paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Just got a 4 foot tank on weekend, 1200 x approx 400 x 400 with lids (cannot find tape measure for exact dimensions) have got 2 good filters so filtration is sufficient. atm i have large round river stones on bottom have 3 jewel cichlids approx 7cm in tank atm with tank set at 25 degrees can i please have your ideas of what other fish i should put in tank, i do not want a community tank, do not want small fish, (i have 2 tanks breeding guppies as food) nor do i want lots of fish. preferably the new fish can live with the jewels as i love them. im not really a fan of plants. fish must have character i dont want anything that is just gunna sit and hide. must have colour and or attitude. preferably attitude as the jewels are absolutley stunning money is no problem (within reason) i dont mind paying good money for a couple good fish i was thinking of 2 oscars aswell as the jewels, i cannot decide on if i should get any fish for the bottom, im not really a fan of bristlenoses but cannot think of what else to put in that will live with agressive fish. thanks alot guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 No to the oscars. There's no way you could have 2 in that tank size. They need a tank that big each. How about an african tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 There's no point getting oscars, they get too large, too fast they are such awesome fish though! you could get more jewels or a single convict maybe? I like those red zebras too... they should look good in a tank like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 tank too small for oscars... thats ok an african setup would be choice. then the hard task of choosing the fish to stock it basically for an african setup id need something to bring up the PH? coral etc but otherwise would be the same as running a normal tropical setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Electric yellows. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 electric yellows are neat fish, can my jewels live with the yellows? also forgot to add that the specie(s) that go in tank must have the wow factor so i can impress potential next girlfriend hahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 electric yellows are neat fish, can my jewels live with the yellows? also forgot to add that the specie(s) that go in tank must have the wow factor so i can impress potential next girlfriend hahahaha You should get some Demasonis and Elc Yellows. I'm pretty sure they could live with jewels, it'd just depend on their individual temperaments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 what numbers of the e.yellows and demasoni could i safely/comfortably stock in the 4 footer? preferably wit hthe jewels, but i can remove the jewels if they dont get along properly the demasoni were the exact fish i was looking for except i forgot their name :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I 2nd the idea of Elc Yellow's, I have some in with my Oscars and they hold there own and are an awesome fish. I found 6 to be a good number. Don't know if they would work well in your Tank with the Jewels but maybe a small school of Golden Leopard Cory's. I got some for one of my tanks a little while ago and they are really active and don't just sit on the bottom of the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Dems are aggressive between themselves, so it's recommended you keep at least 12 of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Rainbow fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 thanks everyone for your great ideas so far, has given me lots of food for thought. i think the dems, e.yellows and jewels will really brighten the tank up, however 12 dems... surely they will need a bit of space, and then space for the yellows and jewels aswell.... im having a browse on trademe to see what is for sale in NZ ana the following fish have caught my eye as backups if the jewel/yelloe/demasoni combination arnt compatible for my tank: bumblebee cichlids ice blue zebra cichlids Brichardii Maylandia callainos Neolamprologus Daffoldi " T " Bar Cichlid not sure if they are compatible or if their sizes are ok, but they look choice to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Dems are quite small. They grow to a max of about 8cm. You could alway upgrade. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 upgrade.... i would love to, but the 4 footer is the biggest i will be able to have at this point in time. being young and flatting and a fishkeeper isnt always the best combination. so will say 12 dems, my 3 jewels and 6 e.yellows be ok in my tank? seems like it would be rather cramped. hopfully im wrong, i can imagine it would be a rather impressive tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 I have some C Temporalis if you are interested. Yes they get to Oscar size but they are more peaceful, more colourfull and s l o w to grow. Or go all male african Then you can mix n match Great colours with a few fish and not that much trouble I could help you out with any of these M greyshakei Lionhead cichlids Red Jewels M Interuptus P Pulcher D Compresscips A Nyassae C Temporalis Guppies mix sex and size Aulanocara Marleri Red Aulanocara Sunshine Gold A jacobfreibergi P electra HTH Navarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ktttk Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 upgrade.... i would love to, but the 4 footer is the biggest i will be able to have at this point in time. being young and flatting and a fishkeeper isnt