Well i finally did it. I got a new shipment of Tanganyikan's today. I got 11 Petrochromis Ephippium Sibwesa, 10 Tropheus Moori Kiku and 2 Eremodus Cyanastictus. Most of these guys are around 2-2.5 inches and are already colored up. The Kiku are already starting to establish themselves as the dominate group in the tank. They seem really fiesty ( I wanna say aggressive). I think I'm going to skip a feeding tonight and let them get used to the tank and graze the algae for awhile. I haven't kept Tropheus in many years so I'm pretty excited at the moment. Just wanted to share and I'll be posting some pics later this week in a different thread. I love getting new fish.
Got some new fish today
- Thread starter driftwood
- Start date
great picks, got some info on the Ephippium Sibwesa. never heard of it. i envy you bc of the gobies. always wanted some.
Congrats, Especially on the Tropheus. They were always my favorite of the Africans. What size tank are you putting the fish in. Although I never had these particular variant I kept and bred several other species of Tropheus.
You must make sure that as they get older that you pull the excess males out to the point that you have no more than two males for every 4-6 females as they are polygamist. They keep harems. You call them colonies. If the tank is not big enough you wont even be able to keep 2 colonies. The dominant male will pick on the less dominant males to the point of death.
Tropheus are a very active and rewarding fish. Also make sure their diet consist of at least 50-75 % veggies. Whether it be through spirulina or some type that you make for them. They will bloat easily
if not at least this percentage especially that young. This and heavy stress will lead to Bloat which can be catastrophic for a Tropheus colony. Stay away from blood worms, black worms or any high
protein food. In my mixed tanks I used to buy several types of high quality flakes and mix a 60-70 pecent mix of spirulina flakes all together.
You must make sure that as they get older that you pull the excess males out to the point that you have no more than two males for every 4-6 females as they are polygamist. They keep harems. You call them colonies. If the tank is not big enough you wont even be able to keep 2 colonies. The dominant male will pick on the less dominant males to the point of death.
Tropheus are a very active and rewarding fish. Also make sure their diet consist of at least 50-75 % veggies. Whether it be through spirulina or some type that you make for them. They will bloat easily
if not at least this percentage especially that young. This and heavy stress will lead to Bloat which can be catastrophic for a Tropheus colony. Stay away from blood worms, black worms or any high
protein food. In my mixed tanks I used to buy several types of high quality flakes and mix a 60-70 pecent mix of spirulina flakes all together.
The Eremodus are really cool. I love watching these guys. I'm a bit weary that the Tropheus are going to be too aggressive for them though. I have the colony of Petro's and Tropheus along with the Eremodus in a 120 gallon reef tank so they should have plenty of room. I'm no stranger to Africans. Kept them years ago before i got totally into Centrals. I'm going to do at least 1 more Tang tank and will get some of the Moba Frontosa if I can get a good deal on some Juv. fish. Right now I'm just really liking my new Tang tank and will have pics posted by the end of the week guys.
I Went the opposite way. Kept Africans for almost ten years. SA/CA before that. Am now back on the large SA/CAs again.
Go for the Tangs, one thing about africans they are never boring or inactive.
Go for the Tangs, one thing about africans they are never boring or inactive.
ShadowStryder;838323; said:
When you say pull out the extra males do I then replace that male with another Tropheus? i only got 10 Tropheus Kiku and I know I won't be able to find anymore. I need to keep the number of tropheus up right?
If you end up with 2 males and 8 females you should be ok. If you end up with 4 m to 6 fem or worse you could have problems with dominant males harassing subdominant males to the point of death. You can try to Aquascaping heavily with rocks and wood to give refuge to subdominants, but being smaller size fish makes it hard to take refuge. Is this going to be strickly a Tropheus tank or a mixed tank some people believe in overstocking africans cuz it creates so much movement within the tank the it distracts the aggressors from the harassed.
You will have to watch closely as when they start picking on a particular fish they tend to not let up. Even when the fish is hiding in an upper corner, they sometimes will still pick at it. You do want to keep the number up but you don't want a high male to female count. If you have
say 5 males and 5 females one dominant male will want to breed with all
the females since they are polyamist. They don't pair up like a lot of cichlids.
You will have to watch closely as when they start picking on a particular fish they tend to not let up. Even when the fish is hiding in an upper corner, they sometimes will still pick at it. You do want to keep the number up but you don't want a high male to female count. If you have
say 5 males and 5 females one dominant male will want to breed with all
the females since they are polyamist. They don't pair up like a lot of cichlids.
ShadowStryder;839378; said:
Ok, say i had 4 males and 6 females and i had to remove a few of the males? Will i then need to replace said males with another Tropheus? I won't be able to find anymore kiku's thats for sure. Right now the numbers for the 120 are 23 including the 2 Goby. I also have 4 clown loaches and a catfish in the same tank so i have 28 total fish with 11 Petro's, 10 Tropheus 2 Goby and the other dither fish. Could i try some Deboisi if I need to keep the numbers up? They are pretty cheap compared to the Kiku's.