what size/age do malawis and tropheus mature/breed

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CAaddict

Feeder Fish
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Jul 27, 2010
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my Q is the title. i have sum hybrid red zebra malawis - 7 and mixed trophues - 9(which i want you guys to id and sex if possible wen i get a cam)

im just wonderin if ther mature enough tu breed bcuz it looks like there startin tu make terrotory ie fighting alil bit. if ther old enuff tu fight ent they old enuff tu breed btw there onli bout 6 months old and variying from 1" - 2.5"

truely id like to know how old they are to mature?
how old they are to breed?
if size matures for the above Qs?
 
If memory serves me right I want to say my peacocks were breeding arond 4-5 inches. I honestly dont know about OB peacocks specifically though.

As for trophes hopefully someone on here can chime in, I know there are quite a few keepers on here. I dont know much as far as breeding goes with them.

Are these fish being kept in spearate tanks? If not I would consider separating them as I wouldn't personally reccomend keeping them together and they also have different dietary needs (depending on the species of peacock). I also tried keeping one with my duboisi but I moved it to a different tank as it kept chasing them around. As for fighting it could be territory or dominance. You want to make sure there are more females then males... they are still young so it would be hard to tell. With peacocks usually as they grew the females will be very dull in color, but I ve only owned non-hybrid peacocks. Mine spawned everytime I did water changes.
 
i was guna try and get them breeding together wen there readyy.. my thoughts wer for a full hybrid tank or atleast have a good mix. there all eating nice. ie. ghost shrimps on the odd occasion, f/bloodworm, cucumber, algae wafers ( i have 2 pictus catfish ) and pellets.

the temp is 80
need to higher the ph and sort the nitrAtes ..
they seem perfectly healthy and i sometimes see breeding behavier( shaking together then switching side and shaking agen)
 
Well the peacocks are probably going to need more of a protien diet (again depending on sepcies) and the tropheus need more of a veggie diet. Bloodworms I would stay away from that can cause bloat digestive issues = bloat (especially with tropheus). If you want to feed other stuff look into shrimps, keep the veggie source and again the diets for both fish are different. As for hybrids... if you keep them in the same tank I highly doubt the tropheus and peacocks will interbreed if thats what you meant (?) I am not quite clear on what you meant with that one. Tropheus, imo, do better in species tanks. If with the peacocks I just dont see the tropheus breeding at all (but I could be wrong). I have seen tropheus kept with peacocks before. From my experience (I have only kept duboisi) and from what I have read Tropheus take a lot more care and attention, but are worth the effort. They do best in large colonies, more so if you are looking to breed and the males will want a nice group of females. Male to female ratio's can be important if you are looking to breed and want to avoid agression (this goes for the peacocks as well). I am not a tropheus expert so I am sure others with more experience will chime in. I have seen some nice tropheus tanks that also do well with other tankmates, it can def. be done. I just speak from my own experience.
 
i dont have any peacocks. lol and i think all of the fish are abit young to sex. i will try and get more females but again at the size they are i think its abit hard to tell, i just read an article about there dietry needs so bloodworm is a no, shrimp on the odd occasion and more algae and a vegitarian diet will be for the road ahead.

is it for certain that my red zebra hybrids wont mate with the tropheus?
 
sorry guess when I was typing my brain went to peacocks for some reason. Red Zebras are omnivores so it would be good to give them veggies as well. I ve actually owned red zebras... I found them to be pretty agressive, I would advise against keeping them in the same tank. I would try to read up as much as you can on suitable tankmates for both fish that you have to avoid issues, both fish have special considerations to temperment and suitable tankmates. No they are not going to interbreed. As for the tropheus, glad you read up on their diets, its very important for their well being =]

Yes you will have to wait untill they get a little size on them and then you can try to sex them. I am not sure on your tank set up but if you dont have a lot of rockwork or decor, try to add more, if you do then great! That helps break up territories and adds hiding spots for the fish, which can help with agression.
 
its onli a 2' tank full of ocean rock and play sand filtered by a fluval 203 lol, i thought tropheus and malawis wer from the same lake but reading upon such things i found there not, malawis = lake m ... tropheus = lake tang,i bought the trophs thinking there from the same lake ya see lol, but at the size they are now there shudnt be a problem apart from the small amounts of agression. i had them in a 4' but now my mom had partioned it for breeding bristle noses lol. i love the trophs but i am not willing to get rid of he hybrids as they are my 1st spawn of my mbuna i had. iv gt realli attched.

i havent gt the room for another tank (well i cud squish 1 sumwhere) but i just gt fired and now cnt afford a new tank lol
 
Yes they are from separate lakes. I am assuming you mean 2 feet in length? That's like what 10-29gal or 30 tall aquariums (correct me if I am wrong, but thats the standard 2ft tanks that I know of)? Thats not that big especially not for that amount of fish (9x tropheus and 7x red zebra correct?). If its a 10-29gal or a 30 tall tank its not really suitable for those fish and you will definetly run into issues. For a colony of tropheus or even red zebras I believe a 40breeder or 55gal would be you minimum. The bigger the better when looking into breeding because of agression and territory.

Maybe you can see if you have something you dont use around the house you could sell for $30-70 and see if you can't find a good deal on a tank on craigslist. I know how it is when yo are attached to fish especially ones you put a lot of effort into, but you have to consider whats best for the fish as well so that you can have them around for a long time and enjoy them =] I've had to give away fish I was very attached to becase I couldn't house them and it sucks. Just keep researching and checking around for cheap tanks, I ve seen some good deal out there. I got a 55gal for $20 before (I even picked one up for free off the side of the road that someone left for the trashman when the moved, so look for curb alerts too). Good luck.
 
yhhh but they wer only guna be in there for a minimum time but im lookin at aqaurist classifieds as we type lol.. now i no the basics about trophs. just need the money for a bigger tank.. i have a 4.5' in the garden but it has a cracked base. and it hasnt gt a stand. i ent gt no wer to put that tank thoo.. it wuda been perfect
 
I have found Malawis breed when quite small and still immature. It can be a problem sometimes as the females don't have enough reserves to do so and literally starve themselves to death. I lost a few this way.

Try and delay breeding as long as possible.
 
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