tropheus ratrio question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Im not to sure about the ratio. If you are going to get some tropheus though get at least 12 to 15. They can be agressive to each other plus I find that they tend to do better in groups. When I got my tropheus what I did and worked out pretty good for me but might not for you is take some time and look at the fish in the tank. Once they realize they wont be fed they will start to act normal. The bigger ones or ones that tend to be fighting and chaseing are usually the males. The ones that are a bit smaller and less asertive or dont get in the action tend to be females. When I did this I bought 20 fish. I ended up with 6 that I know are males for sure and about 8 that I know are females the other six I am not quit sure of yet. I can't make any gaurenties on this but this is what worked for me. Best of luck.
 
Thanks for the info. I actually bought them (6) a year ago and they are doing fine in a 55. The larger males to go after each other like crazy though. I have 2 on opposite ends with a spot to breed. 2 in the middle fighting over nothing and the smallest is also a male (go figuire) trying not get picked on. The female held once for me but she is to small to go without food for 3-4 weeks. But she did hold for about 7-10 days.

I found a guy who is selling F1's for $6 each, so hopefully I will be able to select some females out of the 30 he has. I forgot to mention mine are Duboisi. He also has Red Moliro's too!! woot woot! :headbang2 I'm going to try and make a trip his way in a week or twoand add to my small colony.

For those who want to try the tropheus, the best way to do it IS to start with a large colony of 20 if you want to do it right. More if you can afford it.
 
its kind of 50-50 but im sure you know the more females the better, you might have to wait and see i think they are hard to sex when they are so small.
 
I don't believe it's possible to provide an accurate guess on the sex of the tropheus at 1.5".
My advice would be to purchase 10-15 tropheus (of varying sizes) at a time, let them establish the hierarchy naturally and only keep ones which either exhibit distinct male behaviour or vent them to determine the sex when they are larger than 2.5".
 
Most are atleast 2.5 right now. I was able to vent them looking through the glass cause they are doing there thing. Any way I noticed 5 had a tiny white tube sticking out while the other one had a much bigger round tube. I read up on it and female in have a larger tube than the males. The guys have a tiny (little excuse the expression) prick.
 
The only real way to sex fish is to vent them Female has a small and large hole. This can only be done once the fish have attained a reasonable size, 2+ inches. The other great way is to constantly watch them and once they females are ready to breed you will be able to see the egg hole starting to protrude. I have a Ps saulosi presently doing so. Clearly see the female organ.
When it comes to numbers of Tropheus you should not go less than about 8 fish. If people think the mbuna are aggressive then they should watch the Tropheus. My supplier has just received some fish and I was looking at the possibility of acquiring one or two as my sone bought one from him some time ago. He suggested I don't put the fish into the same tank, even though there are 25-30 mbuna in the tank, as they would spend the entire time fighting. Will look at making a purchase at a later date. Don,t look at mixing the species in a tank as they will cross breed. Duboisi look great as juveniles with their spots. Pity there is such a drastic change in colouring.
:naughty: :woot: :clap :headbang2 :thumbsup:
 
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