stocking a 40 long

ok i am getting a 40 long(48Lx12Wx16H) soon and want to move some of my fish into it to reduce the number of tanks running... Wink

i currently have:
4 zebra brevis
8 minutus
2(1 pair) of gold ocellatus
and 5 sub adult/adult julie gombe

now my question is what mix would be best suited for my tank.

i dont plan on breeding these fish, i just want a nice community tang tank, if i get babies then i will try to salvage all that i can and put them in a fry tank.
(only the julie babies though,not gonna worry about raising brevis or minutus babies, the julies sell better out here )

i would also like to add a couple small gobies to the mix, not sure if that would be ok but figured i would ask.

i have lots of rocks,clay pots,barnacles,shells and everything else needed

thanks a bunch!
belle

any one? have an suggestions?

thanks


also not adding gobies to the setup, just julies and shellies...

I think it's too early in the morning for the Tang keepers, Belle. Maybe they will be along later to help you out.

betty,yeah we will give them some time.

i saw this link on another forum and figured why not just go ahead and give it a try, he has more species of shellies and alot more agressive species than i want to mix, i am gonna keep the occies in their own tank.

Betty you know patience is not a virtue that belle is known for, lol.
Belle the wife has Comps and shellies in a 55 without any problems if that helps. That's as much as I know about Tangs so far.

lol yeah mike my patience is about as long as a q tip...lmao

here is the link to the shellie setup that inspired me to give it a try
http://www.shelldwellers.com/index.php/topic,3881.0.html

That's a nice looking setup. It sounds like it's working out well.

I have a question . Are the 8 minutus a type of Tang or are they Pseudotropheus Minutus ?

the minutus are lamprologus minutus, a shellie. there is still a debate going on as to whether or not minutus are a dwarf brevis or their own species.

I haven't tried mixing different species of shell dwellers in the same tank so I can't really be of any help there. The 40 long is a great sized tank, my favorite as far as smaller sized tanks are concerned. My idea of a nice Tang "community" tank for a 40L would be shellies, Juli's, and either paracyps or one of the smaller cyprichromis species. I'm having good luck with altolamprologus compressiceps and Julidichromis transcriptus in a 40 long even tho they both like the same types of territory. The comp's were already established and it didn't take the Juli's long to figure out where they could set up shop and where they weren't welcome. Can't promise you could have that kind of luck, but it is working for me at the moment. Hope some of that helps.

Belle, I don't have much experience with community set-ups. Almost all my tanks are species only tanks. However, I think I can give you some tips.
1. Make sure your fish have the same dietary requirements.
2. Get fish that live in different habitats like some shellie's and some small cyps.
3. Whatever you decide on, please make sure they won't interbreed.

thanks everyone, i am going to give the mix a try, and if need be i can remove a species of shellie. i have an extra 20 long still setup i can put the other species in.

i wont be salvaging/selling fry from the shellies(they will only leave my tank by way of culling. only want to salvage fry from the julies, as i can sell them

the shellies are a dime a dozen out here, and the julies are not, not gombe or bemba(the bembas are still young juvies, and those will be in a species only tank as i want a breeding pair )

not really wanting to buy more fish right now, i want to reduce the number of tanks, and once xmas is over i might look into some paracyps to add to the tank or maybe some rainbows will work too... i have plenty of those...lol

thanks again
belle

Sounds like a fun project.

Good luck, Belle.

thanks, i have decided i am going to make a big rock pile in the center of the tank for the julies, and put each shellie species on each side of the rock pile.

hopefully since they are brevis they wont venture far from their shells.

briansbelle wrote:thanks, i have decided i am going to make a big rock pile in the center of the tank for the julies, and put each shellie species on each side of the rock pile.

hopefully since they are brevis they wont venture far from their shells.

That might work. A border with guards .

ok i have thought about it and i think i am going to leave out the zebra brevis, there is only 4 of them so i am going to keep them in their own 15 gallon tank, and put another species of shellie in there, something not so closely related to minutus. maybe some multis or punks.

Any pics yet?

no, sorry no pics yet, the tank isnt here yet, i wont be getting it till the 15th, then it will take some time to setup.

i will get pics as soon as it is setup.

also anyone have any suggestions on mixing caudopunctatus with minutus or julies? i want something to mix in the tank that wont interbreed with either of them but also live in peace, well as peaceful as a cichlid tank can get..

ok stocklist will be as follows,

8 minutus
5 julie gombe(till a pair forms)(then 1 pair)
and 6 caudopunctatus(until a pair forms, or i notice too much aggression)

i am thinking of putting a rock pile along the back of the tank with the clay pots and saucer caves integrated into the rockwork for the julies, and then shells and random smaller rocks through out the front of the tank for the punks and minutus.

not sure if this helps belle but i have had multies and brevis together and they have never inbreed with each other. The multies would always be on one side of the tank and brevis on the other...

thanks chris i was thinking of mulites but i like punks more..unless someone thinks maybe the punks might be too aggressive.

Wow, warlord's tank is awesome. I wonder if I can keep someother species in my 2ft square tank I'm setting up?
I'm going to brave the chilly weather out today to start washing sand! lol

40 long is offically setup and fully functional

i have made a rock wall along the whole length of the back for the julies, and kinda curved it around on the ends for the shellies.

i put the 5 gombe in there,along with 4 zebra brevis, and will be adding in 6 (.75-1inch) caudopunctatus...

i have it setup so that the punks can have their rock pile on the opposite end of the shellies....

i will be adding more shells in tomorrow once i add the punks..and kinda scatter them around their rock pile.

funny thing is my julies are hanging in the shells too, i see them peaking out of them.. so i might need to add a few shells in there for the julies, maybe some welk type shells..in the rock pile, they also like to hang out in the barnacles i have in there... like whack a mole

i will also update pics soon, i have been working on the tank and rearranging the living room since 5pm and its now 10:43 and i am exhausted, time for a shower then beddy bye time

Sounds good! My Julies also liked the shells when I first got them. They have lost interest in them now, which is a good thing -- I was afraid they might get stuck inside.

I had forgotten about caudopunks... I would like a rock-dwelling fish to inhabit the back corner of the square.. there's room for a little flowerpot behind the rocks, too....
Anyone know if they would do OK with the multies?