For some reason this didnt show I had any new posts in here grr I am SOOOOOO Horribly sorry I didnt get back to this sooner I promise I dont mean to let you down, Yes I will get your info on Copadichromis sp. "Likoma Blue" (Ndumbi) by 12pm tonight I have school 10am-10pm tonight x__X so I will do what I can I am so sorry it took me so long! and pseudotropheus are you going to be keeping any of that species in their still or no? If not I think I got a few ideas but I need to double check on sizes just to be safe =) I'll get back to you by tonight also, and do you know the pH level? Do you know are you looking for something cheap, or harder to get some of my suggestion you might have to order off either a seller on here or online somewhere?
Educating MFK on Africans!
- Thread starter Ash
- Start date
Ash said:
Oh dont even worry about it. You are doing us the favor. I cant make you do it any faster than you have time for. Much appreciated Ash! Thanks.
Ash said:
I havent tested the water yet due to being very busy at work. there are no fish in it yet. I decorated it with reef rock, and tufa rock will be added shortly. I am told that these raise the PH. I plan on having a PH of at least 7.7. Money is not an issue so far. If the fish are under $20 each, I can deal with that. the tank is 4 feet by 1 foot.
i agree, you take your time. I just finished school, so it's not lost on me how a 12 hour day like that can make you not want to do research on fish. focus on that stuff first and foremost.
=) Thanks, alright well I am having some trouble finding good info I think its gonna take me a little longer then I thought, not a fish I am that familiar with, There seems to be alot of them though, so for now I will post info on them just to give you a general idea about the Copadichromis, and hopefully by the end of the week I can find some good info for yah, they all seem to have some cool colorations too.mjime714 said:
Copadichromis sp. "Mloto Fluorescent"
General:
This fish has just recently been introduced into the hobby. It is being exported from Lake Malawi by African Diving Ltd. of Sweden. Although they are predominantly an exporter of Tanganyikan fishes, they do export Malawian fishes also. To my knowledge, African Diving Ltd. is the only company exporting this fish to the U.S. and by the looks of this fish, they have a winner. It is presently grouped together with "mloto" type fish because of its overall appearance, although the name given this fish will probably change in the future. Given the color of this fish, it is aptly named "Fluorescent". It is one of a small handful of African Cichlids that have green pigmentation. As you can see by the photo, this fish has an iridescent green head and a blue body. Note: This picture was taken hours after arriving from Africa. This iridescent green is mindful of the color sometimes seen on Bettas and Guppys, but a rare commodity in African Cichlids.
Habitat:
This fish is found and collected at Hai Reef in Tanzania. According to African Diving Ltd, "It is a rare cichlid that may be found in sediment rich biotope where rocks meet the open sand floor. Females gather together in small groups seeking plankton some meters up from the bottom." Being this is a new fish in this country, some things must be assumed from other fishes of this type. From the colony that I have, I would say that they are semi to non aggressive with males attaining a length of 5-6 inches with females being slightly smaller.
Care:
Copadichromis. sp. "mloto fluorescent" require no special care. They, of course, love hard alkaline water with a temperature range of 74-84 degrees. A mixture of 2 parts non-iodized salt to 1 part Epsom salt will aid in digestion and prevent bloat. I use about 1 ounce of this mixture for every 15 gallons for water.
Feeding:
I feed these fish the same as everything else in my fish room. They are truly typical wild fish. Let a finger stray into the tank and theyll try to eat that too. Its amazing how quickly they adapt to dependency on humans. They are always the first ones scurrying about they tank waiting for food when someone enters the room. (Guess they read about Pavlovs dogs.) I havent found a food that they wont eat. At present, they have accepted frozen brine shrimp, earthworms (their favorite), bloodworms, pellets and assorted flake foods. I do make sure that they get a little more green matter, in the form of Spirulina, than some of my other fish.
Breeding:
I would presume it to be non-earth shattering news to declare that this fish is a mouth brooder. I have 2 males and 6 females in a 50 gallon breeder tank that has a variety of hiding places. This colony only arrived 2 weeks ago but from observation, the 2 males are typically territorial yet atypically not out for each others blood. They get along well, although it goes without saying, that 1 male is boss. Both males do however show equal coloration. They are fattening up nicely and I am starting to see signs of eminent spawning. The males are chasing the females, yet not one of the females shows any outward signs of being attacked.
Copadichromis sp."mloto likoma"
Size
Up to about 15 cm (6 in.), females smaller.
Food
Shrimpmix and newhatched brine shrimps.
Aquarium
At least 350 litres (75 gal.).
Habitat
Open water with sandy floors.
Breeding
There is no Info.
General
Copadichromis sp."mloto likoma" is a very popular cichlid i malawitanks. Like other Utakas it's best kept together with other peacefull cichlids like Aulonocara's and Labidochromis.
Size
Up to about 15 cm (6 in.), females smaller.
Food
Shrimpmix and newhatched brine shrimps.
Aquarium
At least 350 litres (75 gal.).
Habitat
Open water with sandy floors.
Breeding
There is no Info.
General
Copadichromis sp."mloto likoma" is a very popular cichlid i malawitanks. Like other Utakas it's best kept together with other peacefull cichlids like Aulonocara's and Labidochromis.
Copadichromis azureus
Size
12-18 cm (5-7 in.), females a bit smaller.
Food
Shrimpmix, but newhatched brine shrimps are good as variation because Copadichromis azureus feed on plankton in the nature.
Aquarium
At least 300 litres (65 gal.).
