tank mates??

[meggysb]

hey, im thinking about getting a 55g with a rena xp3 filter. the stock that i would like is

Selected species:
6 x Neolamprologus Brichardi (Neolamprologus brichardi)
3 x Synodontis Petricola (Synodontis petricola)

and maybe another colorful spieces. my pH is around 8.5-9. so that would be good. is there any colorful fish that you would suggest with these? preferiably not any shell dwellers.

if you have any concerns please tell me.

[Lab_Rat]

I'd bump it up to 6 petricola, put in a lot of rock work, and get some Neolamp leleupi. Leleupi are about as colorful as it gets with Tanganyikan species.

[sheamurai]

+1 - Leleupi are just cool quirky fish to have, too. Even if they were drab, if I had a tang tank they would be part of it!

[meggysb]

ok thanks, how many Neolamp leleupi should i get??

[Lab_Rat]

I'd go with about 6 of them, possibly 8, with a lot of rock work. They loved my texas holey rock.

[meggysb]

ok, and also, would a pair of greman blue rams work with this set up as well?

would slate structures work well as 'rock work' or no?

can their be plants in the tank, plastic or real, or will they distroy them??

sand or gravel?

any specials requirements other then that??

thanks!

[meggysb]

nevermind about the GBR's, just read that they like acidic water. is their any type of ram, or fish with similar requirements and colors that would work?

[Lab_Rat]

GBR would not work in that set up at all, they'd be slaughtered quickly. Calvus or compressiceps would also work, but with tangs, you don't want to overcrowd them like mbuna. You can use slate, but leleupi like a ton of caves and such to crawl through. You may want to throw some shells in for them too since mine preferred to spawn in shells rather than in the rockwork. Either sand or gravel would work, I'd probably go with sand just as personal preference. Really the only requirement is to keep the water quality high. Tangs are cool fish with very interesting behavior, good luck!

[meggysb]

ok, so this is what my setup would be like:

Equipments:

Tank (LxDxH): 48 x 13 x 21 inch (56.7gUS)
Filters: Rena Filstar XP3, penguin biowheel 350


Selected species:
6 x Neolamprologus Brichardi (Neolamprologus brichardi)
4 x Synodontis Petricola (Synodontis petricola)
1 x Altolamprologus Calvus (Altolamprologus calvus)
6 x Neolamprologus Leleupi (Neolamprologus leleupi)

would this be good? should i make any changes?

[Lab_Rat]

That would be a good stocking plan. If you can't find true petricola (they're difficult to find) Synodontis lucipinnis (aka dwarf petricola) looks and behaves very similar and is slightly smaller. Lucipinnis are much easier to find than petricola.