Its funny you asked, because in my research, I had seen you comment on them in other threads. I picked mine up at an auction, and after researching the screen name, it was Ray Wetzel.
Ptychochromis sp. nov. "Tarantsy"
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Its funny you asked, because in my research, I had seen you comment on them in other threads. I picked mine up at an auction, and after researching the screen name, it was Ray Wetzel.
I gave Ray a group from my breeding pair's first spawn about 3 years ago. If he was able to also breed them, then you have 2nd generation from my pair. If they are from the original group I gave him, then they are definitely mine!! Their parents are in my threads in this subform. Their their spawn and growth are documented there and on my YouTube channel BellaFarnese. They are not Pty. sp. November 'tarantsy'. They are Pty. sp. 'tarantsy' unless they were misidentified by the Denver Zoo, Jeff Rapps and Paul Loiselle (and I seriously don't think they were wrong )
Sp. means unidentified species of a particular fish. I recall a discussion about their identify here as well.
These tarantsy are a registered C.A.R.E.S. Species and are on the list as CVU which means critically vulnerable.
If you're interested in their provenance, I was told by Paul Loiselle that he believes they are descendants from one of his collection trips to Madagascar. He has a group from my pairs first spawn and so does the Bronx Zoo. I also participated in CARES exchanges with a few MFK Members: duanes and dogofwar. My pair was part of a breeding group at the Denver zoo. A large amount of my fish were donated to NJAS two years ago.
My pair was sold as part of a group to Jeff Rapps and I bought the pair from him. As far as I know, three years ago, I was the first private owner in the US to have success breeding this species in 9 years. I've done a lot of work trying to help perpetuate this species in the US.
I'm really glad to learn more about their whereabouts!! Can you post more pics?
Laurie
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Wow, great info! It would be great to know that there is a definite trace on them back to you. Hopefully it can be confirmed solidly. I'm always leery of not knowing sources, but I felt that it was such an obscure species, that it was likely that only someone very serious would keep them. The ones I received are young juveniles at about 1-1/2", so it seems as though Ray must have been able to breed them. I did PM him on the other forum last month to get more info, similar to what I asked in this thread, but did not hear back. I will go back and find your threads and check out the YouTube videos to see the progression and hopefully learn some more about them. I only recently acquired other Madagascans(P. Menarambo) the day before these guys, so I dove in with both feet! The 'tarantsy' are not in with them though, but in a smaller grow out tank at the moment. Here are a couple of shots I took 10 minutes ago.
Very nice pics. I'm glad to see you have them in a tank with sand and rocks. Tarantsy, like most Malagasies are substrate sifters. Mine lay their eggs on the same rock every time. They dig constantly and rearrange piles and pits to their liking. It keeps them quite occupied. Whenever I see them chasing each other I flatten out the sand and fill in the pits they've dug. It distracts from aggression - which is minimal unless it's a potential pair or establishing a hierarchy. Even then it's mostly posturing. I've only seen them become aggressive when defending eggs.
What's the temp and water parameters in this tank? What kind of lighting is in this tank? They prefer subdued lighting. They will look lighter with light sand and vice versa.
Congrats on obtaining Menarambo!! They're a stunning species. I have a group of them, and group of Pe. maculatus, a lonely kieneri and my gorgeous Paratilapia large spot. I'm sure you can see the Damba in my avatar. It looks like you have also been infected with Malagasy fever. It's contagious . Btw I've found tarantsy to be a bit less 'hungry' than menarambo, who are voracious eaters.
If you'd like I can email Ray. PM me your name and where/when you obtained your tarantsy. Since they are 1-1.5 in I doubt they're mine, but likely the next generation from one of my spawns. Im not aware of any other tarantsy breeders in NJ. But I don't know where alot of them wound up or if they've bred since.
Please feel free to ask any question you have. I'm more than happy to try and help.
What's the temp and water parameters in this tank? What kind of lighting is in this tank? They prefer subdued lighting. They will look lighter with light sand and vice versa.
Congrats on obtaining Menarambo!! They're a stunning species. I have a group of them, and group of Pe. maculatus, a lonely kieneri and my gorgeous Paratilapia large spot. I'm sure you can see the Damba in my avatar. It looks like you have also been infected with Malagasy fever. It's contagious . Btw I've found tarantsy to be a bit less 'hungry' than menarambo, who are voracious eaters.
