yet but I have transfered
them to a larger, less populated grow out tank. I also have some even
smaller Peacock fry.. In the Malawi's tanks, I purposely over populate as to
create confusion and diversion for the more aggresive fish.. In the last
year I have lost only two Cic's .. One was our stupidity, and one was due to
aggresion from another like species..I have just over 30 Malawi's in a 55
USG show tank, and they are all healthy and doing well.. Most of these fish
are adults, with the only exceptions being the juvi's we put in there
today..

Tim

[MarAzul]

"T" > wrote in message
link.net...
If you go to Vegas from time to
> time, a trip over to Apple Valley won't put you to terribly off the 15..
>
> Tim....
>


Well if you're going to Vegas you might as well stop by my fish store.. :)
They sell standard tanks for $1/gallon..

Mar
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'

[T]

No kidding Huh.. I was looking at a PETsMART 150USG tank.. They wanted
$450 for it.. 4ft long by 2ft wide and I believe 3ft tall... I don't know
if this is a standard size or not..This was also glass.. Do you have
anything like this????

Tim..


"MarAzul" > wrote in message
news:wI5Pb.40647$Ar1.14625@fed1read04...
> "T" > wrote in message
> link.net...
> If you go to Vegas from time to
> > time, a trip over to Apple Valley won't put you to terribly off the 15..
> >
> > Tim....
> >
>
>
> Well if you're going to Vegas you might as well stop by my fish store.. :)
> They sell standard tanks for $1/gallon..
>
> Mar
> ------------------------------------------------
> "I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
> living worthwhile?"
>
> Death thought about it.
> "Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."
>
> -Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'
>
>

[MarAzul]

I think they have them that size.. With some of the larger tanks it's
slightly more, but from wht I've seen of their stock, no where near $450.
The LFS guys are cool though. They told me a while back if they didn't have
the tank in they could contact the manufacturer and request it..
I'll probably be going there sometime this week, I can grab their number if
you'd like info...

Mar

"T" > wrote in message
ink.net...
> No kidding Huh.. I was looking at a PETsMART 150USG tank.. They wanted
> $450 for it.. 4ft long by 2ft wide and I believe 3ft tall... I don't
know
> if this is a standard size or not..This was also glass.. Do you have
> anything like this????
>
> Tim..
>
>
> "MarAzul" > wrote in message
> > Well if you're going to Vegas you might as well stop by my fish store..
:)
> > They sell standard tanks for $1/gallon..
> >
> > Mar
> > ------------------------------------------------
> > "I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that
makes
> > living worthwhile?"
> >
> > Death thought about it.
> > "Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."
> >
> > -Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'
> >
> >
>
>

[T]

Check it out for me.. I might be able to swing something..

Tim..


"MarAzul" > wrote in message
news:hykRb.3078$QJ3.609@fed1read04...
> I think they have them that size.. With some of the larger tanks it's
> slightly more, but from wht I've seen of their stock, no where near $450.
> The LFS guys are cool though. They told me a while back if they didn't
have
> the tank in they could contact the manufacturer and request it..
> I'll probably be going there sometime this week, I can grab their number
if
> you'd like info...
>
> Mar
>
> "T" > wrote in message
> ink.net...
> > No kidding Huh.. I was looking at a PETsMART 150USG tank.. They wanted
> > $450 for it.. 4ft long by 2ft wide and I believe 3ft tall... I don't
> know
> > if this is a standard size or not..This was also glass.. Do you have
> > anything like this????
> >
> > Tim..
> >
> >
> > "MarAzul" > wrote in message
> > > Well if you're going to Vegas you might as well stop by my fish
store..
> :)
> > > They sell standard tanks for $1/gallon..
> > >
> > > Mar
> > > ------------------------------------------------
> > > "I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that
> makes
> > > living worthwhile?"
> > >
> > > Death thought about it.
> > > "Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."
> > >
> > > -Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

[MarAzul]

Okay, so it's $1 a gallon up to about 90 gallons but the prices above that
don't seem bad. When I looked their tank stock was low and the largest they
had was 115 gal. for (I think) $200, maybe a bit more.. Certainly better, it
seems, than PetSmart..
If you want their phone number email me and I'll send it to you.

Mar
-Remove 'no spam' to email-
------------------------------------------------
"I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that makes
living worthwhile?"

Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."

-Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'
"T" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> Check it out for me.. I might be able to swing something..
>
> Tim..
>
>
> "MarAzul" > wrote in message
> news:hykRb.3078$QJ3.609@fed1read04...
> > I think they have them that size.. With some of the larger tanks it's
> > slightly more, but from wht I've seen of their stock, no where near
$450.
> > The LFS guys are cool though. They told me a while back if they didn't
> have
> > the tank in they could contact the manufacturer and request it..
> > I'll probably be going there sometime this week, I can grab their number
> if
> > you'd like info...
> >
> > Mar
> >
> > "T" > wrote in message
> > ink.net...
> > > No kidding Huh.. I was looking at a PETsMART 150USG tank.. They
wanted
> > > $450 for it.. 4ft long by 2ft wide and I believe 3ft tall... I don't
> > know
> > > if this is a standard size or not..This was also glass.. Do you have
> > > anything like this????
> > >
> > > Tim..
> > >
> > >
> > > "MarAzul" > wrote in message
> > > > Well if you're going to Vegas you might as well stop by my fish
> store..
> > :)
> > > > They sell standard tanks for $1/gallon..
> > > >
> > > > Mar
> > > > ------------------------------------------------
> > > > "I meant," said Ipslore, bitterly,"what is there in this world that
> > makes
> > > > living worthwhile?"
> > > >
> > > > Death thought about it.
> > > > "Cats," he said eventually, "Cats are nice."
> > > >
> > > > -Terry Pratchett, 'Sourcery'
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>