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264 Posts
Haven't been around here in a while. I had a 60g African tank (and another years ago) but switched it over to Australian rainbows. I didn't really feel the size/dimensions of the tank worked with Africans. It didn't lend itself well to interesting movement.
Anyway, I'm thinking of breaking down my huge saltwater tank and making the switch to not my first, but first BIG African tank.
Pics here: http://www.rickysinger.com/
The tank is completely custom and I designed it to make keeping it as simple as possible. But, it's still costly to maintain and a lot of work keeping big messy fish. It's also getting difficult to even find big fish and when you do , they're usually very overpriced.
Unloading the big fish and switching to smaller saltwater fish is an option, but even so, it'll take a lot of fish to stock it and from a conservative $30 - $50 per fish, it'll add up quickly. And, really the best looking and most colorful fish tend to be too aggressive to keep..even in a big tank.
When I look at the colors of the Africans, I've always felt (as mentioned in an article in the library here) that I couldn't have that diversity of white/blue/yellow/orange of even the most common cichlids for anywhere near their relatively inexpensive cost. Plus, I like a heavily stocked tank.
So anyway, I'm really just thinking out loud here and looking for opinions, especially from anyone else who has made the switch. I'm really beginning to feel that I'd spend more time enjoying my tank if I do so.
Anyway, I'm thinking of breaking down my huge saltwater tank and making the switch to not my first, but first BIG African tank.
Pics here: http://www.rickysinger.com/
The tank is completely custom and I designed it to make keeping it as simple as possible. But, it's still costly to maintain and a lot of work keeping big messy fish. It's also getting difficult to even find big fish and when you do , they're usually very overpriced.
Unloading the big fish and switching to smaller saltwater fish is an option, but even so, it'll take a lot of fish to stock it and from a conservative $30 - $50 per fish, it'll add up quickly. And, really the best looking and most colorful fish tend to be too aggressive to keep..even in a big tank.
When I look at the colors of the Africans, I've always felt (as mentioned in an article in the library here) that I couldn't have that diversity of white/blue/yellow/orange of even the most common cichlids for anywhere near their relatively inexpensive cost. Plus, I like a heavily stocked tank.
So anyway, I'm really just thinking out loud here and looking for opinions, especially from anyone else who has made the switch. I'm really beginning to feel that I'd spend more time enjoying my tank if I do so.