# [Wet Thumb Forum]-125G African Rift Lake Cichlid Tank



## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Here are some recent pictures of my 125G planted mbuna tank. It's my first planted tank and is now about six months old. I hope the next six months are as interesting


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Here are some recent pictures of my 125G planted mbuna tank. It's my first planted tank and is now about six months old. I hope the next six months are as interesting


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## Margolis (Sep 22, 2004)

WOW!!!









that is a beautiful tank.

what are the complete specs? what substrate? what kind of co2 setup? what is your fertilizer regimen?


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## imported_russell (Sep 14, 2004)

i thought cichlids would kill plants.... guess that's a myth.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks Margolis







Here are the specs:

Volume: 470 L (nominal), 415 L (effective)

Filtration:	2 Rena Filstar XP3 Canisters Using Cell-Pore Bio Media and 50 Micron Pads

Heating:	2 Hydor 300 W In-line Heaters (one on each canister outflow)

Lighting:	444 Watts Total - 2x96 W 10000 K, 2x96 W 6700 K, 2x30 W 6500 K. Photoperiod 12 Hours/Day with Dawn-Day-Dusk-Night Cycle with Moonlights

Substrate:	1.3 cm Styrofoam Support Base, 2.5 cm Caribsea Cichlid Sand covered with 5 cm Caribsea Eco-Complete Plant Substrate (used to create hills and terraces)

Decoration:	70 kg of Lace Rock, 2 pieces of Driftwood (unknown origin), numerous Riccia rocks

Others:	JBJ Pressurized CO2 Regulator and Bubble Counter with Milwaukee SMS122 pH Controller and AB AquaMedic Reactor 1000 (on one filter outflow); Aqua 25 W UV Sterilizer (on the other filter outflow, timed to run only during lights-out to reduce possible oxidation of trace elements); Eheim Auto-Feeder.

Water:	Temp 25-27°C (lighting brings it up during the day), pH 7.2, KH 14-15, GH 15-17, NO3 6-8 ppm, PO4 1.0-1.5 ppm, CO2 25-30 ppm

Fauna:	Labeotropheus feulleborni, Labidochromis caeruleus 'Lion's Cove', Pseudotropheus acei 'Luwala Reef', Pseudotropheus demasoni 'Pombo Rocks', Pseudotropheus sp. elongatus 'Usisya' (wild-caught F0), Jordanella floridae (Florida Flag Fish), Crossocheilus siamensis (Siamese Algae Eaters)

Flora:	Ammannia sp. 'Bonsai', Anubias barteri v barteri, Anubias barteri v nana, Anubias barteri v nana 'petite', Blyxa japonica, Ceratopteris siliquosa, Cryptocoryne affinis, Crypt. blassii, Crypt. balanciaga, Crypt. longicauda, Crypt. nurii, Crypt. wendtii 'Green Gecko', Crypt. wendtii 'Tropica', Cyperus helferi, Didiplis diandra, Echinodorus 'Red Flame', Glossostigma elatinoides, Heteranthera zosterifolia, Lilaeopsis brasiliensis, Limnophila aromatica, Ludwigia glandulosa 'Peruensis', Marsilea quadrifolia, Nuphar japonicum v formosa, Pogostemon stellata, Pogostemon stellata 'Broad-Leaf', Ranalisma humile, Riccia fluitans, Sagittaria weatherbiana

Maintenance:	Fish are fed once daily in the morning. Water is changed 50-70% weekly on Saturday as per Tom Barr's Estimative Index recommendations to reset nutrient levels. Nitrates rarely need supplementation due to extremely adequate levels of fish waste. Phosphate is supplemented in the morning on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday to maintain 1.0 ppm levels using KH2PO4. Traces are supplemented in the morning on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday using a custom mix of CSM+B, MgSO4, and K2SO4. Sodium bicarbonate is used to buffer water to 14 dKH after water changes.


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## JoeBanks (Jan 26, 2006)

It really is a beautiful tank. Nice work.

Two questions for you:

What are the dimensions of the tank (lxhxw)?

Have the fish been in the tank long? I've always read that cichlids will dig up plants as well as eat them. Has this happened?


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks! The fish have been in the tank since right after the cycle completed, a little over six months now. The plants have slowly accumulated over the intervening period. Believe me, I've heard just about every variation of, "You can't keep plants with Africans," but I think I've got it figured out. Certain species are not very hard on plants: Ps. demasoni, L. caeruleus, L. fuelleborni, Ps. elongatus IME. My fish dig very little and only eat a few varieties of plants, vals and Java moss in particular, so I don't keep those. The thing that will attract an African to a plant faster than anything is algae. If the plants have algae growing on them then the Africans will go after them, since almost all mbuna are algae grazers. Keep the plants algae free and the mbuna pay little attention to them. So far, so good anyway









Oh, and the tank is your standard 125G All-Glass, 6' long, 22" tall, 19" front to back, if I remember right. I would go with something shorter but deeper if I was getting another plant tank, something like 4'x2'x2' I think would be perfect.


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

Thanks for sharing your tank and experience with us. I like the way your substrate undulates and the creative use of the lace rocks and driftwood. Very attractive! I wouldn't have known that about Mbuna; I'll have to get a couple to keep my algae in check. You've given me hope!


