Cichlidgallery.org

Room spec.

Owner:
Fredrik Hagblom of Lund, Sweden

Amount of tanks and tank sizes:
1x 540L, 1x 420L, 2x 375L, 2x 250L, 2x 100L, 8x 80L, 3x 47L.=19 tanks

Racks:
Old metal racks from sinks, home made wooden and original tank racks of various materials.

Heating:
Inividual heaters in each tank at low level. These tanks seem to indirectly heat up the ones above.

Lighting:
Individual lights for all tanks. All from real aquaria lighting to small bulbs with home made reflectors.

Filtration:
Powerheads with home made filtersponge in all tanks (even the smallest ones)

Electric installation:
Home made with all cables droping from the ceiling. Two seperate serquits, one on timer for the lights and one for powerheads and heaters.

Flooring:
Cement floor partly covered with plastic flooring.

Substrate:
No bare bottom tanks, not even for fry. Mostly beach sand from a local beach but in some cases crushed coral.

Interiors, (plants rock work):
Valisneria in two Malawi breeding tanks and plenty of Java Moss in tanks for South American dwarf cichlids. Some large roots with the Earth eaters and some caves made out of slate for the cave spawners. A few flowerpots but trying to keep it down. One home made styrofoam background and to backgrounds made out of slate glued directly to the rear glass of the tank.

What could have been done better?
All of it but especially the electric installaition. The real way to go is to make racks and tanks to fit your space. I just didn't have the cash for it.

Do you have a show tank in your livingroom?
No, not yet but I will have within a few months. I cant live with just a cichlid room, I need to have cichlids close to me at all times.

Fish

What cichlids do you keep?
Tropheus moorii "Kala island", Tropheus duboisi "Maswa", Neolamprologus hecqui, Neolamprologus buescheri "Kamakonde", Lamprologus similis, Julidochromis ornatus "Uvira", Chalinochromis brichardi "Magara", Pseudotropheus demasoni, Nimbochromis livingstoni, Microgeopagus ramirezi, Cyrtocara moorii, Copadichromis boyleri "Kadango redfin", Dimidiochromis compressiceps, Anomalochromis thomasi, Cryptoheros sajica, Apistogramma agassizi, Apistogramma cacatuoides, Apistogramma panduro, Geophagus sp. "Tapajo read head", Crenicichla edithae, Mesonauta insignis.

Your favourite fish in the room and why? (only one individual)
My Tropheus moorii "Kala Island" dominant male. This fish has a very high entertainment value. Sometimes I sit and watch my group long enough to belive that I am one of them.

Last fish purchased:
Dimidiochromis compressiceps

Nr. 1. on your wish list:
Aulonocara sp. Iwanda

Maintanace

Waterchange frequency:
40% of all tanks each friday.

Method of waterchanges:
Just hoses and stuff.

Smart gadgets to help working the room:
I have made a few sticks for cleaning those "hard to reach places" that I cant get to with all my tanks all cramped up.

Foods for fry and grown fish:
Home made shrimp mix, Hikari pellets, Aquatic Nature fine granulate, Tetra min, frozen blood worm.