Topic: Greetings to everyone!

[Katt]

Congrats on the new fish.

Try photobucket. 

[altaaffe]

I'll say welcome too.  Sorry I didn't manage to get to you a couple of days earlier.  I would have pointed you in the direction for substrates, water parameters, etc.

I take it by 75g as a start you've got designs on MTS and going bigger in the future !! (That's the way we've all done - I suspect)

Seriously 75g will be fine for them, I take it your new fish are Mbuna ?  It tends to be less about no of gallons with Mbuna and more about tank surface area and numbers and size of rock piles.  Most tanks are proportioned such that they aren't too high.  I once stocked a 120g with Malawis and had to stock less than I could for that tank due to it being a deep tank. 
In a tank your size, you'll probably end up with the "master of the tank" and then 2 lieutenants who command a rock pile or half of the main pile each.  After that it's about who's allowed to live in their territories.  If you're happy to keep up with the water changes and it is mbuna, go for 1 fish per 2g.  If it's another type, then let us know and we'll see what we can do for you.

As for getting the fish in there now, can I just ask how long the filter was cycled for and how ?
The normal thing for Malawis, with trying to get numbers into the tank quickly, is to carry out a fishless cycle so that the filters are capable of accepting a high bio-load straight away.

As for plants - see what you can get away with, Vallisneria like the harder, higher pH water and tend to get left alone.  Generally speaking try to find something that will grow quickly and have lots of it.  One or two plants here and there will soon get seen as the "salad bar" and these guys like their greens !!

[thewass]

Okay! here is my tank, and a few pictures of my fish. there are ten total in there









altaaffe, I cycled the tank for 24 hours, but the filters I have (two emperor 400's) were used, and they had used bio-wheels (four total biowheels and four total filters). I wanted to see if it would work, and it did! the fish have been in there for four days and they are doing great.

would anyone like to critique my tank?

[thewass]

Also, I have a question about algae eaters. In my smaller tank, I have 2 algae eaters. one of them is a chinese algae eater, about 3 or 3.5 inches long. the other is an albino bristlenose pleco, he's new. maybe about 2 inches long.... maybe a bit less. my original plan was to add the chinese algae eater early on, while the cichlids are still small so they grow up with him in there and wont bother him, but then I read that bristlenose plecos do better, thats why I bought him. So I just moved him from the other tank to my cichlid tank, and immediately, they started bothering him and nipping at him (this is the bristlenose pleco). I left him in there for a few minutes and watched what would happen but they didnt stop bothering him so i took him out and put him back into the other tank. what do I do?

[altaaffe]

To be honest - you wouldn't need either of them.  The Mbuna will graze on any algae build up anyway.
I have kept BN plecs with Mbuna and they can take a hammering.  Mine used to breed in the tank and the Mbuna would try everything to get the male out of his pot so they could get the eggs but he'd stay resolute.

It may be with a lack of rocks and caves that the plec wants to compete for the same hidey holes as the other fish but you'll have to be prepared to remove it if it takes too heavy a battering.

You're going to need a lot more rocks to keep them happy though, each mbuna is going to need to have a "space " to call their own and even then they'll battle each other for what they see as a better territory

As an example, this is a shot of my Mbuna 180g tank from a while ago - underneath the rocks there is also a plastic framework to provide more tunnels and caves:

[thewass]

yea, I am slowly adding them..... but for some reason... rocks are expensive. can I just go to the beach and pick up a bunch of rocks from there? (I live in the Tampa Bay area)

or if anyone knows any other source or rocks that is cheaper?

I am also thinking about getting a moss ball for my fish. any objections?

[altaaffe]

Some people have picked up river rocks but it's all about making sure they are clean and to be honest, I'd rather spend a bit of money on Tufa rock which will also help keep the water hardness up.

[blob]

i got my rocks from the side of the road under a bridge, sandstone is common in sydney Australia.. working nicely so far

[OinKY]

Welcome
Altaaffe has you covered on the ARLC.
Being in Florida (ARLC breeder's central in US),you should have fairly good pH and hardness from the tap...and an endless supply of limestone and other calciferous rocks to pick up in the woods.
Don't pick up rocks from polluted areas or areas that see chemical spraying of any kind...and test for calcium content by pouring vinegar on it and watching for any reaction. You want a reaction in this case so that it buffers the pH and maintains the hardness.
One Southerner to another,we have endless supplies of ARLC decor for free.Just takes a little research.