In at the deep end!!

Hi all,

Recently renovated my house and fulfilled a long term dream of building an aquarium into the room. Long story short it divides a large room into an adult area on one side and a kids play area on the other. I'm not sure of the etiquette of the forum so I won't name names but decided to go with a customised 1500mm long x 500mm wide x 600mm high 450L tank sitting on a purpose built cabinet finished in white gloss. It's got a Tetra Tec Ex 1200 External filter and a 400 U. V. sterilizer, a Tetra Tec 300 w heater, T 5 Lighting unit and Coral sand and rock (70 kg's). I know this is probably mad for a newbie but I've an addictive personality and always go the whole hog on anything I decide to do!! I also justified the cost by comparing it to one of the expensive pieces of furniture my wife bought for the 'new' house which just sits there doing nothing.

The aquarium was installed a couple of weeks ago, filled with water and 'cycled' for about 10 days. (I'm getting into the lingo already) Today was D-Day and the fish arrived. A selection of 26 juvenile Malawi Cichlids (pairs and 3's/4's of each type) plus some sort of grey/black catfish type whose name escapes me but seems to love gluing his mouth to the rocks and has virtually cleaned/eaten all the moss of them already.

The guy who sold and set up the aquarium for me (including selecting the fish from the general preferences I gave him) is coming back in 10 days to give me a tutorial on general maintenance and get me going 'hands on' so to speak. (He is a fantastic guy to deal with BTW and if I'm permitted I'll happily name/refer him)

As I'm such a newbie and have only dealt with the one guy I'd appreciate the views of people here as to whether I've bitten off more than I can chew to start with (a bit too late now I know) and whether my set up is optimum for starting off with?

The other thing I'd like to know is what other fish I can introduce to the aquarium and when? My kids (who I want to get into this also) would like a variety of sizes, shapes and behaviour styles but I know from my research to date that Cichlids don't mix very well with community fish in general such as Molly's etc. What about grubers? Can I introduce crayfish? (My son loves them)

I've only had the tank stocked for 10 hours or so and I'm already hooked. I hope that not on;y can I get good advice and support from this forum but in time be a source of support.

Here's a photo.



Best regards,

Ben.

Welcome aboard Ben.I'm a bit green with envy here!Not bad for a 1st tank.
I know nothing about malawis,but you're right,they dont mix well with other 'community' fish,I believe.If you want catfish,what will go with them are the synodontis species,again,I dont keep them,but theres some lovely ones out there.
I'm sure your man will keep you right,but I run a Tetratec 1200 on a 180ltr tank with the original internal filter as well.
Any chance of some pics?

Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the welcome.

I actually uploaded a pic (proud father syndrome!!) but it didn't display. What are the file size guidlines do you know?

hi ben new(ish) here also sand when i asked about photos i was given this link.( www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/component/o...w/id,14490/catid,27/ ) i hope it helps
matt

Suckers,

Thanks for the link which I followed and as you can see it worked perfectly first time. Hope I have the same luck with the tank!!

Comments on both the tank and my original questions please????

Ben

'envy' are the comments on the tank the next part???? i found this link ( well i was given it by a member here( thanks)) www.ratemyfishtank.com/freshwater_compatibility_chart.php whick could help!
one thing PLEASE tho.... dont put any errrrrrrrrrrrr common errrrrrrrrr tacky errrrrrrr oops just stood on someones toes!!!!!! ornaments in.. my stick on background lasted 3 mths untill i made my own 3d background.
plants do look good in tanks but i think you need to decide upon what will be kept then research what would be the fish's native plants, it seems to keep things in perspective . well thats my opion only!!!!!!!!!!!!
matt

that aquascape looks very attractive ben.
it's probably best to wait a while before you add more fish.

Great first tank, great any tank. Using a tank as a room divider is an excellent idea, any time I have seen it done, it looks well. I know nothing about malawis either other than what Acara said, they don't mix with commnunity fish! Ask on here before you consider anymore additions, but that should not be for a couple of weeks at least. I also think plants and malawis don't mix, but someone may correct me on that.

Welcome to the forum, lots of useful information here and plenty of helpful members.

Welcome Ben and may i say what a great tank to start with.
I see you found the Malawi cichlid section so i'm sure you will get great guidance there.
I think your son may be disappointed regarding the crayfish. These have a fondness for sneaking up on fish when they are resting on the bottom of the tank and taking a lump out of them. I have seen them in shops with the pincher's removed to stop this happening. I just dont see how they can feed when they are removed.
If you want something different i think there is an Eel from lake Malawi that may suit your set up.It is best to stick with Malawi's for this tank. The lads/lasses on the Cichlid section will steer you straight.

Darren

welcome to the forum as the others have already said what a great first tank. Also dont keep malawis so cant help there onl to echo that they dont mix with community fish. Good luck with the tank as I have to say get ready for a few additions around the house as this is a really addictive hobby. I can see a pinchy tank in the making here...lol

Really nice tank but Im a Marine Man:) these freshwaters are just not stressful enough for me haha

Hi all,

Just a quick update to say I'm totally into this now. Spent the last two weeks alternating between panic when a couple of fish died and water test results looked bad to elation as I can now see the fish are all happy, healthy and really doing well.

I've received a lot of help here and from the Malawi Cichlids section and just wanted to say thanks to everyone. I also want to publicly say thanks to Damien O'Kelly of www.aquaclear.ie who was fantastic to deal with especially for a novice like myself. He is professional, delivers what he promises when he promises it and is very responsive to all the questions I've had over the past two weeks regardless of how basic they were. I highly recommend him.

great to hear all is going well for you post a few more pics of the tank to keep us updated..welcome to the wacky wet world of fishkeeping and good to hear theres guys out there who can help new setups..

would love to see some updated pictures when you get the chance. fishkeeping can be very time consuming but well worth it. You will see from the pictures how much your tank changes in a short space of time. I found some old pictures of my tank tonight and cant get over the size of the fish now compared to then which was only about 6 months ago. you dont see it when you are looking at it all the time.

Glad you got your problems sortd out its terrible when things dont go well and then as you said such a relief when it does.

Nessa