ryanjury

Just for example this is a 540L tank that I had running for a while when I had to put all my breeders in the same tank and do some work in the fishroom, tank is 1500 x 60 x 60, filtration is FX5 and not all the fish are shown..

Tropheops chilumba would be the same sorts of colours as dems/yellows so I would go with other fish however there is plenty of room in that tank so you could easily do the dems/yellows/tropheops and other fish. I would probably start with dems/yellows/cuckoos and build up from there, with a tank that size (and extra volume added by sump you could stick tons of fish in there, best to start with 20+ dems and 10 or so yellows, but there are plenty more options peacocks or haps etc that would be good in there too, I have a few different types and live close to you so feel free to come over and have a look if you want inspiration.

Mix sounds good as nudge has suggested the yellows and red zebs might cross but you probably won't end up with much breeding with cuckoos in the tank anyway. Regarding cycling if you were stocking with juvvies then you could just put them in with some cycled media from a local fish keepers tank and keep an eye on things, in a tank that big there is plenty of water to dilute any nasty stuff that may build up and unless you filled the tank to the brim with fish and overfed you wouldn't cause an ammonia spike.

Sump looks great and good build thread too, I look forward to seeing it progress.

Nice looking tank mate, I feel your pain with photos but some good ones would be nice, I like the rockwork in your tank. Let me know if you get a spare female calvus I have plenty of males!

:iag:

I have found dolphins to be spit very easy often in the process of being caught, if they are stuck in a breeding net they will freak out, causing them spit and potentially eat their own fry, or mash them in to stuff while they are thrashing around. The second female would have eaten the fry as well as the first female if she freaked out. The best bet is to strip the female and place the fry into another tank. If you cannot do this then best to stick them in a plastic floating breeding trap inside the breeding net, if you have the breeding net on its own then fish in the tank will try and suck the fry through the plastic net to eat them. This ends up mashing them in to the net and kills them. What other fish do you have in the tank?

It's a good science experiment, there are videos of people using the old Jager heaters heating them up to red hot and plunging them in to water and they didn't break, it was supposed to illistrate the quality of the jagers..

Nice pics and fish mate, the jacobs are one of my favorite too, I have had all sorts of different lines over the years but haven't been happy until I got the line that I have now (which I believe is the same line as yours).

+1 FX5s are great I picked mine up second hand cheap years ago and it has gone great on a 540L African tank.

Aquq one cf1200 all the way, they are one of the cheapest filters on the market, they filter well and last forever (I know people who have ran them for 7+years with no issues), and parts are readily available and cheap. I have never broken any of mine I have purchased ones other people have broken and fixed them.

Random holding female peacock.

If you want some orange then get some red zebras, red you can keep red kadangos or red empresses, neither are a bright bright red fish though, but you won't just cross a few and make anything better than them..

Generally it is not a good idea to just randomly cross cichlids, you will find most of the Africans out there are hybrids, most the zebras and peacocks out there are crossed already anyway. Why don't you get some good quality fish and breed and spread some nice fish around? Maybe it's just me but if I am going to put my time and effort in to breeding fish and then spreading them around the place then I would rather do it with good quality fish than hybrids. Of course the hybrid debate will always go on forever and it depends on what your take is on it.

There are some good breeders that sell on trademe, there are a few guys who have very nice fish and breed in species tanks etc, but it can be hard finding out what ones they are. Generally the way the auctions are worded or photos in the auction can give allot away.

I have had a skim read of this and I must say it is a very professional magazine and is a credit to all of those who contributed and whoever put it together did an awesome job. Well done!

Can't you get it from the pharmacy?

You can put the fish that you suggested with dems, dems can be quite agro but ok if kept in larger groups and in big tanks like your one. What peacocks were you interested in? You could keep one cuckoo if you wanted to but if they are in smaller groups then they tend to hide allot. My group of 4 is quite social though.

Nice plan looks like you have done lots of research and have a good sound plan to start with. I can't comment on any of the sump stuff I don't use them but I am sure someone can help. I can comment on your stocking though and the only issues you will have is finding acei they are not in the country to my knowledge, and you may struggle to find good quality red zebras. Any peacocks you stick in there might get a hard time but might be ok in a tank that size, I would go with 5-6 cuckoos they are allot more social in a group and you will actually see them. You can easily do 40-50 in a tank that size with good filtration, for starter I wouldn't start with any less than 20 demasoni. Bristlenoses get a hard time but seem to go alright in african tanks too.

Nice pics and fish man, they all look like they are doing really well Well done!

They are holding..

Just buy a new one most aqua one parts I have seen have been quite cheap I think I remember seeing replacement pumps on trademe, it is pretty easy to DIY any pump onto those overhead filters or a petshop can supply the right one.

D comps were in all the Auckland stores a few months ago chances are most still have them, there were nice adults for around $20 a fish.. Dragonsbloods should be around, unfortunately I lost my male but stripped a batch recently will be keeping most to grow out to breed from but will sell some. I have a female electra would love to find a nice male for her and breed them again.

Aqua one cf1200 you might get 2 for $300, they filter really well and last forever..

Good to hear Caryl, Grant will be very happy! I hope things continue to improve for him.