The Greatest Tank

The Mechnics

To decide on one favorite tank is difficult,, as I must have had 100 or more different set-ups, sizes and combinations over the years. Here I will profile the one that was most enjoyable, and the most beautiful: a 75 gallon Oceanic full of mixed Semi- Aggressives. I consider Oceanic Tanks the best glass tanks on the market.I had the tank 'drilled'.. which is having a hole cut in the bottom of the tank to facilitate a 'wet dry' filter system I built out of a Eheim 1250 pump, and ... don't laugh, two Coleman coolers, a small plastic trash can, bio-balls, and varying sizes of gravel. I also built a light hood that held 4, 48 inch florescent bulbs that could each be turned on separately.

The reason I used the insulated coolers was because at the time I lived in a beautiful but drafty old farm house in Northern Ohio. Keeping a submersible heater in the sump of the bigger cooler meant that I didn't have to worry about a cold water return. The filter I developed for this tank was astronomically efficient. If you want the plans- write me a letter.

The Decor

I used fine black 'gravel'..that was almost a sand-sized. Black shows nearly every fish to its best color, and increases the visionary depth of any tank. This gravel was sloped up to 3- 4 inches at the back down to 1 inch at the front. I used a lot of live plants, and also bought good quality 'fakes' and mixed them in. To all you plant purists.. get over it.

Driftwood and Lava Rock with 'caves' drilled into it and a few flat pieces of gray/black slate finished the waterscape.  Following the list of fish below, I have given a more in-depth description of the tank decor and its relevance to the fish living in the tank. I prefer natural surroundings myself, but I recently saw a '70's retro' tank with neon colored plants, kitschy plastic sunken ships and bright blue gravel that was so over the top I immediately wanted to do one.  The tank was stocked with Bubble Eye and Black Moor goldfish.

I violated a couple of rules here in mixing south americans (Rams) and africans (Brichardi) but I knew the original breeders who were local to me and had been raising the fish for many generations in water that was unadjusted (ph 7.6) from our tap water, which was slightly on the hard side. I added about a tablespoon of aquarium salt to every 10 gallons and kept the temp at about 80 f. 15% to 25% partial water changes were done every couple of weeks and I fed live brine once or twice a week. This became an everyday event when we had babies.

If you have ever raised a couple of generations of Brichardi, the older siblings care-taking of the second and third generation babies is fascinating to watch. If you are interested in the breeding habits of these guys, go HERE for Rams, go HERE for Kribensis, and go HERE for Brichardi.

In mixing the sets of cichlids that spawn in similar ways, the Brichardis, Rams and Kribensis, the possibility of a bit of territorial aggressiveness was high. The trick here was to simply create different 'neighborhoods' within the tank using strategically placed and 'terraced' rocks, driftwood and plants. I drilled holes in lava rock and driftwood for baby fish caves and caves for the parents. I built these to be permanent using silicone sealant and flat slate for the bases and then used live plants as semi-'dividers'.

After placing the 'neighborhoods' in the tank, I then planted out and decorated the rest. Although the tank was not divided, and had a lovely visual flow, there were 3 defined areas for spawning and rearing young for each 'couple'. The three aforementioned fish all basically live and breed in the bottom area of the tank, they all rear thier young and are very protective parents, as most cichlids are. I started these out with multiple male and female combos. When a couple settled in with eath other- I then pulled the rest of the variety to go back to the breeders where I purchased them.
Lastly, the most important advice I can give you is:
Have fun and BE PATIENT. Patience IS the key to successful fish keeping.