# 72g stocking ideas



## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

Hello all,
I am (if everything goes well) getting a 72g tank on Monday, and I will be fishless cycling it. I realize this is premature but I'm excited haha. 

I originally planned to make it into a malawi non-mbuna cichlid tank, but I was thinking I should keep myself open to anything since I have some time to think about it.

I do have crushed coral, but I was going to do a mix of crushed coral and white sand in the tank (that's ok right?). If I did that, would the pH be too high for non-cichlids or do I have some wiggle room? I also plan to have a few hardy plants in there, potted if necessary, and I don't mind them getting nibbled. 

So basically, if the crushed coral in there isn't a problem, what could I stock in a 72g? I'm not interested too interested in livebearers, but not totally opposed to them. I do like plecos and catfish and the like, but I've heard cc can be too sharp for them... 

Thanks for any suggestions guys


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

best to walk around some fish stores and make a list of what catches your eye and go from there. There are many options, African cichlids, south American cichlids, semi aggressive fish, community fish, schooling fish, goldfish. All comes down to personal preference.


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## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

Well I definitely want tropical, so I don't want goldfish. Would it be ok to have some cichlids (that I have researched and are compatible) and some sort of catfish? I can't have a pleco in there because of pH differences, right? What about Loaches?


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Do yourself a favor and keep the crushed coral out of the tank. You aren't sure you want to do african rift lake cichlids, and you say you're leaning towards other fish, so why use crushed coral? Toronto's water is already very, very hard and has a fairly high pH which is in the upper regions of what is reasonable for most tropical fish. Adding crushed coral will just increase that, and make the substrate sharp and less comfortable to barbelled fish like loaches, synos, corys, etc etc. Also, Malawi Mbuna cichlids like to dig. They also pick up sand and deposit it elsewhere to create pits, caves, and so on. A sharp substrate can scrape their mouths when they are digging. Another good reason to avoid crushed coral. The water as it is, is hard enough (in fact, too hard) for lake malawi cichlids and has a sufficiently high pH.

What are the dimensions of the tank you're getting in inches? Is it a bowfront tank?

Are you on cichlid-forum.com? If you're considering a lake malawi tank, in which case I don't suggest mixing in any other fish except synodontis catfish (a sandy substrate is best for them. No sharp edges.), you should really talk to the people on cichlid forum. Even if you want a community tank and you want to add angels or rams or kribensis, you should go there. Great source of information on cichlids.

If you want to stick with cichlids and some sort of bottom dweller I'd suggest some mellow Mbuna and some larger synodontis cats. Ask around on this forum: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/
to see what the different species behave like, look like, and see which catches your eye. A really good setup, if you want guaranteed peace and stability in your tank long term, would be 1m 9f yellow labs and 1m 8f yellowtail acei along with your choice of peaceful synodontis in a small group.

Loaches are not really compatible with african cichlids. Some ill-informed people keep them with Mbuna but loaches do not like to be with boisterous aggressive fish in general, and synodontis, which live with african cichlids in the wild, are a better choice filling the same niche.

You could, however, do something like this, which would allow you to have the plecos and loaches you want-

5-6 angelfish
pair of bolivian rams or kribensis
group of loaches (clowns get too big, so yo-yo or burmese or polkadot)
plecos (a bushy nose, an L200 for example)
maybe a small group of tetras


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## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

ok, I'll check out the website. Yeah I bought it from a guy on kijiji who advertised it as white sand but when I got it home it was clearly crushed coral, and I have a TON of it lol. My tank is not a bowfront, it's 36 inches long, 18 inches deep, and 25 inches tall. I realize it's a bit short, should be 48" but again, misleading kijiji folks :/

Is play sand ok for cichlids? or fool filter sand? and I was hoping to get malawi non-mbuna cichlids, so I should just get a syno yeah?

Thanks!


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## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

wow thanks for all the suggestions! I certainly have some thinking to do...


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## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

If I choose to do one of the "cookie cutter" setups from cichlid-forum.com, since I have a 70g, should I go for the 55g cookie cutter suggestions or the 75g cookie cutter suggestions?


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

If you can make it out to Finatics on Dixie rd. Mike the owner can give you many great suggestions. This is the best cichlid store in Ontario with the best stock, hands down.


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

witchbitch said:


> If I choose to do one of the "cookie cutter" setups from cichlid-forum.com, since I have a 70g, should I go for the 55g cookie cutter suggestions or the 75g cookie cutter suggestions?


Neither. Nothing listed for a 75G will fit as 75G is 48x18. 55G is 48x12. Length is the most important factor with lake malawi cichlids. You will be very limited on the size of the cichlids you can choose because you have a too-tall, not long enough tank.



witchbitch said:


> Is play sand ok for cichlids? or fool filter sand? and I was hoping to get malawi non-mbuna cichlids, so I should just get a syno yeah?
> 
> Thanks!


Play sand, pool filter sand, silica sand, sandblasting sand, all ok.

Non-Mbuna tend to be bigger than Mbuna, so that option's out the window. Peacocks and haps typically reach 6" or more and you've only got a 36" tank. I'd keep it to 4" cichlids. You can definitely get away with a group of Pseudotropheus saulosi. You could also likely get away with a heavily stocked Pseudotropheus demasoni tank.

Talk to Mike at Finatics (905 565 1232). Or talk to Larry (who works there on weekends). They both know a lot about African cichlids. Mention the dimensions of your tank and ask for suggestions as to what fish you could keep in there. They may steer you towards a lake tanganyika setup or a south american setup.

Given the dimensions of your tank, the only malawi cichlids I think will work 100% fool proof are saulosi. They're very attractive. Males are pale blue with black stripes, females are an orangey yellow. They're tough to find around here, Mike rarely has them, but you can find them on Kijiji or Duzzee if you're willing to go for a drive to pick them up.










You could also do a very attractive lake tanganyika setup with Paracyprichromis nigripinnis and the adorable lake tanganyika gobies.


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## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

Great advice, and I will heed it. I'll go check out finatics, and I'll steer clear of non-mbunas. Saulosi look so pretty, I'll try to find them. and omg that goby is so cute!!! Thanks so much for all the info


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Tanganyikan gobies are the cutest fish I've ever had. It's a shame I don't have any right now but I just don't have the space. Here are some pictures of the gobies I had in 2010-




































P. Nigripinnis and E. cyanostitcus setup with pool filter sand, branch of manzanita and credit valley stone from Betz cut stone

You have lots of options for cichlids in your size tank. It's a shame you can't do peacocks and haps, but you definitely have options for a lot of very interesting fish with great personalities.

Here are some videos of the fish I suggested-


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## witchbitch (Jan 26, 2014)

awww so cute I want some now haha! I'm really looking forward to getting this tank set up, all these fish look fantastic. I should have gotten into cichlids sooner!


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