Labidochromis Q's....
- Thread starter Beardo
- Start date
Thanks for the insight. I am by no means saying I only want a 20 gallon set-up....I was merely inquiring about it. If the fish would do better with a larger tank, then thats the way I would go.
I personally think the tanks with sand as a substrate look better than the plain old gravel look....are there any pros/cons to using sand as a substrate? would it be easier to just go with gravel? Thanks again.
I personally think the tanks with sand as a substrate look better than the plain old gravel look....are there any pros/cons to using sand as a substrate? would it be easier to just go with gravel? Thanks again.
I can get great deals on tanks so if I can help let me know.
Sand can be hard on the filters impellers and if you want to breed the fish and if they are mouth brooders they can get a piece of sand in their mouth and it will destroy the eggs while they are moving them around in their mouth.
I like the look of sand but I have heard so many people complaine about it that I've never tried it myself.
Sand can be hard on the filters impellers and if you want to breed the fish and if they are mouth brooders they can get a piece of sand in their mouth and it will destroy the eggs while they are moving them around in their mouth.
I like the look of sand but I have heard so many people complaine about it that I've never tried it myself.
Although these fish don't get real large, I think a 20 might be a little small. Better quality yellow labs can get closer to 6" but the ones you see every day at the local aquarium shop typically fizzle out at 4". I'd do a 4' tank with lots of rock work and caves and such. THis is what they would prefer. It will also give them the room to have thier own "home" in the rock work and the ability to get away or retreat if needed. If your absolutly stuck with a 20, perhaps 3 to 6 little ones and thin them out as the mature to like 3 or 4.
I would suggest keeping all females or if you want to spawn them keep one male with 3 or more females. Two males might not get along to well. You want several female so the male can't overly harass them. Males often harrass and even kill the female if there is just one male and one female. Sexing these guys can be hard when they are little. Males often have more black in thier dorsil and anal fins but this is not a 100% method. When they get larger, the males anal fin should be more elogated than the females but again, this is not a 100% accurate way to sex them.
I don't like sand because it can be tough to clean with out sucking it out. Aragonite, such as Carib Sea's "seaflor" substrate is heavy enough to vacuum with out sucking it out and it will positivly buffer your water. It in most cases will help maintain a ph in the low 8's which is what these guys prefer. I say "in most cases" because if you have extreamly acid water, It won't buffer that high.
These guys are not picky eaters, I feed them a good mixed diet that include vegtable matter like spirulina flakes. Avoid overly meaty foods or single ingredient foods like brine shrimp for example. They can cause digestive tract problems, espcially in juvies.
These guys have a neat and contraversial history. Most of the ones found in the aquarium trade are supposed to be from a single pair that belonged to Pier Brichard in the early 80's or so. That's how the story gose anyway. Another interesting thing about them is that they are some what of an oddity in the wild. The most common ones are more of a silvery / blue color hence thier name Labidiochromis Caeruleus. Caeruleus means blue. I guess that has nothing to do with your question but interesting none the less.
Hope this was usefull, I'd really concider a bigger aquarium though...
Joel
I would suggest keeping all females or if you want to spawn them keep one male with 3 or more females. Two males might not get along to well. You want several female so the male can't overly harass them. Males often harrass and even kill the female if there is just one male and one female. Sexing these guys can be hard when they are little. Males often have more black in thier dorsil and anal fins but this is not a 100% method. When they get larger, the males anal fin should be more elogated than the females but again, this is not a 100% accurate way to sex them.
I don't like sand because it can be tough to clean with out sucking it out. Aragonite, such as Carib Sea's "seaflor" substrate is heavy enough to vacuum with out sucking it out and it will positivly buffer your water. It in most cases will help maintain a ph in the low 8's which is what these guys prefer. I say "in most cases" because if you have extreamly acid water, It won't buffer that high.
These guys are not picky eaters, I feed them a good mixed diet that include vegtable matter like spirulina flakes. Avoid overly meaty foods or single ingredient foods like brine shrimp for example. They can cause digestive tract problems, espcially in juvies.
These guys have a neat and contraversial history. Most of the ones found in the aquarium trade are supposed to be from a single pair that belonged to Pier Brichard in the early 80's or so. That's how the story gose anyway. Another interesting thing about them is that they are some what of an oddity in the wild. The most common ones are more of a silvery / blue color hence thier name Labidiochromis Caeruleus. Caeruleus means blue. I guess that has nothing to do with your question but interesting none the less.
Hope this was usefull, I'd really concider a bigger aquarium though...
Joel
and another thing.....
Don't listen to repair, he's nutts and all his fish die.....
Kidding!!!!!!
Don't listen to repair, he's nutts and all his fish die.....
Kidding!!!!!!
That was a very information post! Thanks alot. Like I said before, I am not set on a 20 gallon, its just the first one that came to mind. Thanks again for the info.
Hi Beardo, your 20 gal tank will be fine for quite a few fish. Too few will result in either the male or dominant females knocking each other off. I have just listed my Malawi collection and these are kept in 2 90cm tanks. The one holds around 180 litres and the other about 110 litres. I have my wild caughts in the smaller tank.Beardo said:
You probably fed too much protein which results in bloat which is a killer if un-detected. I find Sera Baktopur Direct tablets help if you catch it early.
With regular water changes, 20% every 4-5 days, you can keep quite a few. Look for fish with a good strong golden yellow colour and creamy under belly. The males when mature will get a brownish colouring on the face area. Their black on the fins also tends to be a lot more and a lot darker. This shows up very early on. I would suggest sand, coral grit, as this helps with their digestion of food. They forever are sifting through my sand. Put in lots of rocks for cave formation. You can also put in quite a lot of Vallisneria variety of grass and any hardy plant.
Feed mainly spirulina based foods and better still raw algae if you can cultivate it. Small plastic tank with circulating water. Locate where some son will shine onto it. Cover with shade cloth netting and allow this to hang into the water. After a couple of weeks you should have your own home grown algae strands.
I have two males in the same tank and they are very peaceful.
I hope this will help you and I think this fish is a great choice.
Me again with some food tips. I find NUTRFIN MAX Spirulina algae flakes and Tablets, stick on the side of the tank, work extremely well.
