countadam Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Hi, I have been a member for a while and have enjoyed reading about other's experiences. I have never owned a tank but I have been maintaining a tank at work for several years, so I have a little experience. I have just moved from my flat to a house and am going to buy a tank shortly. My girlfriend was not impressed when I suggested an 8x2x2 for the living area! So, I have been considering something smaller. I would like to keep a small single species colony of African cichlids. I have not yet worked out what but I am tending towards M. mainganos. They seem to be easy to obtain and are not too expensive. Most importantly, I have had some in the work tank and have really enjoyed watching them grow and breed. I have been reading tank recommendations here and elsewhere and I have seen sources that recommend a breeding trio of M. mainganos in a standard 3 foot tank. I would like a larger colony and briefly considered a standard 4ft tank. However, I have had to compromise on a 3ft tank due to space. So my question is - Is a 3x2ft tank better than a 4x1ft foot tank? It has a greater footprint but is not as long. Certainly more space for the fish plus more volume and therefore it should be easier to maintain. Filtration would be dependant on my purchase. If I obtained a drilled tank I would go for a sump. Otherwise I would go with 2 canisters. I am currently looking for a 2nd hand display tank if anyone has one for sale. I will eventually post a WTB in the relevent forum. I would start with a batch of juveniles and would select from those the colony to keep. How many (adults) do people think would be ideal in a 3x2x2ft tank? Can anyone share their experience with being forced into small tanks? Thanks Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I would say go for a the larger foot print and volume. You would be able to keep heaps of Maingano's in that tank or pick a contrasting species like Electric yellows to add some more color to the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countadam Posted October 13, 2009 Author Share Posted October 13, 2009 Thanks Josh. I assume 8-10 adults would not be a problem in a 3x2x2. Most recomendations I see are for the minimum sized tanks. Not much for bigger tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasm Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Thanks Josh. I assume 8-10 adults would not be a problem in a 3x2x2. Most recomendations I see are for the minimum sized tanks. Not much for bigger tanks. Electric yellow and demasoni have nice contrast in color and maybe some Musli Point Acei. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 I kept and breed 15 adults in a 4x18x18 tank and really had no problems with them. They should be OK in that tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 If you went with mainganos I'd personally have at least 15, most likely 20 mainganos in there. Thats if you go for the 3x2x2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countadam Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 Thank you all for your help! I will start looking for a tank. Cheers Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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