Well, I finally got around to taking some pics last night!

They are not the greatest, but here they are anyways!











A couple of fish pics: Msobos and F1 Mdoka peacocks.

PB I'm speechless! That's looks wonderful! I love the way you have the plants set up. There's only one thing that I would change, I would take out the plants with the rounded leaves they look a little too fake., but that's my opinion.

Wow, PB, that aquascaping looks fantastic! You did a wonderful job!

I have not used river rock in any of my tanks, and it really does create a naturalistic scene. You really framed it nicely with the different kinds of plants.

Bravo! the Clap the Clap the Clap

Looks great Mark.

I see that the Peacock in the last pic (top center) is turning. There is your Dominate Male you have been waiting for !!! Tres Bien!

I believe you are right, Scott!

I actually seen one of the females holding tonight;

So I know I have a least one male in that colony!

Thanks again!

Congrats on your holding female!

Keep fingers crossed on my holding Msobo -- she's passed the two weeks point.

Very nice Mark. I too like the river rock. Looks great and also provides lots of hiding spots.

Nice looking setup you got there PB! Tres Bien!

I agree the river rock is a nice to look at.

Those msobos are looking sweet! I'm sure you'll post up some pics as those peacocks color up .

the Clap

Nice tank pb, I can tell you didn't buy the fish in louisville. btw go cards into the elite 8. when you are overflowing with fry just let me know, lol.

Holy smokes, preacherboy, that tank looks fantastic!! You did a really nice job. the Clap

It's so nice and bright - what do you have on it for lighting?

Nice set-up 'Preach",,love the Msobos,,I'd like to see the Peacocks when the have fully matured tho.

I noticed something on this forum,,,more people are using ROCKS as a main aquascaping tool? Do you have to move them ALL when you have to fish something out?

I DO love the first pic tho. Tres Bien!


AP.

Ummmm, no.

Pete does. Giggly

preacherboy, did your wife help you with that?

Men just aren't usually that ....that...."specific"! blinky

It looks absolutely amazing and I am so happy for you! Tres Bien!

I'd be entering that baby in some "tank of the month" contests somewhere.

Can't wait to see pics of these fish as they grow.

(Your photography skills are awesome, too, by the way!)

Kim

AP, for me the answer to your question about having to move rocks is "Yes, [content censored because ladies are present]! Grrrr Grrrr Grrrr

PB, As I already posted above I agree with Kim. That is one striking tank.

Thanks everybody for the all too kind words!

Kim: I would like to take the credit for arranging the rock work, but you
you guessed it; my wife did the aquascaping job! I would like to enter
my tank at another forum site, but I could never figure out how to do it!
It always told me my pic was too large, even after I resized it in photobucket.

AP: I don't plan on taking anything out of this tank for quite a while. Birdman
gave me enough Red Empress, Yellow Lab, and other hap fry to do me
for a while! I chose the river rock at a landscaping place because of the cost
and look of the rock.

Aura: The lighting is what came with the tank. I painted the back of the tank with
a flat black paint and we have a black curtain behind the tank.

Yoda: All my fish came from Birdman (Scott Market) in Evansville Indiana. He is
a great guy and a great fish keeper! Thanks Scott!

Thanks Don, Jay, and DaveB as well for the great comments!

Correna: I agree that the round leaf fake plants may have to go!

I have to disagree on the round leafed plants! I think they look great and are a nice contrast to the other plants...I think having the different type plants in there is what makes it so appealing to the eye.

Everything looks so nice and balanced, I wouldn't change a thing!

And that's a good way to suck your wife into the hobby without her realizing what you're doing to her! Giggly

She'll take as much pride in the tank as you will when people compliment it!

Tell her I said she did a fantastic job!

Kim

Very impressive, PB very nice pictures, and a really nice-looking setup... another river-rock fan, I see! Tres Bien!

I too am becoming quite the Msobo convert - I currently have 2 males in my 90 - my dominant male is becoming ~very~ dominant (in colouration only - not really showing too much aggression thus far), and my sub-dom male is ~just starting~ to change colour - though very, very slowly.

