[Cole1309]

Hey everyone, I am setting up a 29 Gallon at my school. Courtesy of my teacher who is purchasing everything and I just get to set it up and tell him what to buy. I know, your jealous. Hey I am here to tell you its ok, ok. Because I need help with what to put in this bad boy/girl. So basically your doing this with me. Now focus alright.

- If you recieved the option of buying pretty much anything you wanted for this tank, what would it be..fish wise that is? I will be doing malawian cichlids of some sort....I would love a small mbuna group or even possibly a smaller group of peacocks. First thought was a group of Ps. Saulosi and second was a group of peacocks. Right now I just cant make up my mind and I am asking for help...please throw some help my way. so the question is.....

- What fish would you put in this tank?....GO

 

[BoilerFan]

Given that this is paid for by the teacher I think you have to stock it as though this is the only tank you're going to have access to. That means sticking to fish that will thrive in those dimensions is a must. Therefore, I think you have to rule out peacocks (and haps) as a whole. You might be able to get away with some dwarf mbuna (others may have experience with this, I do not).

I would actually point you toward Tanganyikans. Many of them, shellies in particular, stay a perfectly good size for a tank with that footprint (assuming it's a standard 29).

 

[ridley25]

I too would lean toward a Tanganyikan tank based around shellies.

If you're determined to go in for mbuna I would try 1m/4f Pseudotropheus saulosi. If you have a place to sell of extra males I would start with about 10 juveniles - that gives you a 99.9% chance of getting at least one male and an 82% chance of getting at least 4 females.

kevin

 

[dielikemoviestars]

Hey everyone, I am setting up a 29 Gallon at my school. Courtesy of my teacher who is purchasing everything and I just get to set it up and tell him what to buy. I know, your jealous. Hey I am here to tell you its ok, ok. Because I need help with what to put in this bad boy/girl. So basically your doing this with me. Now focus alright.

Lol @ the monologue. In an endearing way.

That said... I doubt you'll want to go tangs, since this is for a school tank - you want something flashy and exciting, and tangs take a bit more attention to really see why they're exciting fish (which they are). I'm assuming this is the 30" long 29g. If you're REALLY set on Africans, I'd echo the saulosi idea, though I'd up your numbers a little bit. You could TRY 2 males, but be ready to remove one if he gets the snot kicked out of him. Otherwise, I'd go for a breeding pair of blue rams with a school of cardinal/some other tetras and some otocinclus/cory cats to top it off. Lots of color, you'll have fry, etc.

 

[BoilerFan]

Blue rams? At least my sugestion was on the same continent Seriously though, we should probably also ask what his tap water is like. In my early days of the hobby I tried Rams and found that my water was simply too hard and my pH was definitely too high for Central/South Americans. That's what pushed me toward Africans and in turn Malwian specifically.

So, I ask, do you, Cole 1309, know what type of water you have coming out of your tap at school?

 

[Cole1309]

Thank you guys for getting back so quick. Alrighty...Well as dielikemoviestars said I am lookin for something a little more "flashy" My first thought when I start a new tank is always an All Male Peacock tank. They are my favorite and I love the diverse dispostions of each individual species. Second thought is usually a group of Peacocks. But for this tank I came to realize that the students and faculty probably wont respect the Peacock group as a whole, just the male. You have to know cichlids and the variety of species to respect certain fish. So for this tank I'd like something that stands out. Like a fish that would stand out to us probably wouldnt stand out to them so I am trying to incorporate the color aspect into this setup...hence my choice of the Saulosi setup. I believe the blue and yellow will catch their eye. I love your ideas for the tang setup to guys. I would agree with you if this tank would be one of my own at my house.

The tank yes is a standard 29.

The water is distilled that we make here at the school and as far as the tap water I am not sure....pretty gnarley setup I must say.

& I have a spare 10 Gallon for when I ratio off the fish. I ordered 10 into the store so I have a better chance at getting atleast 1 male. Ill hold the rest in the 10 till I get home again to setup up another breeder tank at home for myself.

But do you guys think I should go with 1 male and 3 females or 1 male and 4 females??
I am not even gonna try to have 2 males. I hate losing fish due to dominate issues.

Thanks alot guys. I appreciate it. Ill get a setup list up soon.

Oh and P.S. dielikemoviestars Thanks for finding my opening amusing. This forum needs some more comical threads. People are always so serious and have these serious questions so I was just being a little humorous or trying to I guess. thanks again guys