Alasse Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 My much loved cichlid tank. Substrate is fine shellgrit/sand mix. Decor includes wood, rocks & broken terracotta pots Plants include crypts (majority, growing like weeds) and some java fern. Fake plants also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Great looking tank for the maingano's..... plenty of hidey holes for the fry as well.... One of my favourite African cichlids along with demasoni and acei.... Thanks for showing off such a great tank! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 I thought that in general terms chiclids and plants don't do well together coz the fish have a habit of destroying the plants... Is this species less likely to do this? PS. looks great! Do you get many young from them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alasse Posted July 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 Thanx guys They are forever diving in and out of the caves and hollows I dont know paul. Many say the same thing, they will shred any plants, i should remove them. I just go by these have been with plants for ages now and havent done them any harm. But then i am a believer in giving things a go *L* and it worked for me at least. Swords do not do well in there though The breed like rabbits, though the clown loaches clean quite a few fry up. I did sell off about 20 a while back (before i added the loaches). I am selling a few males and some of the smaller females shortly, the dominant male gives them a real hard time. I dont mind them not multiplying at present. I got angels breeding, guppies breeding and bn breeding lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted July 8, 2010 Report Share Posted July 8, 2010 generally African cichlids will eat a lot of plants but java ferns and anubias seem to be distasteful to them (mine have survived) and they seem to leave vallisnaria (sp?) alone too.... they will shred lettuce leaves so anything as tasty as lettuce won't stand a chance! I've got one lone female maingano but will one day get her some tank mates - when I get to it... some day.... Once again - great tank - one of the best looking African cichlid tanks I reckon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James West Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Great looking tank. Do you kept the ph and hardness high as I was interested to know how crypts and swords did in that water. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Maingano! Finally!I have been trying for months to find out their name, ironic that i did when i wasnt trying. Always the way. Your setup is brilliant :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishbites Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Scientific name for them is: Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos from the Likoma Island area of Lake Malawi Common name is Maingano.... very hard to tell apart from male Melanochromis johannii (but johannii females are yellow/orange and Maingano females are same colour as the males) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishfin Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 What a beautiful set up. The colours work so well, love the pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alasse Posted July 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2010 Thanx guys Great looking tank. Do you kept the ph and hardness high as I was interested to know how crypts and swords did in that water. Cheers. I do not test for PH or hardness, no need really as i'm not going to muck around changing them with chemicals. The fish are healthy, they're breeding, the plants are doing well, so it must be all good *L* If you like i can take a sample at some stage for testing, if you really would like to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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