Cheers!

nice set up!
at first i thought they were yellow labs Giggly
i dont know what msobos are but i guess they look good right?

I gotta try this!

"Honey, you're so good in the garden -- will you help me arrange the plants in my new tank?"

Heh heh heh. It is fun to be evil.

That is a great looking tank the Clap the Clap the Clap

Hmmmm I guess I have to start looking more into the Malawi section from now on. Job well done Mark Tres Bien!

pb, I showed these pics to my wife who could care less about the hobby and she said I really like those rocks. so, future tank is going have those kind of rocks in it. love the msobo as well.

Don: Fortunately, I'm married to the best woman and wife in the world! She likes
the hobby almost as much I do. She is very supportive of me and the things
that interest me! I guess that's why we've been married married for nearly
29 years. ( I'm only 46 )

Yoda: I'm glad your wife liked the tank. I got most of those rocks from "Earthfirst"
landscaping company on the Outer Loop. Some of the rocks came from
Birdman's house beside his driveway! What a guy; there we were gathering
some of these rocks in a down pour!

Klaus: I really appreciate your kinds words. They mean a lot coming from you!

Multies: Just wait until the male Msobos begin to change colors!

Windowlicka: Thanks for the positive feedback!

I will soon update my pics of this tank! Birdman sold me some more impressive specimens, but I want to save some of them for the photo contest! For now, let me
just say that I now have 12 Msobos, 16 F1 Mdoka peacocks, and........

Tres Bien! Your tank is absolutely beautiful! You'll have to come over a give me a few tank decorating tips (or should I say Nita needs to help me) LOL Luv Ya!

Your tank is absolutely stunning! I love it! Can I hire your wife for the day to come scape my tanks!!!

hi PB!
awesome tank! i love it !
the river rocks do everything there...good job!!!

in my opinion, it s a great challenge to obtain an biotope, closer, as much as possible, to the original...a rocky biotope with big rounded stones ...that s call *home* for our beloved cichlids from Malawi...and i*m sure that your fishes are home in that tank the Clap

i *ll give you a suggestion. In my malawi tanks, there*re only stones and shell sand..no plants at all just because i want to keep the specific of the Lake..please watch this video>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5jAPmiSuEs&feature=related

please , dont understand me wrong...i m not against using the plants in Malawi tank but that s my option > no plants in my malawian tanks..

good luck
crys Tres Bien!

Thanks Crys, I understand about the biotope aspect, but that wasn't
my goal with this tank.

I'm just trying to enjoy my cichlids and I like a little bit of greenery
in my tank.

No offense taken, I'm just not as much of a purist as others may be.

Crys,

Your opinion on no plants in malawania tanks to creat the correct biotype in my opinion is in correct because it would depend on what biotype you are trying to creat. If you were trying to create the biotype sandy bay then you shoudl include plants in your tank because they are native to these parts of the lake and in the wild there are species that use these plants to feed.

An example of what i am talking about is the Hemitilapia Oxyrhynchus this fish has a lake wide distribution and is always found is sandy bays near the Vallisneria plant or other higher plants. This fish uses its teeth to strip alage growth of the leaves of the plants for food. An example of this is on page 287 konigs addition 4 picture 5.

I agree if you were to creat a biotype of the rocky regions of the lake were very very few if any plants exist then for sure no plants in the tank. However i think it is no fair to generalize and say no plants in malawian tanks because cleary some fish require plants in the wild to survive.

This my two cents on the topic but great looking tank preacher boy........i also have some live plants in my tanks not to creat a biotype but for thpure enjoyment of adding some green.

IMHO I think plants are a great addition to a Malawi Hap tank. Unfortunately in my case my haps were equally as adept as mbuna in reducing them to stubble. i'm talking anubias and java fern! I switched to silk plants to keep the look but over time my plecos
frayed the edges to the point of no return. So after lesson learned I do arock only setup for Malawis. No plants for you come back one year(Seinfeld)!