always the best combination. so will say 12 dems, my 3 jewels and 6 e.yellows be ok in my tank? seems like it would be rather cramped. hopfully im wrong, i can imagine it would be a rather impressive tank I don't think 21 fish in a four foot tank would be cramp at all, it might actually be understocked - especially considering that the dems (and possibly jewels as well) don't get that big. I have about 60 fish in my 6 foot tank and almost all of them are at breeding size (dems, yellows, kadangos, electras, baenschi peacocks). I'll qualify this statement by pointing out that I have 3 external filters running on the tank and do fortnightly 40% water changes. And I feed them once a day. Best of luck with your tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Yeah, I agree, I think you could stock higher. My 3ft african tank will eventually have 13 dems, about 20 lionheads, and 6-10 electric yellows. I have 3 canisters and a sump, and do 50% w/cs every 2 - 3 days. I feed twice a day when I have babies. I currently have a 3ft with over 100 lionheads ranging from 10cm - .5cm. Most of them are 3-5cm. The number of fish really depends on what you're comfortable with, how aggressive they are and whether or not they have good hiding places. Obviously, I wouldn't overstock and underfiltered tank, but a tank that is filtering it's own volume about 25 times an hour. The recommened for a tank is about 4 times an hour, depending on your source. Also, water changes are a big thing; you need to be removing the waste somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 i will have a check of my filters and their filter rate when i get home from work. now that i know the fish numbers are OK next is how will i get the water parimeters (sp) suitable for the african setup, i had a quick google so know the basics but what would you guys be able to recomend u do/use to get the water parimeters suitable and stable for the yellows/dems etc? thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 15, 2009 Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 Yeah id say your tank would be awesome for what you are suggesting I currently have 21 dem's, yellows, red empresses and some peacocks in a 140L 3ft tank and they are going fine. I will obviously have to move the empresses as they will outgrow it but the rest are fine. Dems are awesome you could do 20-30 in your tank provided filtration and water maintenance is upto the task. You can add coral rock, coral pieces, crushed coral, argonite, shells, limestone rock, dolomite lime etc etc to buffer your ph it really depends on what you can find. I have a few africans for sale at the moment if your still looking for some but sounds like you have made up your mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2009 so lets say i used crushed coral and scattered it between the existing rocks in tank i could effectivley raise the PH to a stable 8.X or whatever the recomended ph is is there a set ammount of crushed coral i should use for my tank setup, or if i use too much will i increase the PH too high? also since i already have 3 jewels in tank atm can i increase the PH while still having them in the tank, i dont wanna kill them, ive had them since they were 1-2cm and they are my favs atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 How much you will need will depend on what your water is like out of the tap (ie how much buffering it needs) and it is not a case of adding heaps of it will make your ph go through the roof, it reaches a point where it wont raise it anymore. Most of my tanks are sitting between 7.8 and 8.2 using most of the things that I have suggested depending on what I have lying around, stability is probably more important than the actual value but I try and get it above 7.5. Gradually adding what you are using for buffering should do the trick and not stress the jewels too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 i will get a ph test kit this weekend and see if i can find some crushed coral. any ideas where i can get coral from? im heading to Rotorua on weekend to go ot Wonderworld aquarium and pet centre, im sure they will have something to bump up the ph but chances are itl be expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 I bought a 2kg bag of coral sand today, as well as some decorative black sand and a ph test kit. how should i go about adding the coral sand, i do not want to cause a too dramatic change and do any damage to my jewels. how long will the PH take to rise? PH test kit i got reads from 7.4-9.0 and water ph in tank right now is showing under the scale of 7.4.. just though thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Just chuck it in gradually, are you going to mix it? You can just add it say half a kg at a time every few days, I would probably just chuck it in as I think it would take a while to actually start working.. Or you could just remove the fish strip the tank set it all up with the coral sand, have the fish in a big bucket or spare tank and acclimatise them over a number of hours to the new tank water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_r Posted April 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 this is what i was thinking of doing as i have already got rocks and just added the new black gravel: put the whole 2kg of coral sand in a stocking or similar and put it in tank and build a mountain of rocks covering the stocking full of coral so it cannot be seen. thanks alot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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