Using Algae to Create Shell Dweller Cichlid Fish Tank
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- čas přidán 22. 09. 2023
- Last week I had the opportunity to design a Lake Tanganyika biotope-inspired setup for a freind. We thought that would be the most effective way to house and showcase Shell Dweller Cichlids (Neolamprologus similis). He's been keeping guppies and other tropicals outdoors for years, but he's never had a fish tank quite like this. So it was a lot of fun not only to build, but to see how he's been inspired by it since.
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Would you put algae into an aquarium on purpose or wait for it to happen naturally? Either way, it’s inevitable. It’s just a matter of how you keep it balanced once it’s there.
What do you think of the design? We are pleased with how it turned out, and the fish seemed to enjoy it! Also, yes, my voice sounds different. I was sick when I recorded the audio and am still recovering. Feeling better now, but I'm still stuffy. I know I'd get a lot of comments about that, so I figured I'd mention it. Anyway, enjoy the video, and have a great weekend!
i would wait for it to happen naturally so i get a suprise type of algae
Id wait for it naturally
I love the algae rocks
The shell dweller will expose de egg crate in the bothom
It's inevitable with shelldwellers due to the substrate disturbance and lack of plants (you can really only do rhizomes and floaters). Easiest to just accept it as a natural part of the setup.
It is so rare that I see aquariums like these on CZcams. Congratulations @serpadesign for documentation and making a proper Tangayika Aquarium for Shell Dwellers. Its very nice and refreshing to see people not overstocking and making the aquarium a piece of nature.
So much for not overstocking :p there will be 500 of them in a few months, mark my words!
Love your terrariums and aquariums, maybe sometime you'll build the giant jungle vivarium again?
Yeah
What he needs to do is ADD animals to the 600 gallon.
@@LongSocksshe took it apart
Yes !! A bioactive arboreal boa one please!😁🙏🏻❤️
@@LongSocksswhen he moved he took it down :(
Using algea instead of plants is a great idea for cichlids! Might try it myself
I am not a big african cichlid or african cichlid scape guy but when i say this tank floored me and made me reconsider i mean it. truly one of the most stunning all rock tanks ive ever seen
I agree. I trusted them and they delivered. Tanner is a genius and Nate was also very creative.
Seeing a fish go from the pet store to one of your tanks is a beautiful sight to see, they enter a new habitat that mimics their environment and get to take it all in. And live out their lives there. So proud of what you do! These animals get to live out their best and safest days in a piece of nature you created. I think it’s beyond wonderful. Like magic. And I love how you see animals as I do, a small being with a lot of quirks all uniquely their own under their similar instincts as the same species. Truly should be a medal for these kinds of things 🏅 you’d have a room for those too 😆
I love the natural, simple style of this.
Wow look at the difference in their colours! Happy babies! ❤
The algae rocks are brilliant! I normally like alot of plants in tanks but I love this simple, minimalist algae rock pile & snail shell build!
Irene with Girl Talks Fish/Aquarium Co-Op introduced me to multis! They're great little guys and are so easy to breed. I love their behavior! Cute as heck fish
I’m always amazed at how much rock a glass box can hold. 😮 All those snails shells.. hmm, side hustle sales. I would love a bag full!
what a stunning simple scape! the only thing i would change is having the filter at the surface to get some surface ripples and make the light dance a little more, but thats just my preference
I had a 100 gal tanganyikan tank with L. Similis as the focal point. I miss those little guys! Such dynamic and entertaining behavior!
Love the cichlids looking at the camera with a side eye every single time
I would love to see you get some South American puffers. They’re freshwater and much bigger than the pea. They’re neat fish to watch. They really like a strong water current. It would be great to see how you would design a tank suited for that and inspired by the Amazon river. They’re active, inquisitive, and have really cute smiling faces. You can find captive bred ones if you search long enough. 🤞 I love SAPS!
The addition of allege was an awesome idea, I can't believe you can come up with unique ideas week after week. And they always come out so good!! Plus you always have the animals best interest in mind, like drip acclimating the fish, that was very sweet :D
I just love the green rocks, shells and smaller fish. This tank really appeals to me. I also love the rock kinda at an angle in the front. It is lovely!
One of the most beautiful tanks I’ve seen on this channel
Wow I love that terrarium!! Yall did a great job!!
The tank looks SO good!! Nice job.
Look how happy and healthy they are 😮!!❤
Beautiful. Love the rocks. The look of them but also how you arranged them
Incredible tank. Really want to see how it develops with the algae. Hope we get updates!
