|
My cichlid career
started back in 1996. After I'd already had a goldfish as a marriage
present and already have been moved up to a tropical aquarium with
plants and fish like barbs (Barbus
tetrazona), Gourami’s (Trichogaster leeri), and Platy’s (Xiphophorus
maculatus), it was time for something else.
The real cichlid
passion hit me in fall
1996. My LFS had some vivid colorful fish mostly called PSE , short
for Pseudotropheus. These magnificent animals directly grabbed my
attention and although they warned me that these fish were born
diggers, I hesitated no second. A second 180L (47gal) aquarium was
bought, filled and decorated and soon some Pseudotropheus (Maylandia)
zebra, Pseudotropheus estherae, Melanochromis johanni and
Labidochromis caeruleus shared the rocky environment. I really
liked these fish, so I kept on buying them until a larger tank was
needed: a 400L (111gal) in 1997. So far I only had Mbuna, but that was
going to change very soon.
My first
Haplochromis were
Copadichromis borleyi “Red Kadango” and Placidochromis electra
but these fish didn’t feel quite at home. Soon I joined the
Belgian Cichlid Association ABCV
and learned almost instantly that it’s better to keep Haplochromis
species separately from the nervous Mbuna. Summer 1998 was the
right time to do this. After months debating about the exact
dimensions of our future with my wife we reached an agreement.
This
1000L aquarium had to meet only one requirement: pass the
front door without knocking down the walls. Four people were needed to
lift the 170kg tank that was transported with a small trailer. After
hard labor getting it in it’s place on a precisely welded metal frame
we had to lift the aquarium again to slide under a protecting
polystyrene foam. Once standing in the right place, the background was
glued against the back glass and filter section. After the silicone
dried, Styrofoam was laid on the bottom and stones were carefully
stacked to ensure comfortable caves were formed. Also a covered hollow
brick was used to create holes. The filter was filled with ceramic
pipes, synthetic wool and coarse foam. After all this work the
thoroughly washed sand and the water was added so the aquarium was
ready to cycle. |
