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Hi, in your last post #30, second pic, is that a Ptychochromis sp. 'tarantsy' juvenile? Where did you obtain that fish?
 
robroy said:
Beautiful specimens and photography. Water looks crystal clear-how's it filtered?
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Thanks a lot man, much appreciated. For filtration I'm using a Cascade 1000 Canister a API Filstar XP XL Canister and a SunSun CUP-613 13 Watt UV Powerhead/Filter.

LS2012 said:
Hi, in your last post #30, second pic, is that a Ptychochromis sp. 'tarantsy' juvenile? Where did you obtain that fish?
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Yes that's a Tarantsy, I picked up 3 of them 1 male and 2 females at about 4-5 inches from Jeff Rapps just the other day. I always liked the rare and unusual so I love these Tarantsy. You have some don't you? Mine haven't fed yet, can I ask what do you feed yours? And is it true that they're substrate sifters similar to Geo's?
 
Fantastic! So you have some of his adult Tarantsy from the Denver Zoo as well :-) I obtained my pair from Jeff about a year ago. They spawned twice over the summer. Their mating ritual is fascinating to observe. There's a bunch of my threads about them and their spawns in the African Riverine and Madagascar forum. It includes fry pics with a macro lens. Glad you have 2 females, spawing can be rough for them. My avitar is the male from this pair.

Kudos on adding more Malagasies to your collection. Your Menarambo look great too! Just moved my 6 Rapps Menarambo to a 30g last week. All of your photos are gorgeous! I'd love to see more pics of your Malagasies :)

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It's awesome that you got them to spawn, honestly these guys and the Menarambo are greatly underrated fish. It's really a pity that the African Riverine & Madagascar forum gets so little attention. It would be great if our hobby actually helped prevent species from going extinct and this is an instance that could actually happen if more people tried breeding these guys.

I'll definitely make my way over to your threads as ultimately breeding the Tarantsy is my goal as well. By the way you should utilize the photo lounge a little more. You have some awesome fish and due to low traffic in the African Riverine and Madagascar section they don't get the exposure and admiration they deserve. Perhaps if you posted more pics here you might inspire others to check out these cichlids and increase the traffic in the African/Madagascar section.

Thanks for the compliments, the Menarambo are true pains to photograph as they really bug out when I get close; always ready to eat. The Tarantsy are infinitely easier to photograph. I'll definitely see about taking more pics in the near future.
 
koltsixx said:
You have some don't you? Mine haven't fed yet, can I ask what do you feed yours? And is it true that they're substrate sifters similar to Geo's?
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Sorry, didn't see this part of the post! The mfk app is buggy sometimes.

Aside from the breeding pair, I have about 45 remaining from the 160+ fry that made it to the free swimming stage. About 115 were sold, donated to conservation programs/clubs. Also traded with ACA C.A.R.E.S. members. Dr Paul Loiselle also has about 10 of my juvies. Many of the NJAS members have groups from my pair's spawn. The pair laid about 500 eggs. They were spooked by my female Bleekeri and ate most of the eggs. I pulled the rock and hatched artificially.

Yes, they're sifters, as are most Malagasies. The pair is constantly moving sand out of the perimeter of their 'cave' where they spend most of their time. Interestingly, the juvies aren't sifting yet. Maybe it has something to do with sexual maturity, I'm not sure. My Bleekeri makes giant piles of sand, usually into the corner where the heater is located. My Menarambo leave small pits in the sand when they forage. My Maculatus don't do this at all yet, they're about 3.5 inches now.

My group of red head Tapajos, in my SA tank, seem more like sifter/spitters and make quite a mess. The Malagasies mess is more contained to their territory, while the geos just spit everywhere.

Regarding feeding... Others may have different experiences. With my fish, the paratilapia and ptychos seem to prefer eating at dusk and dawn. Or in the middle of the night. They never eat during the day and will stay hidden if the lights are too bright. My ptychos prefer shrimp pellets, NLS Cichlid pellets and veggie or bs flakes. They can be very picky and slow eaters. They dont rush to the top to eat and will sometimes wait till food falls to the bottom and sift around looking for food. If I kept non Madagascar fish in their tank they wouldn't get to eat at all. The lighting for my mad. cichlid tanks is always subdued, they are more active at night as well.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask questions at anytime :-)

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koltsixx said:
It's awesome that you got them to spawn, honestly these guys and the Menarambo are greatly underrated fish. It's really a pity that the African Riverine & Madagascar forum gets so little attention. It would be great if our hobby actually helped prevent species from going extinct and this is an instance that could actually happen if more people tried breeding these guys.