Very nice! I really enjoy the builds you make for Charlie.
Thanks. Me too! 😊
How unique! As simple as it it, it looks amazing! What a cool back story and I n fo on it too. One of my favorite things about your builds is how authentic they are to the real life environments. As always good work bro!
I LOOOOVE Lake Tanganyika fish!!!!! Beautiful build, as always!
Yet another gorgeous and effective build! Thank you tanner!
Inspiration recieved bro! Ive allways had an interest in shell dwellers and this is a peak quality setup! Great video man
The one slanted rock on the front left gives me anxiety because it looks like it will come slipping off at any moment but I’m sure its fine and well built given who the builder is!!🙂 Another cool build as always & lots of drama with this one. Love the large dark cavey areas. Well done everyone involved!!❤️
Yay! I love Cichlids. So glad to see you made this video. Love your tank design Tanner.
I cant belive how amazing this tank looks
This a beautiful build. It looks so natural.
Probably the coolest shell dweller tank I’ve seen. I’ve been wanting to do a similar setup for the rock dwelling yellow labs.
I LOVE SHELLDWELLERS. i think if i were to ever want a tank for myself, it would be a shelldweller tank
I also have shell dwellers. Love these fish, and love how this tank turned out!
You do inspire! I made my own paludarium because of you! Amazing aquarium!
It has been years that I always tell people that you are the one that inspires me when I do my terrarium / ecosistems and now paludarium builds 💜
I've never really liked cichlids but these little guys and that beautiful tank...I'm kind of tempted now.
I really like the snail shells as decor/hides
Love this and everything you do. Channel is an inspiration.
Yes!!! He’s the best!
I think this might be my favorite interpretation of doing af tanganyika-tank. The algae-idea is definetly something I will copy, if I ever set up af tanganyika-tank. Great work Serpa
Love the look of already covered algae rocks. Definitely adds a different ambiance to the tank that did work really well. I have to agree I don’t know if it would’ve looked as fantastic without it. Great call guys and as always a tank beautifully done
That's my kinda setup. Beautiful! Charlie's amazing. I'm glad he's getting to enjoy this beautiful scape.
Thanks. Love it!
HOA meeting tank. My shell!
I love the cichlid attitudes.
Looks beautiful ❤️
Man....inspire you do. Iv done a enclosure with big boulders and caves, but everything covered in algea with small rocks is just so much more mesmerizing and pleasing. Fantastic build as always.
I love all of your builds and videos, and I would love to see you do a tank for only snails or a bioactive terrarium for hermit crabs!
I love shellies....I had a group of lamprologus meleagris stappersi (pearly shell dwellers) and they were so much fun to watch, very active and "productive" ! Nice work, great tank !
This scape, the tank, is among the most beautiful I've seen. The feeling like when sitting in a meadow of apple trees, on the shores of a tranquil lake, or an Japanese stonegarden. Your video and editing enhances the vibe. Lovley. The sand, on top as well as in front/ around, and the light and shadows mimics sunbeams is perfect. The fish showing directly how they appreciate their environment. A wonderful build. And I don't even like cichlids or tanks without plants.
I love it!
Yeah, it fits right into a stone garden esthetic!
Awesome setup. I had a nearly identical one in a 29 gallon tank about 10 years ago. Shell dwellers are fantastic.
Looks awesome! Good call with the algae aesthetic. It would make me nervous trying to figure out how to manage the light schedule right but I'm sure that will take a bit of trial and error over time.
btw, nice shots of the aquarium!
My n had a breeding pair per convict cichlids. They were so fun watching and when they had babies it was cool watching the mouth brooding
One of my favourite builds.
Perfecttttt timing yessssssssssss, I LOVE this shell dweller trend, I’m beginning my tank tomorrow
My favorite build to date. Your eye for design is phenomenal. Love the Shell Dwellers. Thanks for all the inspiration.
I agree and I'm not even a fan of cichlids
his narrations are so good omg
This was great. I've kept a pretty wide variety of fish but never got into cichlids, mostly because I only very rarely saw cichlid tanks that looked good to me. I've been thinking about shell dwellers for a while now (had land hermit crabs so the idea wasn't to far off) and this video pushed me one step further into trying sth new. That's also what I love about this hobby, it never gets boring and there's always sth new to discover. Thanks for showcasing this so well.
This is awesome. You are my favorite fishtuber. Please never stop.
