125 gallon neolamprologus brichardi tank?

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Darkskies

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 30, 2010
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Syracuse, NY
Hi,
I have an empty 125 gallon and was thinking about stocking it with a brichardi-complex species. Do both the pulcher and common brichardi variants reach 4-5" in length? I want the fish to be in that range instead of the smaller 2-3" ones you find like among helianthus. Also, would I be able to keep any other fish in there with them? I've heard I might be able to keep a pair of altolamprologus or one of the larger julidochromis species. If it does end up being a species tank I think it would be more interesting to watch if the pairs set up their own territories and sparred with one another(with no real harm done). Is this likely? Finally, would using medium-sized gravel as a substrate instead of sand be an issue? Thanks in advance!
 
Sounds like a fun setup if you have a 125 to spare. They will colonize the tank for sure. Set up lots of separate rock piles and let 'em rip.

I like the idea of putting in the julidochromis as well. Maybe even a third species - shelly maybe?

Altolamps would work, but will just end up eating fry from the rock dwellers (as well as any fry that they produce). So you'll essentially always have only two of them.
 
By having an extra 125 to spare do you mean you would be doing something different with a 125? I was thinking about an mbuna aquarium but buying different species in groups of 6(12 in the case of demasoni) and then removing the extras when I have the appropriate gender combination is rather expensive and my parents will probably have to maintain its upkeep within 4-8 months since I'm going to be going off to graduate school. I figured that a brichardi species tank would be easier for them to look after. If I get one of the larger julidochromis species how do I make sure that there won't be any aggression issues(to the point where the fish are unduly stressed or no fry survive)? I've heard that fish of the Brichardi-complex are very territorial and aggressive usually taking over the entire tank when breeding. Also is the daffodil variant more aesthetically pleasing? My pH out of the tap is around 7.6. All I was planning on doing was adding maybe 15-20 pounds of crushed coral to the tank to help raise it but would it be problematic for the fish if the pH isn't exactly at 8 and is within the 7.6-8.0 range? Lastly, would having medium-sized gravel as the substrate be a hindrance to the fish's breeding/well-being? Thanks!
 
Nah, didn't mean two tanks. If you're looking for something you can leave in your folks' care for long periods of time, it'd be perfect.

Personally, I'd add another species as you can get just about the same experience by keeping the brichardi in a 75, but now it makes more sense. Have you considered leleupi? Talk about a sweet contrast in color.... Rock it up, drop in 4 of each and go to school. When you return, you'll have 100 fish in the tank, lol.

Good call on the demasoni. There's potential that they'll wreck eachother and your mom will be calling all the time worried about the tank, lol.

My rock tangs are fine in tap water with similar (or slightly lower) pH and crushed coral added to buffer. I only bother to buffer my 125 with featherfins, Cyps and sand sifters as they are a bit more particular.

I don't think that larger-grained substrate would be an issue as these guys don't spend much time digging or sifting like others do.
 
It's good to know that they don't absolutely need the sand substrate. However, I read that they dig pits in the sand for breeding. Is that true? Would not having sand prevent them from breeding altogether or just prevent them from making their pits? I'll definitely look into the leleupi species. I probably will end up going with both the brichardi and the leleupi. How common are the lelelupi? You don't think a pair of Julies would work as well? Does this really sound like it would make for a very beautiful and interesting tank or would I be wasting such a vast aquarium on a lame setup?
 
I don't think it's a waste. It's gonna be pretty rockin'... and low in maintenance, imo.

If you wanted something more challenging from the lake, you could try sandsifters/featherfins/Cyps, but that is a tank that must be watched for aggression - something you won't be able to do right now. Another nice one would be petros and tropheus.. same deal though. Plus, both of those tanks would be some serious bucks up front to stock properly.

I recommend leleupi mainly because of their color, to be honest. I've only kept/seen big colony tanks of leleupi, cylindricus and brichardi before. That's the only reason I didn't recommend a Julidochromis. I believe that they'd probably be somewhat interchangeable though. If you did go with a Juli, I'd avoid the especially huge and/or nasty ones (marlieri for instance).

Cheers,
Tony
 
Thanks. I think I'll take you up on your advice and go with a mixed leleupi and brichardi setup. So you're sure they don't need to dig those pits in order to breed?
 
Good advice given and I will second it. I have leleupi now very bright and I keep him with mixed brichardi - helianthus and daffodil along with a colony of f2 neolamprologus buscheri gombe and a mustax. I love the tank it's interesting and has a variety of color. Its a very low maintenance tank. I don't notice as much sand sifting in this tank as I do in some of my others, but I have noticed the leleupi digging holes under the rocks, the brichardi on the other hand don't seem to care about the sand that much. I think not going with sand should be fine as long as you provide a lot of rocks/caves. If you breed brichardi though they will take over the tank and can be aggressive over territory and you'll have a lot of fry. I think it will make for an interesting tank.
 
I am still working on setting up this tank and deciding on inhabitants. If I go with the Brichardi are there any other fish I could add that would do well? Personally, I would like to see the territorial displays and aggressive behavior meted out by the Brichardi while spawning/protecting their young without any real harm being done to the other species of fish. I know that Brichardi are rather dangerous when breeding but in such a large tank shouldn't I be able to include another species of fish? If so what would be a good choice? I heard multis would work. Is that true? If so, that would be be fine but I was hoping there would be some others..
 
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