O and the Lfs sold him multiple times and he was too mean and people brought him back repeatedly. Mine cant be with anything!
Tilapia buttikoferi
- Thread starter FLESHY
- Start date
Haha this is starting to sound more and more interesting - Im at least glad I am starting 8, 1" fish in a 110g. Upgrading quickly it sounds like as well.
Yea but how many of those people tried to keep him with one of his same kind - I have never seen anyone do that. Breeding is apparently possible as well - but I have never seen a thread on it.
Anyone?
I am still waiting on fosters. Fish have been paid for, they now say out of stock, but no word on when they are going to ship.
TFH mag had an article about a guy breeding them multiple times with multiple pairs.
He said that he thought it would work better to start with a mess of small ones, which is what I will be doing. Will have two 110g's gravity sumped together to hold these guys so hopefully that will be enough for the 8 we ordered at least for awhile.
I am still waiting on fosters. Fish have been paid for, they now say out of stock, but no word on when they are going to ship.
TFH mag had an article about a guy breeding them multiple times with multiple pairs.
He said that he thought it would work better to start with a mess of small ones, which is what I will be doing. Will have two 110g's gravity sumped together to hold these guys so hopefully that will be enough for the 8 we ordered at least for awhile.
I don't know why everyone else is focusing on how aggressive single specimens are, since that has nothing to do with what you are asking.
I, for one, have kept them in groups, and I own two at the moment - so I can offer some real info.
In both cases, they were kept with other cichlids, and other "tough" cichlid-compatible fish. In both cases, they co-existed just fine. Of course there will always be squabbling, but if you know what to expect (squabbling) then you'll be fine. Occasionally one will be smaller than the rest, or not as strong, and that one will be bullied to death - but that is the worst of it, when they are kept in a community of other fish. I have not kept them long enough for them to pair off / breed.
They do eat a lot - so that might be part of why they get so nasty - when they get hungry. I feed all of my fish several times a day, and aggression is very minimal.
I, for one, have kept them in groups, and I own two at the moment - so I can offer some real info.
In both cases, they were kept with other cichlids, and other "tough" cichlid-compatible fish. In both cases, they co-existed just fine. Of course there will always be squabbling, but if you know what to expect (squabbling) then you'll be fine. Occasionally one will be smaller than the rest, or not as strong, and that one will be bullied to death - but that is the worst of it, when they are kept in a community of other fish. I have not kept them long enough for them to pair off / breed.
They do eat a lot - so that might be part of why they get so nasty - when they get hungry. I feed all of my fish several times a day, and aggression is very minimal.
same here, had one a long time ago, go really big then started to bully every other fish, i returned it to the lfs.
hi same experience with me i had bought 6 with in intial six months 4 were killed and just two remained i also had texas and fh and one mayan so 1 of the butti grew very fast to about 7 or 8 inches and killed all others so thats when i gave it to lfs and every time LFS sells it it comes back within days to him so the story is i thought i will try and breed them as i love them but was not sucessful so wishing you luck with ur future ventures 
would love to see few pics
would love to see few picsMine did fine in a community tank until he reached 4-5". Killed everything. He's now in a 75 by himself, and is doing quite well. Loves moving gravel, rocks, and heaters around. They are def my favorite cichlid. Tons of personality. Never bred them, but a large tank with the number you mentioned should work. Also, they're super fast growers. Should reach 12" in the first year.
Sweet, thanks for this reply, hopefully we can work towards spawning together. Keep referencing this thread and let us know how yours are doing as they grow.
Feeding shouldnt be an issue, Im in there for at least three hours a day, and I also have an army of volunteers assisting me as well.
hi same experience with me i had bought 6 with in intial six months 4 were killed and just two remained i also had texas and fh and one mayan so 1 of the butti grew very fast to about 7 or 8 inches and killed all others so thats when i gave it to lfs and every time LFS sells it it comes back within days to him so the story is i thought i will try and breed them as i love them but was not sucessful so wishing you luck with ur future ventures
Thanks, of course when they come in there will be pictures, and as they grow there will be pictures, and when they spawn there will be pictures. Super excited to try this. Let me know on here if there are any advancements with yours!
Super excited - potentially will do a summer project in a 6000g pool with multiple adults and thousands of dithers. I have it available to me, so why not spawn and grow out as many as possible. Interested to see the value as a food fish for myself as well.
Well despite completing my order, fosters has now told me that they are out of stock, and will continue to be so for an indefinite period of time. Does anyone know of a place where I could get fingerlings?
Bump - otherwise Im getting 25 mozambique's - not as cool...and you guys wont get to see a thread where I try to grow out and breed as many of these things as possible over a summer in my 6000g pool... haha 