Habitat
In the intermediate zone between rocky and sandy floors, but they are most common in open water.
Breeding
Easy to breed, usually with over 50 frys per brood.
General
Copadichromis azureus is one of the most beautiful cichlids in the Lake Malawi. The males are metallic blue all over the body. Furthermore it is relatively quiet and peaceful which makes it to one of the most popular cichlids from the Lake Malawi. Females and juvenile noncolourated males are silvercoulered with three spots on each side, typical for Copadichromis.
Size
12-18 cm (5-7 in.), females a bit smaller.
Food
Shrimpmix, but newhatched brine shrimps are good as variation because Copadichromis azureus feed on plankton in the nature.
Aquarium
At least 300 litres (65 gal.).
Habitat
In the intermediate zone between rocky and sandy floors, but they are most common in open water.
Breeding
Easy to breed, usually with over 50 frys per brood.
General
Copadichromis azureus is one of the most beautiful cichlids in the Lake Malawi. The males are metallic blue all over the body. Furthermore it is relatively quiet and peaceful which makes it to one of the most popular cichlids from the Lake Malawi. Females and juvenile noncolourated males are silvercoulered with three spots on each side, typical for Copadichromis.
Copadichromis borleyi
Size
Up to 18 cm (7 in.) females a bit smaller.
Food
Shrimpmix and newhatched brine shrimps.
Aquarium
At least 350 litres (75 gal.).
Habitat
Rocky habitats on a medium depth of 10 metres (32 ft.).
Breeding
No Info
General
Copadichromis borleyi belongs to the Utaka-group which consists of relatively quiet and peacefull cichlids, these could be a bit shy inhabitants in aquariums. They suits best together whith other peaceful cichlids like species from the genera Aulonocara and Labidochromis. To keep them together with other species from the Copadichromis genus you have to be sure that the females don't are too similar to each other.
Size
Up to 18 cm (7 in.) females a bit smaller.
Food
Shrimpmix and newhatched brine shrimps.
Aquarium
At least 350 litres (75 gal.).
Habitat
Rocky habitats on a medium depth of 10 metres (32 ft.).
Breeding
No Info
General
Copadichromis borleyi belongs to the Utaka-group which consists of relatively quiet and peacefull cichlids, these could be a bit shy inhabitants in aquariums. They suits best together whith other peaceful cichlids like species from the genera Aulonocara and Labidochromis. To keep them together with other species from the Copadichromis genus you have to be sure that the females don't are too similar to each other.
Copadichromis sp. "viginalis gold"
General Info: Virginalis Gold has been found only in Nkanda in the northernmost part of Lake Malawi on the Tanzanian shore. The Gold's were first seen in 1994.
Size: 7-9cm -deeper dwellers (the shallow dwellers can max at 18cm)
Tank Size: 60 gallons
Food: Shrimpmix and newhatched brine shrimps.
Breeding: Takes place mostly inside a cave, the eggs are taken up immediately by the female and therefore probably fertilized inside her mouth. A 5-cm to 6-cm female released only 6 to 10 fry so far. That's apparently why these fish are so expensive, unlike Lake Victoria's Cichlid that has larger numbers of fry.
General Info: Virginalis Gold has been found only in Nkanda in the northernmost part of Lake Malawi on the Tanzanian shore. The Gold's were first seen in 1994.
Size: 7-9cm -deeper dwellers (the shallow dwellers can max at 18cm)
Tank Size: 60 gallons
Food: Shrimpmix and newhatched brine shrimps.
Breeding: Takes place mostly inside a cave, the eggs are taken up immediately by the female and therefore probably fertilized inside her mouth. A 5-cm to 6-cm female released only 6 to 10 fry so far. That's apparently why these fish are so expensive, unlike Lake Victoria's Cichlid that has larger numbers of fry.
Also thank for understanding =) Okay Ideas I have in my head: You could try putting 7 Labidochromis caeruleus with some Neolamprologus of your choice they are shell dwellers, or maybe Aulonocara walteri they are rock dwellers maybe you could mix those in they grow about the same size as Labidochromis, Astatotilapia latifasciata you can also try a mix in with them they also grow at about the same size as the other two but are slightly agressive towards other males, You can also do Calvus which are very cool fish but can be agressive towards one another its an equalibrium issue, I ve owned a few my self and I absolutely love them but they grow extremely slow but good fish and tend be laid back they can prob. mix with other non-agressive africans even shelldwellers would be good with them also you could get a good amount of them in your tank but they can be costly something you would have to look around for prob., another is Pseudotropheus Tropheops Sp. 'red cheek' which should be able to mix fine also about the same size as all the others, this one is also near the same size not positive on mixing Aulonocara nyassae, Xenotilapia Sima llangi one of my favs but schooling fish best kept in schools but the tank might be too small for them I would say no more then 3 if you did, not easy fish to find but very very beautiful fish, Julidochromis dickfeldi you could mix in with some of those they get about 3 inches and are neat looking but only put in one they are very agressive towards there own kind, ulonocara maleri "Maleri Island" are also nice looking fish you can have about 6 of them to a 30-40gallon tank and like to be kept in schools, Also a mixed african tank may look neat I have an aturas, johanni, colbalt zebra, labidochromis carelus and a Pseudotropheus socolofi (powder blue), they all seem to get along fine its all about finding a neutrual blance in the number of fish. Anyways I hope some of those ideas help you out and give you some ideas!! =) Good Luck - post pics when its all done.downset21 said:
