Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hi all,

not sure if anyone will remember, but a month or so ago I mentioned I was going to convert my 300ltr community tank over to a Tangs tank. Right as I was about to start my convicts bred, so I thought I'd have to wait a couple of months before getting started...but the male ate all the fry, so I was good to go.

Anyway...to give you an idea of what I done, here's how the tank was before...





So yesterday a mate came up for the weekend with his missus, and we started stripping down the tank. Removed the decor, plants (live and plastic), and siphoned out about 200ltrs of the water. Then went about trying to catch my convicts and pleco. That went off pretty quickly, and I made a quick run down to my lfs as the owner had agreed to house the pleco for me till I was ready to return him to the tank. As for the convicts, well they won't be suitable in a Tangs tank or my 100ltr community, so I told the lfs to sell them.

After stripping out the decor and removing the fish, I siphoned out the last of the water, got all the old gravel out, and gave the tank a good rinse out. It was actually a lot cleaner than I thought it would be, so it didn't take long. Meantime I'd disconnected my external filter but left it full of water as I wanted the media to kick start the new set up.

For substrate I went with a base of 2cm deep 2mm black basalt quartz and on top of that 3 - 4cm of 1mm basalt quartz. It's very much like sand but a little easier to clean and less prone to heavy packing. Washing it was a bit of a chore, but (in my opinion) it was well worth it as it gave me exactly the look I was wanting. For rockwork I went with Korean Basalt. I bought 25kilos but so far have used around 20 kilos. I'm still undecided whether I should use more rockwork, so hopefully a few of you will give me your opinions on whether I should add more or not.

Here's a few pics of the tank from this morning...
















This afternoon I decided to reintroduce my pleco as my water was stable and tested out fine. So far no ill effects, and he's found a cave to inhabit.

As for stocking, I'll be going with around 6 -8 Julies, maybe a couple of pairs of multis, and others I've yet to decide on.

"Love the rockwork, mate - Korean Basalt's a great choice, wasn't cheap, though, 25 kilos set me back a pretty penny, but I think it's worth it, what do you think, should I add more or leave it as is?"

Your rockwork does look awesome, I'm a big fan of that style, reminds me of Seryu stone. For your Julies and shellies I'd probably create a rock pile at one end, then leave some open space, like a "no man's land" before placing the shells at the other end. Maybe lay a couple of rocks around the shells to mark their territory, but you don't have to. Tank's looking great, keep the updates coming, looking forward to seeing the new additions when they arrive.

I've always thought that backgrounds make a tank look better, they hide cables and whatnot. I've got a black one on one tank and it really brings out the subtle colours of the fish, plus it's just a nice clean look. On the other hand, I've got a blue one on another tank and it works well with the black dubs.

In terms of rockwork, I've found that having a main structure off-centre or at one end of the tank works well, leaving a wee space between the glass and the rocks - you can stick some shells in there too. Your idea of hiding the intake with rocks should work as long as they're not right on top of it, just use them as visual camouflage.

If you're looking for shells, I've had some luck on fleabay, I can send you some links for turbos and tonna and that, they're usually a bit more expensive but worth it. I'm not entirely sure what your stocking plan is, but if you're planning on keeping julies, they'll hold a tiny territory on the rocks, and your shellies will claim the shells. It's all about giving them their own space to call their own.

Different fish have different preferences, punks will use the rocks and open space, cyps like open space, feather fins like open space, and most lamprologines use the rocks. Hope this helps a bit, cheers.

I've been thinking about the background and I reckon you've got a point. I might just get some black craft paper and stick it along the back, if I can squeeze my hands in there. If not, I'll have to get one of the kids to help me out.

I'd love those links to the escargot shells, mate. I'm having a hard time finding them here. I don't want too many, maybe 8 or so, and see how it works out. My idea is to have a wee community of shellies in the right corner area, Julies and something else in the rocks. The LFS has some gorgeous Feather fins in just now, might take another look on Tuesday and see if I can resist grabbing a couple. Julies first, though.

I've been messing around with the rocks and added some more. Just used what was left over, so there's not the full 25kg of rock spread along the bottom. I tried to increase the height at both corners, more for visual effect than anything else. I made sure to provide loads of wee caves and crevices.

I've attached some more pics of the rockwork. Let me know what you think.

Front view...



Side view with some new pieces added. Can't completely block the filter inlet, but the new pieces catch the eye and take it away from the inlet a bit.



Side elevated, looking down onto the rocks...



Front left corner...



Front Right corner...



One of my very shy Julies. I've got two in there, but only one seems game enough to come out. I put them in 3 days ago and have only seen the other one once... hoping she's still okay and just very shy. I'll be adding 4 more this week.



A wee bit grainy, but you can see the colours coming through, especially in the fins.



I've also got a common pleco in there, but I think I'm gonna have to trade him to the LFS and get something smaller. He's completely tearing up the substrate. I'll see how it goes over the next week or so, but I don't fancy tearing the rock apart to try and catch him.

Looking forward to hearing your opinions or comments, especially from those who keep Tangs. This is my first Tangs tank, so I'm feeling my way along.

Loving the progress on your Tangs tank, really enjoying the updates. I've been getting into African tanks lately and it's great to see others doing the same. Looking forward to getting more tanks in the future and experimenting with different setups.

I'm curious about the Julies, are they dickfeldi? If so, getting two pairs to coexist might be a challenge. Even if you managed to make it work, there wouldn't be much space left for another rock dweller. I think Julie transcriptious would've been a better choice.

Regarding the multies, they're shell dwellers that require a lot of shells, stacked on top of each other. They also tend to dig around in the substrate, but that's just part of their charm. Unfortunately, I think they might not be compatible with your Julies due to their aggression.

what julies are they? dickfeldi? If so your gonna struggle to get 2 pairs to co-habit. And if you did then there isnt gonna be much room for another rock dweller. Julie transcriptious would have been a better option. Also if you want to keep multies they are a shell dweller that needs lots and lots of shells. (stacked on top of each other. They are also gonna dig your substrate around but thats fluxx they are great. Unfortunately i think your not gonna be able to keep them with your julies due to your julies aggression.

Yeah I know mate. The plan is to introduce another 4 then 2 more a week or so after that and see if I can get a couple to pair off. Then I'll remove the others and bring them back to my lfs. I was due to pick some more up today but succumbed to a a couple of Neolamprologus brichardi that I've been drooling over for the past 3 weeks.

I know I need more shells....can't get them over here but will be in the UK on business in a couple of weeks and will try to pick some up then. Failing that I'll have to try and get some on fleabay.

I'm well aware of the potential issues with keeping multies with my julies, but I'm hoping for the best. I've got my eyes on some more shells and will be picking them up soon. I'll be keeping a close eye on the tank and making adjustments as needed.

Here's a few more pics of the tank and the new additions.

Yeah, loads of escargot shells on fleabay, Tonna shells are pretty handy too.

The pics look great, keep 'em coming, I'm loving the updates. Don't want to be the one to rain on your parade, but I've had some issues in the past with Julies when adding them over a period of time. It's been a problem for me, not sure if it'll be the same for you, but thought I'd mention it.

I had to do a complete overhaul of my tank, removing all the fish and rockwork, before I could get them to settle in. It was a bit of a nightmare, but I'm sure you'll have a better time of it with your tank size and all that rockwork. The extra territories should help.

Good luck with it all, I'm looking forward to seeing how it all comes together and getting some more updates.