I recently acquired a small group of young juvenile Ptychochromis sp. nov. "Tarantsy", and it seems that there is very little info about them out there. What I'm mainly trying to find out, is what the sp. nov. implies. From a little research, it seems like it would indicate that it is being considered as a new species. Is that a correct interpretation? If not, please clarify it for me! Beyond that, if anyone has any additional info on them, I'm all ears!
Ptychochromis sp. nov. "Tarantsy"
- Thread starter SpeedRacer
- Start date
I used to keep the Ptychochromis oligicanthus a closely related species, from my experience they cohabbed well with just about anyone, I had kept them with New world and africans. From my experiences they mixed well and kept out of everyones way
Thank you. It seems like many of the Malagsy types can be kept together, except for considering tank space and crossbreeding issues on a few of them.
I have kept sp Tarantsy with other Madagascans, Indian, and even some of the milder Central Americans.
It may be described, and has achieved species status by now, but I'm not sure.
When I first got some, they were called (?) Ptychochromis "east coast gold"
below a shot from about 10 years ago
Then about 3 years ago I received a group from an MFK member, they grew out and spawned at least 3 times, these I first grew out with Paratilapia sp andapa, and Etroplus canarensus, and when they became adults, shared a 125 gal tank with Chuco micropthalmus where they spawned. I BAPed them in Milwaukee, and they has since been reBAPed by other members in the area.
below, male left, female right (pre-spawning colors)
They are fairly easy to spawn, as far as Madagascan's go, and quite courageous parents
although similar to Ptychchromis oligacanthus, not so much that they would be confused
below P oligacanthus, sometime in the early 90s before I had a real camera
male
female with fry
It may be described, and has achieved species status by now, but I'm not sure.
When I first got some, they were called (?) Ptychochromis "east coast gold"
below a shot from about 10 years ago
Then about 3 years ago I received a group from an MFK member, they grew out and spawned at least 3 times, these I first grew out with Paratilapia sp andapa, and Etroplus canarensus, and when they became adults, shared a 125 gal tank with Chuco micropthalmus where they spawned. I BAPed them in Milwaukee, and they has since been reBAPed by other members in the area.
below, male left, female right (pre-spawning colors)
They are fairly easy to spawn, as far as Madagascan's go, and quite courageous parents
although similar to Ptychchromis oligacanthus, not so much that they would be confused
below P oligacanthus, sometime in the early 90s before I had a real camera
male
female with fry
I have kept sp Tarantsy with other Madagascans, Indian, and even some of the milder Central Americans.
It may be described, and has achieved species status by now, but I'm not sure.
When I first got some, they were called (?) Ptychochromis "east coast gold"
below a shot from about 10 years ago
Then about 3 years ago I received a group from an MFK member, they grew out and spawned at least 3 times, these I first grew out with Paratilapia sp andapa, and Etroplus canarensus, and when they became adults, shared a 125 gal tank with Chuco micropthalmus where they spawned. I BAPed them in Milwaukee, and they has since been reBAPed by other members in the area.
below, male left, female right (pre-spawning colors)
They are fairly easy to spawn, as far as Madagascan's go, and quite courageous parents
although similar to Ptychchromis oligacanthus, not so much that they would be confused
below P oligacanthus, sometime in the early 90s before I had a real camera
male
female with fry
Thank you for the info! I'm hoping to be able to keep a few of them with the Menarambo I recently acquired also, but the two are far apart in size at this point(4"+ vs. 1-1/2" for the Tarantsy), so it will be a while. What type of a diet were you feeding them, and what size did they start spawning and ultimately grow to?
I have found tarantsy to be fairly slow growers, and mine seemed to max out at around 6-7", I have seen some old larger Ptychochromis males though.
here they are when I first got them, at about 1.5" in Oct of 2013
and here ready to spawn in May of 2015, females 4-5" males slightly larger
Your menerambo will easily hit 16" in a few years, took about 3 years for mine to go from 1" to 16", and although mine were not aggressive with those of another genus, the group of 5 easily maxed out my largest tanks.
here they are when I first got them, at about 1.5" in Oct of 2013
and here ready to spawn in May of 2015, females 4-5" males slightly larger
Your menerambo will easily hit 16" in a few years, took about 3 years for mine to go from 1" to 16", and although mine were not aggressive with those of another genus, the group of 5 easily maxed out my largest tanks.
I have found tarantsy to be fairly slow growers, and mine seemed to max out at around 6-7", I have seen some old larger Ptychochromis males though.
here they are when I first got them, at about 1.5" in Oct of 2013
and here ready to spawn in May of 2015, females 4-5" males slightly larger
Your menerambo will easily hit 16" in a few years, took about 3 years for mine to go from 1" to 16", and although mine were not aggressive with those of another genus, the group of 5 easily maxed out my largest tanks.
Wow, 16"? From what I have read so far, 16" seems to be above the norm for them, which on a lot of accounts was around 12-13". What type of diet were you feeding both the Menarambo and Tarantsy?
NLS Alga-Max and small koi pellets for the tarantsy.
The menerambo were on a aquaculture pellet made for pan-fish like bluegills and crappies, but they also got thawed peas, snails, and insects when available. Whenever I had a tank overrun with snails, I'd move a few menerambo in, and within 24 hours the snails would be undetectable. I really don't think their growth was that out of the ordinary, because I don't think I was doing anything out of the ordinary, except maybe the every other day 30% water changes. In Madagascar, one of the reasons they became almost extinct, is they are considered a food fish for human consumption.
The menerambo were on a aquaculture pellet made for pan-fish like bluegills and crappies, but they also got thawed peas, snails, and insects when available. Whenever I had a tank overrun with snails, I'd move a few menerambo in, and within 24 hours the snails would be undetectable. I really don't think their growth was that out of the ordinary, because I don't think I was doing anything out of the ordinary, except maybe the every other day 30% water changes. In Madagascar, one of the reasons they became almost extinct, is they are considered a food fish for human consumption.
Where did you obtain your tarantsy? I'm in NJ as well and have a breeding pair. Duane's group came from me, and I'm wondering if you may have some of my pair's spawn. I'm not sure though, because mine are Pty. sp. 'tarantsy '