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

If you're looking for mbuna to work on your algae, check out Labeotropheous feulleborni. One look at the mouths and you'll see they were built for algae-scraping. They're friendly (for mbuna) and spend all day eating the stuff from my rocks and plants, without doing and damage to the plants. Almost as good as SAEs


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

I got 6 of them earlier this week, three bright orange and three solid blue morphs. They look great with my M. parkinsoni,which are blue and bright orange. They took to the tank right away and started grazing algae soon thereafter. They had been kept if soft water so they didn't have to aclimate very much to my water conditions. They are very active and curious and really friendly. What fun fishes!


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## JoeBanks (Jan 26, 2006)

If you have any other pics, please post them. I'd really like to see the tank directly from the front. The layout of the tank is very impressive. I would not have thought to use lace rock in a planted tank, but it looks really good with the algae growing on it.

Question: The large dark object on the far left side, is that lace rock or driftwood?


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Creature - I'm really surprised by the variable coloration of the fuelleborni. Mine are basically and OB morph but are showing signs of turning blue as they grow. I'm anxious to see what they end up looking like.

Joe - I posted a full shot of the tank. The large object on the left side is a big (about 70 pounds) piede of lace rock. I knew I had to have it the first time I saw it.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Quite spectacular! When I saw this on APC, I hoped you would post it here as well. 'This is the most artistically designed plant tank for African cichlids I have ever seen.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks Robert







I'm still learning and changing things almost daily so I don't know where it might end up when I'm done with it, if I'm ever done with it.


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

Another compliment...I can't stop looking at it!


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## Rekab (Apr 28, 2004)

Awsome tank!!







Best ive seen. I tried cichlids and plants but gave up. You may have inspired me to give it another go. How do your Demasoni get along with each other?


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks guys









Rekab - The demasoni DO NOT get along with each other, but that is life as normal for demasoni. Fortunately I have a big enough tank with enough cover that they can spread out and stake out their own territories. I would hate to see what would happen with demasoni if they were crowded together in a small tank. I suspect that's when you begin to hear the stories of how vicious they can be. But their aggression is limited almost exlusively to conspecifics. They leave everyone else alone unless they linger too long in their area or are just too big to tackle (and it takes a pretty large size difference before a demasoni will back off - LOL).


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## Rekab (Apr 28, 2004)

Thought so







Ive got a 500ltr cichlid tank started with 20 demasoni three years ago now have only three. So I tried growing plants to give some cover along with the rocks. Most got eaten by the larger cichlids . After looking at your tank makes want to give it another go. Im very envious.


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## imported_BSS (Apr 14, 2004)

Stunning tank, Travis. Well done!!


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

OK, I've never had East African cichlids, these mbuna I recently purchased are really something. They'll graze at the algae but they're also honing their hunting skill, too. I've lost two 1" SAEs that I just added to increase the working crew. I don't mind them having a $2 fish dinner on me, I'll just have to get bigger ones the next time. I also added about 25 Amano shrimp which were only about 1/2", I guess they're sushi. I can live with that, too. But now they're establishing territories, and while not overly aggressive, they do harass even the larger M. parkinsoni rainbowfishes when they're resting near the surface (I guess the empty space at the surface is territory up for grabs as well), and these mbuna are only about an inch long. Still, they are a great addition and I really like them. I just hope they don't start chewing on the hardware next! I need some mbuna chew toys.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Creature - I wish I had known you were putting in SAEs. I had the exact same problem. My cichlids saw those skinny 1" fish and, even though there were fry in the tank smaller than the SAEs, they immediately took the SAEs for food and ate all but two of them. This was a bad thing for more than one reason. Most mbuna are herbivores and have a very narrow and twisting gut. This can cause a problem known as 'Malawi Bloat' if they eat too much protein (e.g. SAEs). The protein does not pass properly through their gut and blocks it. This is often fatal. It killed all of my cichlids who at the SAEs. Horrible. I suspect that the same can happen if your cichlids eat your shrimp. Be very careful what you put in the tank with them.

I don't know if it's a good idea to mix any kind of slow moving fish with cichlids. They will likely become annoyed if it lingers too long in their territory and chase it. That's just their nature, and it will increase with time. As they get used to the tank they will develop stronger territorial instincts and will even more aggressively defend their turf. Your Rainbows may not fare very well in this environment. It's best to keep mbuna with only other mbuna because of this. Maybe syno cats or a big pleco, but I don't know of much else that can handle being in a tank very long with these guys. I do have a few big SAEs that are doing just fine BTW, but they've got to be at least 2" before I would try introducing them. Good luck and let us know it goes


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## imported_Creature (Feb 6, 2003)

How long does it take them to bust a gut?

Out of 14 SAEs I added, I can find only one. I've seen multiple carcasses (head and tail sections) which were in the process of being picked clean. I guess they like Thai food as much as I do! I've also lost two lemon tetras, which is alright, since I wanted them out of there; four to go!

I also have a leopard Ctenopoma that has been practicing his hunting technique, hovering against the current pointed downward or in a darkened corner waiting for an SAE to slip up. It's been interesting to see this new behaviour. Fortunately everybody leaves the otocinclus alone, due to their hardened fins I suppose.

Oh well, I always like to shop for new fishes, I'll just wait a while longer.


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## JanMc (Aug 6, 2003)

Travis, that tank is awesome! I have been fence sitting for a while about whether to try that and you have finally kicked me in gear. Oh well, what's one more tank. Beautiful man, beautiful.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks







I'm glad that you like it. I would urge anyone who is curious to try mbuna with plants because I've found that they're are not nearly as hard on them as people may lead you to believe. Try to stick with the more mild-mannered mbuna like L. caeruleus and Ps. acei but there are quite a few species that might surprise you as far as the amenability with plants.


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