He’s amazing
I’m hoping to set up a tank for fancy goldfish. (Luke’s Goldie’s) and this build is very inspiring. Maybe I’ll include some big rocks. Charlie has an amazing place and I’m sure he’s grateful for you setting up a tank for him. I know I’m grateful for your channel and how you share your knowledge with us. God bless and have a great day!
Always grateful. Tanner is a good friend and I enjoy seeing him and watching him create.
@@charlie_moorcroft I got the pleasure of meeting him at Animalcon and he was the most humble, gracious and generous person there. Those who know him are blessed. ❤️🥰🙏🏻 Us viewers are blessed too.
Been watching your videos for a few years now, absolutely love your content, you inspired me to get into making terrariums. As always great video
Truly love this channel, has reinspired my love for plants and also even now own a little Leopard Gecko. I want to pursue a diploma in environmental tech and work more with endangered species here in Canada. Thank you for the amazing content and so many ideas and creations.
The apple snail shells look absolutely amazing! Wish I could source something so beautiful for free around my areas but unfortunately there's nothing like that where I live
Escargot 🐌
So cool. There's no other word for it.
This man is my Bob Ross 💚
I love the use of the shells!
3 minutes ago 😊
Edit: I LOVE these little fish! How they have their little shell houses is so cute. I agree the algae rocks look gorgeous
Man what a great idea for the algae covered rocks
Always something Amazing you never disappoint
This is absolutely amazing. I’ve actually started doing something similar. I have some water that I’ve been letting sit with some plants and old snail shells and they are starting to grow algae. That looks super cool. This is a perfect idea of what I want.
Woke up at 8 and checked my phone instead of sleeping I watched this.
Simple but wonderful.
I wonder if adding some more algae-esque mosses would add even more texture? Or something like Süsswassertang? Amazing setup, this is 10000% something I need to attempt. I have a 75g in my basement i've been hoarding for a good idea lol!! 🤩🤩
That boulder in the middle defying gravity is so natural!
I have a little colony of these and they are so fun. And their babies are the cutest.
Fantastic Work! ❤️❤️❤️ 💖💖💖
what a unique project! i am always impressed by your creativity
You personally have persuaded me to start my own aquatic projects as im sure you have many others so i think every once in a while you should do a showcase of what your subscribers have made and sent into you. I think it would be a cool idea and help the creative juices flowing for yourself aswell. Love the content!
Great job Tanner! Love it!
I feed the turtles in the pond in my backyard. My fav are soft-shelled turtles. They don't trust easily. I'll when them over eventually, tho. The red eared sliders are the most friendly by far! The map turtles are learning from the red eared sliders. I'm having a blast. It is by far my fav time of day (7pm)- turtle and fish feeding time. There is even a couple of nosey alligator.
I'm literally trying to set up a shell dweller tank right now. Such good timing 😂
This is incredibly cool, awesome job!!! Thank you very much for your content
Wow, never thought about putting algae in the aquarium on purpose. Probably because I spend most of the time thinking on how to get rid of it 😂
Really interesting project and very enjoyable to watch.
Thanks very much xx
The Salamanders can't wait to see the home you create them.
Love my shellies! Looks great as always Tanner!!!
What a fascinating environment you built for those cichlids! I love how wide your design space is.
Wish I had parents who would let me do this stuff
Tanks that mimic a natural ecosystem are always my favorite.
I love it, those fish are adorable ❤
One of the most interesting species!
More Biotopes bro! So sick!
Tanner- giving people MTS one video at a time.
MTS could be not only multiple tank but also multiple terrarium sundrome haha
Hope you feel better soon, Tanner. Love your creative approach to providing environments in which so many kinds of creatures (and plants) can thrive.
Thank you for another awesome video, Tanner 🎉
Your channel has really inspired me to start considering scapes as a form of art and decoration. I have always thought aquariums were cool, but the ones I kept were ultimately not interesting enough to be worth the effort. After seeing you scapes, I want to get back into the aquarium hobby, as I could watch fish and others interact in a scape like yours for hours. I’ve started making terrariums myself, and once I’m happy with how they look, I’m going to create an aquarium I’ll be able to enjoy for years.
Charlie is a Serpa Design addict! Who else can’t get enough of Tanner’s artistry?
Yes! We’ve become good friends
I love algae covered rocks! Something about them in a tank just looks so natural and aged. ❤love this!
Loved it!!! Tanner please do a crayfish tank soon
Happy fish happy owner
You never fail to surprise