If you'd like I can email Ray. PM me your name and where/when you obtained your tarantsy. Since they are 1-1.5 in I doubt they're mine, but likely the next generation from one of my spawns. Im not aware of any other tarantsy breeders in NJ. But I don't know where alot of them wound up or if they've bred since.
Please feel free to ask any question you have. I'm more than happy to try and help.
Thank you again for all of the info!
The tank the tarantsy are in for now is a 20 long. The parameters are the same as all of my tanks with a pH of 7.8, KH of 85 ppm, GH of 180 ppm, temp of around 80. I only have a small led tube light on there, which is pretty subdued. I run several of them chained together on many of my tanks. Cheap and low power consumption. Eventually, my thought was to possibly move them in with the menarambo, currently in a 125. What are your thoughts on that? If it's not a good idea, what size tank would you keep just them in? Also, what diet are you feeding them?
If you could confirm their origins with Ray, that would be awesome!
Sounds like you have a great first tank for them!
You're very welcome!
I may have missed the post, how many tarantsy and damba do you have? What size tank do you want to put them in together for now?
I've found the tarantsy don't bother other species unless they come near a spawn. Your malagasies are young. I don't see this being a problem with aggression right now. My concern would be the small tarantsy not being fast enough at feeding time with the menarambo. . I kept my pair with my female Paratilapia, until their second spawn, and even a tank divider couldn't stop them from fighting. Now my pair are in a tank with two syno multis. They're older so I thought I'd keep them in a peaceful tank on their own. For the most part it's OK. But he's interested in breeding and she's not right now. So he gets a bit nippy.
My 3 younger tarantsy are in a 55 with 4 Stomatepia pindu. They don't bother each other at all and are fine at feeding time.
My Damba are in a 6 ft tank with my female Paratilapia (her name is Mavra) and chubby clown loaches. They don't bother with each other, unless a Damba wanders into Mavra's cave, then there's some chasing but that's it. The Damba and loaches form a big pile together at night or if they get nervous.
Everyone eats NLS sinking Cichlid pellets. Mavra loves shrimp pellets. I wouldn't give Damba floating food. Freeze dried krill is their treat. Spirulina when I remember.
Pls PM me your name and I'll gladly email Ray.
You're very welcome!
I may have missed the post, how many tarantsy and damba do you have? What size tank do you want to put them in together for now?
I've found the tarantsy don't bother other species unless they come near a spawn. Your malagasies are young. I don't see this being a problem with aggression right now. My concern would be the small tarantsy not being fast enough at feeding time with the menarambo. . I kept my pair with my female Paratilapia, until their second spawn, and even a tank divider couldn't stop them from fighting. Now my pair are in a tank with two syno multis. They're older so I thought I'd keep them in a peaceful tank on their own. For the most part it's OK. But he's interested in breeding and she's not right now. So he gets a bit nippy.
My 3 younger tarantsy are in a 55 with 4 Stomatepia pindu. They don't bother each other at all and are fine at feeding time.
My Damba are in a 6 ft tank with my female Paratilapia (her name is Mavra) and chubby clown loaches. They don't bother with each other, unless a Damba wanders into Mavra's cave, then there's some chasing but that's it. The Damba and loaches form a big pile together at night or if they get nervous.
Everyone eats NLS sinking Cichlid pellets. Mavra loves shrimp pellets. I wouldn't give Damba floating food. Freeze dried krill is their treat. Spirulina when I remember.
Pls PM me your name and I'll gladly email Ray.
I have 6 of the juvenile tarantsy in the 20 long, and 8 damba that are about 4-1/2". The Damba are in a 125, and I was thinking of putting the Tarantsy in there once they have some more size, maybe 3"+. If that isn't feasible, I can juggle things around in some of my other tanks once they start to out grow the 20 long.
I use quite a bit of NLS 1mm, and that is what I've been feeding the Dambas, along with mixing in meals of Kens Premium Veggie flake, Your Fish Stuff Cichlid flake, and Paradigm Carnivore at times. I have also fed a little freeze dried mysis a couple of times. The Tarantsy have been getting NLS Grow, Your Fish Stuff Cichlid flake and the Paradigm.
For now the tarantsy are too small to be with the Damba. It may be OK in the future. This looks like a wait and see situation. When my Pty were the size of yours they loved nls, Ken's veggie flakes and frozen mysis.
I agree. I'll grow them more and then decide. I need to pick up more Frozen mysis anyway, so that's good to know. Which brand were you using?
