# *JustOneMore20's 55g Mbuna tank*



## Guest (Sep 16, 2006)

Finally, after talking about this thing for months, I got it setup. Here are the specs:

-55g All-Glass tank
-Rena XP3 filter
-Visi-therm Stealth 250w heater
-40 lbs Eco Complete African Cichlid sand
-20 lbs Tahition Moon sand
-lots of slate rock
-some corkscrew vallisneria

-fish: 9 Labidochromis caeruleus (aka Yellow labs)

Please excuse the water spots on the glass, the blurry pictures, and the unlevel shots...

the tank


















the fish
























(a better peeking picture w/out as many water spots)

The labs are juveniles and are about an inch and a half long...a few of them are about 2 inches long. I will keep all 9 of them until they are big enough to sex (if that is possible...) and then I will take 3 to the LFS and keep 6. 

They are still a bit skittish, as they just went into the tank last night. That is why I don't have any good shots of them. I just had to take what I could get.

I am planning on adding more vals to that left corner sometime today and possibly some Hygro polysperma, since it is taking over my other 55g. They can make a nice snack out of it if they want. 

I'll get some better pictures later!


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

Nice setup, I just caution you to make sure the rock is somewhat stable. I would hate to see them fall over and kill a fish. Or worse fall and break the tank creating even bigger issues.

But it is nice and I am sure the fish live the hiding and playing around the rock structures.


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## lochness (Jan 10, 2006)

awesome!  are the rocks siliconed to each other?


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2006)

The rocks are not siliconed. I am a little worried about them, but there is some plastic eggcrate under the sand to stablize them. I did bump them and make sure they weren't going to fall with movement, as I was building it up...but I'm still paranoid.

I will most likely redo it a little in the future, when the fish start to dig some. I'm afraid that if they dig in the sand around the rocks, they will shift. I'm gonna keep my eye on it.

The eggcrate really helps, I think.

I made it high on the right because I was trying to hide the heater....but you can still see it. So, I may take some of the rocks off the top.

Oh and the way I took the pictures of the whole tank, it kind of looks like the pile is leaning forward....but its not. Kinda scary in the pictures. 

the rock pile:








mbuna 55 and 29g planted contrast:


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Look for black pectoral fins in the males


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Wow coming along Kristen, now just needs demasoni!


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2006)

Thanks Marty!



> Wow coming along Kristen, now just needs demasoni


I think I'll pass.  I've heard how mean those guys can be. 

I'm going to have some Rusty Cichlids, Cynotilapia afra cobue, and maybe a 4th group of Albino Socolofi. Or if I find another type I want, then I'll get them instead of the Socolofi. I am not 100% sure yet.

I hope to upgrade the tank in a couple years, so hopefully it won't be too crowded with 4 groups.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

fish_doc said:


> I would hate to see them fall over and kill a fish.


I doubt a falling rock no matter what the size is ever likely to kill a fish.(Maybe if the fish was out of the water).
In water, the speed of a falling rock compared with the speed and natural reflexes of the fish are too great for healthy fish to get caught out by one.


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2006)

Thanks for the tip CM!

The only rocks that could fall are the top ones and I have adjusted them a bit so that they are more stable. I haven't siliconed them together because I don't like the stuff. And it would be a pain to take it off if I decided to rearrange!

I promise, once the fish get bigger, I will make sure that the rocks won't move. Those little boogers are fast, so I think they would move out of the way. The only way one would get a rock fallen on it is if the whole pile fell...and I'm quite certain that won't happen. 

Quick update:
I found an online cichlid seller that is about an hour from here. I emailed to ask if they have an actual store or if they only sell on their website. Keeping my fingers crossed that they have a store. The fish I want are not on their pricelist, but I'm hoping they could order them for me. That would be great! Shipping is gonna be alot from any online store and I haven't found Rusties or Afra Cobue on Aquabid lately...I don't think. So, maybe I'll have another group of fish soon. 

I'm gonna go hunt for some limestone rock this weekend. My pH is staying around 7.6 even with the Eco sand in the tank. It didn't raise as much as I had hoped. I have been told that 7.6 is ok for Mbuna, but since my water straight from the tap is around 7.0, I think I'd be safer getting the pH up a bit more. If I can't find limestone, then I'll get some crushed coral...I'm going for something cheap (or free) though. So we'll see!


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

By the way, I like your vallis plants on the left and the rocks on the other side. It looks very natural and your fish will enjoy it too.


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## Guest (Sep 26, 2006)

Thanks...I thought that was the perfect place for the Vals. I just hope they make it....the bulbs that came with my light fixture are slightly lower than I expected, so I'll have to get some 40w bulbs and hope they have a better chance.

I have some new pictures! I bought 4 new fish today....Pseudotropheus socolofi albinos...or Snow White Socolofis...as they are also called. I was going to add these guys last, but I found them locally and had to buy a group. I bought the smallest 4 they had...so that they wouldn't bully my labs around much.


















You can't see it in the pictures, but when you look at them from the side they have a blueish irridescence to them....so pretty! 

My Yellow labs are coming out now that the Snow whites are in the tank. All the needed was a little motivation I guess.









And the latest tank shot...although nothing has changed in this picture:









I did move the vals that are in the front, over to the side. I also added a few more vals to the group. I have lots of brown algae in the tank now. It is really nasty, but I'm going to stop overfeeding ;-) and hope it slows down. I don't mind it, it is just growing way too fast.

I added some crushed coral to the filter in hopes of getting the pH up a bit. It is around 7.6 right now in the tank and my tap is around 7 straight out and 7.2 after sitting for 24 hours. I'd like for the tank pH to be around 8, but I'm not sure if its gonna get that high. I only added a handful right now, but I will add more if needed.

I hope to get some Afra Cobue soon....maybe from you Cichlid Man . I will either add them or some Rusty Cichlids next, if I can find them. 

Thanks for looking!


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## Phantom_Cichlid (Jul 3, 2006)

Kristin awsome job i give it a 100 an A+. it looks well kristin and so does your 29


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2006)

I have more pictures!

the tank...with the lovely algae background

















fish
















*one of my male cobues...i have atleast 3 males..maybe 4  out of 8








yellow lab








eureka and a female cobue








female cobue








eureka...no color yet  maybe in a couple weeks they'll color up some...i've only had them 2 days!









and the lovely algae covered rocks!

Thanks for looking!


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