Hello all, I recently acquired a Tropheus Duboisi. He/she is currently in my quarantine tank. I am very well aware of the special dietary requirements of this fish. My question is weather or not a single tropheus will coexist in my african tank housing mainly Mbuna and a single dolphin cichlid. I do not plan on breeding or even attempting to breed this fish as I understand the difficulty involved. My tank is 60 gallons and houses about 16 fish currently with plenty of caves and rock formations( I did my homework). Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
I need some advice on a Tropheus Duboisi
- Thread starter AnimalLovers
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i do have 1 tropheus in my african tank...
beside mbunas and dolphins i also have 2 flowerhorn and many other cichlids including convicts and frontosa, etc inside... so far the tropheus doing well... about 6 months already
beside mbunas and dolphins i also have 2 flowerhorn and many other cichlids including convicts and frontosa, etc inside... so far the tropheus doing well... about 6 months already
Wow sounds like you have quite the mix in there. I have a giant convict as well as a regular convict in there too and where as they kinda get beat up a bit, they thrive. I just wasn't sure if the aggressive nature of the Tropheus would jeopardize any of my existing fish. The Tropheus is only an inch long right now and everything I have read says to colonize them in groups of ten or more....I can't find that many of them in one spot where I live. I got lucky with my Dolphin too as they are not common. I have plenty of tanks to choose from also if he/she decides to be a pain. Have a 125 going up, a 90, the 60 a 16 gallon community for the kids and the ten gallon quarantine. I too have a single Flowerhorn and he is far too aggressive to coexist even with the Red Texas that I have...I guess fish addiction is really the problem that I have...lol
IMO & IME tropheus sp. do best in groups of 15+, T. duboisi aren't quite as nasty as some of the various Tropheus sp, but I would personally not put one in a 60 gallon, that already has 16 mbuna. I would also not keep a single C. moorii in that mix, unless all of your mbuna are less aggressive species.
This hobby isn't just about what one can get away with, or get lucky with, it's about doing what's best for the fish. Or at least it should be. Crowding a bunch of fish into a big clusterphuck to keep them from killing one another isn't always the most ideal solution. Especially when one starts mixing certain species from different lakes, and different continents, where the fish have varying behavioral and even feeding strategies. It can cause confusion amongst the fish, and eventually lead to stress, which generally leads to health issues. In a Tropheus, stress often leads to bloat.
Good luck.
This hobby isn't just about what one can get away with, or get lucky with, it's about doing what's best for the fish. Or at least it should be. Crowding a bunch of fish into a big clusterphuck to keep them from killing one another isn't always the most ideal solution. Especially when one starts mixing certain species from different lakes, and different continents, where the fish have varying behavioral and even feeding strategies. It can cause confusion amongst the fish, and eventually lead to stress, which generally leads to health issues. In a Tropheus, stress often leads to bloat.
Good luck.
I agree with RD, a large shoal of 1 species of Tropheus is a stunning, and natural looking tank. And all things running right, it would would be a healthy tank.
1 in a group of mbuna, a gamble, and ( more importantly to my way of keeping fish, look un-natural), I also believe your 60gal is already at a max stocking level.
1 in a group of mbuna, a gamble, and ( more importantly to my way of keeping fish, look un-natural), I also believe your 60gal is already at a max stocking level.
I “inherited” a single Duboisi I from a friend that was switching out a tank. It was a juvenile that he had missed when he sold the colony. Rather than turn it into a fish store he gave it to me. I added it to a 55 gallon mbuna tank and it did ok for about 3 years. Was not bothered at all by the other fish. However the fish died one day and The life span of duboisi is considerably longer than 3 years. Wouldn’t add again.
I really don't want to a to add him/her to the African tank. You are correct it's at capacity and doing very well. I don't want to disrupt the balance that I have. May be wise to set up another tank and colonize it. Thank you all for the imput!!
UPDATE: I have acquired a much larger tank and have added 6 more Tropheus to it and still looking for a few more to at least make 10 for the colony. I thoroughly enjoy watching them and think they are absolutely beautiful little guys. So far they all are about an inch long and getting along quite nicely. They will be the sole residents of this tank along with a pleco for a little bit of clean up. I took the advice and decided that I would keep a separate tank for them so as to properly care for them. Thank you to all that replied to my thread. I very much appreciate the imput and am constantly learning more and more every day!! Now all I need is advice on what to do if they should decide to start breeding....