Sand Dweller Tank size?

[Ricardo Sousa]

Hi,

I'm thinking of setting up a sand-dweller tank.

What would be the minimum size for it?
And what kind stocking could/should I do?

I'm planning a bigger tank for my comunity Tanganyika, a 120/140 cm tank, which would free a 100x40x40 tank? Could this be appropriate? What would be my stocking options?

Best regards
Ricardo Sousa

[Thomas Andersen]

Hi Ricardo, and welcome

In a tank this size I´d say you could either keep a couple of one of the bi-parental Xenotilapia or a harem group of one of maternal Xenotilapia species.

The bi-parental Xeno´s like X. papilio and X. sp. "papilio sunflower" can be quite hard on each other and it’s not always easy to get a steady couple. This paper is dealing with X. papilio, but the info can generally be used on many of the other bi-parental species: http://www.cichlidae.info/article.php?id=359

Xenotilapia flavipinnis are also bi-parental, but not nearly as aggressive as the species in the papilio-group, and with a little luck and the right decoration, you may even be able to keep two couples.

I don’t think there’s enough room to house more than one male of one of the maternal species (like X. ochrogenys, X. sp. "ochrogenys ndole" and X. bathyphila) in the long term - eventually one male will dominate and harass the other(s). They will work much better in a harem group, consisting of a single male and several females. As long as there is some shelter for the females (rocks or a group of water-plants, like Vallisneria in one end of the tank), this should work out fine.

So, there´s actually several sand-dweller species that could fit your tank

All the best,

Thomas

[Ricardo Sousa]

Hi,

Thanks for your answer Thomas. Do you think that if I could swap the tank described, for something like 110 L x 50 W x 60 T, could positively improve my stocking options?

I've read somewhere that it was possible to mix, more than on Xeno type in the same tank, by picking a sand and a rocky type. Is this true? What tank size would it require?

What could I place as tank mates for the Xenos, beside some Cyps (non-jumbo type)?

Again thanks for your help.

Best Regards
Ricardo Sousa

[Thomas Andersen]

Yes, a tank measuring 110 x 50 x 60 would be better. It doesn’t sound much bigger, you’ll get a little more length, but most importantly, some more width.

I don’t know what sand-dwellers are available in your area, but I missed one in the first post, Xenotilapia spiloptera: http://www.cichlidae.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1244, which I’ll highly recommend if you are thinking of keeping two Xenotilapia species in your tank. X. spiloptera sticks to the open water most of the time, leaving room to a harem-group of a more bottom orientated Xenotilapia species, like X. bathyphila or X. ochrogenys – both species that should do well together with X. spiloptera

I think you should consider keeping Paracyprichromis nigripinnis instead of Cyprichromis leptosoma in a tank this size. Different groups of C. leptosoma vary a lot in their behaviour, some are very gentle, while others can be quite nasty.

All the best,

Thomas

[EC]

Xenotilapia flavipinnis are also bi-parental, but not nearly as aggressive as the species in the papilio-group

Hi Thomas,
I've always seen so with Nyanza Lac, Lyamembe and Crocodile Island, but my flavipinnis Kasanga are much more aggressive and dominate the papilio (T2) in a short 130 cm. tank. They're aggressive too with other cichlid pairs like L. ornatipinnis, L. auritus and T. irsacae.

Ciao Enrico

[Thomas Andersen]

Yes, I´ve also had a group of X. flavipinnis that for sure could dominate a tank and it can of course vary a lot between different groups and individuals, but generally speaking I think most X. flavipinnis behave themselves compared with papilio´s

All the best,

Thomas