I'll definitely make my way over to your threads as ultimately breeding the Tarantsy is my goal as well. By the way you should utilize the photo lounge a little more. You have some awesome fish and due to low traffic in the African Riverine and Madagascar section they don't get the exposure and admiration they deserve. Perhaps if you posted more pics here you might inspire others to check out these cichlids and increase the traffic in the African/Madagascar section.

Thanks for the compliments, the Menarambo are true pains to photograph as they really bug out when I get close; always ready to eat. The Tarantsy are infinitely easier to photograph. I'll definitely see about taking more pics in the near future.
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Thanks! Madagascar cichlids are definitely underrated. That forum does get very little attention, but that's not always a bad thing. There are some very experienced Malagasy keepers that belong to mfk and they're a priceless resource. There's conservation programs and other forums that focus on these fish, but a greater awareness is absolutely needed.

If my photography skills weren't so poor, I'd post a lot in this forum. My husband is a great photographer and his skills far surpass my feeble amateur attempts. So I guess I'll have to bug him to take some recent pics of our fish :)

Looking forward to seeing more of your pics!
Cheers,
Laurie

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Thanks for all the info. Laurie, it's greatly appreciated. I did some research but as you know the info. online about these guys is pretty scarce. I'm currently keeping them in comm. with Geo's and Severums as well as the Menarambo. Right after I posted I tried feeding them again and the females fed pretty enthusiastically the male less so. As you said they didn't come to the surface but I usually feed with sinking pellets and flakes anyway. The Menarambo, Geos and Sev's came up and the Tarantsy hovered below snapping up anything that fell. So far they've been staying in open water the females patroling together and the male moving about leisurely, none have shown interest in any of the hides yet. They also haven't sifted through the sand, which is why I asked about their sifting habits. They've just been grazing on the rocks occasionally.

As far as pic skills, don't worry the photo lounge is about sharing pics no need to be a photo guru. Though if you need an excuse to bug your hubby, by all means use the pic taking as an excuse. :D Seriously though I hope to see more from you in Photo Lounge and like I said hopefully it'll garner some interest and open people up to some great fish.
 
koltsixx said:
Thanks for all the info. Laurie, it's greatly appreciated. I did some research but as you know the info. online about these guys is pretty scarce. I'm currently keeping them in comm. with Geo's and Severums as well as the Menarambo. Right after I posted I tried feeding them again and the females fed pretty enthusiastically the male less so. As you said they didn't come to the surface but I usually feed with sinking pellets and flakes anyway. The Menarambo, Geos and Sev's came up and the Tarantsy hovered below snapping up anything that fell. So far they've been staying in open water the females patroling together and the male moving about leisurely, none have shown interest in any of the hides yet. They also haven't sifted through the sand, which is why I asked about their sifting habits. They've just been grazing on the rocks occasionally.

As far as pic skills, don't worry the photo lounge is about sharing pics no need to be a photo guru. Though if you need an excuse to bug your hubby, by all means use the pic taking as an excuse. :D Seriously though I hope to see more from you in Photo Lounge and like I said hopefully it'll garner some interest and open people up to some great fish.
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You're welcome Kolt :) I will use this as an excuse to bug him :D

One of the best resources for Madagascar cichlids is a great book written by Nourissat and de Rham "The Endemic Cichlids of Madagascar" http://madagroup.francecichlid.com/articles.php?lng=en&pg=135

Occasionally you'll find a used copy online. I actually ordered mine directly from the AFC and had it shipped from France. It wound up costing less than the used copies and was brand new. The photography was excellent btw.

There are quite a number of mad. keepers in Europe. A lot in the UK, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Greece, to name a few. They have great boards as well. You may want to take a look over there too. Another resource is the Cichlid Room Companion, especially their articles. And don't forget, aside from us, I'm aware of at least 4 other mfk members who have Tarantsy in the US and Canada.

Glad to hear your Tarantsy are starting to eat. They'll eat when they're hungry. My Tarantsy aren't voracious eaters. Unlike my Damba, who would eat anything until they exploded. Now that I'm thinking about it, my male does most of the sifting. When they're ready to mate, you'll know!



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