got ethical husbandry?

Wassup?! Noob here!!!

swk

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Hi everyone!

My name is Sean and I've been a dedicated tanganyikan cichlid fish nerd for the last 10+ years. Aside from a brief period of keeping madagascan fish, I have been dedicated to the tanganyikan cichlids of the genus tropheus, petrochromis, cyathopharnyx and cyprichromis. I have kept and am currently keeping a few different types as well, but those fish have always been my main passion. They breed for me constantly, for which I am very grateful, and I usually have the aforementioned fish for sale on craigslist and elsewhere. I am a mod at a few tanganyikan focused forums and am pretty active in that side of the FW scene.

I've never done salt and for years never really had any desire too, until lately..... I feel like I've kinda gone as far as I can with delicate FW fish and am looking for a new skill set, and scope of knowledge to keep me moving forward in my aquarium hobby. I've become quite fascinated and have been reading NON-STOP at the bigger, national forums. As a bay area resident I was thrilled to discover this community and am looking forward to meeting some of y'all and learning from you all.

I've been fascinated by the advances in carbon dosing and have been reading quite a bit about that! My initial plan is to buy a 40B for a DT, drill it, and run either a 20 or 20L sump. Anyone have input as to which is better as a sump? My only concern with the 20L is will it be deep enough to run a in-sump skimmer???

Thanks again!
 
Cool! Thanks for the prompt response! I'll stop by petco and get the 2 tanks today since the $1 per gallon sale is going on. All my large tanks are acrylic, but I think I can handle a small glass tank....I guess. Can't beat the price. So I gather I should start a new thread for equipment questions elsewhere, correct?
 
Welcome!

I initially started a plan with a 20L display, then it quickly moved to a 40B display with 20L sump-fuge, and now it's an Elos 120. :)
 
Welcome! Sounds like that will be a good starting set-up. The shallower 20L will definitely be a lot easier to work with as a sump. You should definitely be able to get a good sized skimmer in there no problem. You're in luck because we're going to have a workshop for new hobbyists in April that will have different topics to help get you started at keeping a successful saltwater reef aquarium. :)
 
Thanks everyone!

Scary thing is that I already have a 180, 150, and 125 gallon tanks. However, they're currently occupied by some extremely rare wild tanganyikan breeding groups. I want to start small because of 2 main reasons:

1 - I simply have no more room for large tanks at home or office

2 - $$$. Although I plan on starting with softies and Lps, I don't want my equipment purchases to hold me back from moving toward sps down the road. I can't justify spending a grand on lights and 3-600 on a skimmer for a 6' tank.

A 40b has an excellent footprint to scape IMO and I can put together a nice setup for a decent initial investment.

I'll create a thread a bit later detailing my plan further and am hopeful for suggestions along the way.


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Thanks everyone!

Scary thing is that I already have a 180, 150, and 125 gallon tanks. However, they're currently occupied by some extremely rare wild tanganyikan breeding groups. I want to start small because of 2 main reasons:

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Sounds like Denzil's household has some competition! Starting with the 20L will be fine - Keep it simple and you'll do well :)
 
Cyathopharnyx foai "Kachese"

foai932.jpg
foai93.jpg


Cyprichromis microlepidotus "Kavala"
g3mg.jpg


Tropheus sp. "Ikola"

img1257i.jpg

img1265l.jpg
 
Now for some videos:

My prized petrochromis sp Longola colony that I have since sold....


Short spawning vid:


Foai tank video:


Thanks for looking! Many more vids on my youtube channel as well!

Hope I embeded these correctly :)
 
Nice fish. Anyone that uses Vortech pumps on a FW tank will fit right in with this over the top SW crowd!
Thanks! Tanganyika is very much like a landlocked sea. The lake is HUGE and produces waves and whatnot. Fish like tropheus and some petrochromis sp. live in whats called the surge zone habitats that is very similar to ocean reefs. I run my mp40w on reef crest at 100% and the fish love it. Some guys use 2 or more in that size tank!

Wild fish demonstrate much more natural behavior in vortech tanks and it contributes heavily in reducing aggression. Obviously deeper water fish and sand dwellers are a different story.

IMO, tanganyikan fish are the closest to SW conditions of all the FW cichlids. The lake is SO consistent in parameters and the water is extremely hard and has a very high ph.
 
Sounds like Denzil's household has some competition! Starting with the 20L will be fine - Keep it simple and you'll do well :)
Haha, well, my Elos 120 is still empty but at least Brandie's 210 is up. The 10 is down but we're going to bring it back up as a QT system.
 
Your tanks are amazing! I would be great to have a large FW tank someday. LED's and these new pumps and filtration methods have sure made the hobby more exciting. Great job!
 
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