Best of luck with your tank PB.

Adam,
I agree 100% with u..maybe i wasn t very specific ...my english isn t very good and I ve some difficulties to explain some things.. idunno
The habitats of the Malawi are various as u already mention but for me that imagine of rocky habitat where thousands of mbuna species are swimming and playing around, that imagine means to me *M A L A W I*. In my mind, Malawi is associated with big stones + mbunas. It s like that maybe because the first contact with the Lake was a clip with wild mbuna feeding algae from the stones in a rocky habitat like this one

http://youtube.com/watch?v=W5jAPmiSuEs&feature=related

I didnt say that point of view is right or universal correct...but it s mine.

crys

FAir enough i was just trying to educate becasue there are those of us out there that think the lake only has rocky cliffs and big stones. That may be true but there are also parts of the lake that are sandy and have plants in those areas. I was saying is the to generalize isnt right because its liek saying everywhere in canada there are polar bears

You're kidding about the polar bears, right? Just joking!

I didn't realize my tank would stir up so much discussion about the
fake plants and biotype issues.

Hey Derek, maybe this topic should be are next "Cichlid Debate" topic!

For me, its just a glass box with a wonderful opportunity to observe
the most awesome fish in the world from the comfort of my home.

Again, I understand that my tank isn't "biotype" correct, but its what I
like.

Its a glass box with filters, heaters, and a painted black background.
I've never seen those in Lake Malawi either, but thats okay with me!

Great discussion, however, and really, I'm not offended in the least!

Crys, long time no see. It's good to hear from you! Hi!

Preacherboy, I still think your tank looks great. I have fake plants in most of mine too. I like the look of all rock tanks, but I'm hesitant to stack some types of rock too high and with the taller tanks I think the plants fill the upper portion nicely.

Yes, Aura, @crys is back home*! Wiggle it just a little bit! y I didn t forget you ..and good to hear you too!
Even I didnt write here in that period, i couldn t resist not to visit CH!
So, i m back and I hope my presence here will be positive. I feel good writing here , i have alot to learn from you and i want to share with u my cichlids experience(if we could say experience* ) Cheers!!!

BTW Adam, polar bears are, like too many others, on the list of endangered species..I would be very happy to find polar bears all around the world, not only everywhere in Canada but even in my little country -Romania...Just joking the Clap * please excuse my intervention out off topic* :FAINTLY:

Preacherboy, your tank is Ok. It s nothing wrong with it Tres Bien!
Different peoples, different ideas, different points of view..That s why we are here. If we would be the same, we haven t nothing to talk, to debate , to share , to communicate...The only common thing, who is present on each one of us, is THE LOVE AND PASSION FOR OUR AMAZING CICHLIDS. I am a reach man not because I have millions. I m reach because my passion for my fishes, for nature giving me a lots of peace and happiness for my soul.
So, i think, as you said , it s a good idea to talk in a subject like - WILD MALAWI(tanganika)*s BIOTOP..why not?!

Take care of you and your cichilds
until soon,
crys

Well said, Crys, and it certainly is great to see around here again!

We missed you!

Crys,

I was using polar bears as an example......thats it.....anyways this did start a good debate preacherboy i bet you never guessed that would happen....i do like the tank very much and will post pics of mine shortly

Sorry I missed this one PB! Great looking tank you have and Im happy you got it finally.What size is next?A 220G? lol.Great discussion here as well.Crys its great to see you again dont wait so long!!We missed our little Romanian Buddy! Adam great to see you add some awesome content there!

Derek

Welcome back, Crys! Welcome!!

Here's my take on the plants...

Let's face it...We're obsessed with these fish, and do most everything in our power to make them happy and healthy.

Adding plants to these tanks that take up such a huge part of our living space makes them more aesthetically pleasing to the eye. My tanks are as much a part of my decor as anything else!

And, they provide additional shelter for stressed fish and fry...

Besides, they wouldn't make all these great looking fake plants if we weren't supposed to use them! Giggly

Kim