Any Tips?

[monty]

i am in the middle of setting up my 6 ft tank for some new housemates. I am looking at putting some Tropheus duboisi in the new set-up. This will be my first time housing these fish so I was just wondering if anyone had some useful tips on housing these beauties. I've heard they do better in large numbers and i am looking at putting roughly 10 into this tank.
Any Suggestions or tips?

[Barbie]

15 would be a better number. You're looking for a large enough group to diffuse aggression by making it hard for the aggressors to keep the same fish in his sights while they tear around the tank. You might be able to get by with 10, but 15 would be much better for this purpose, IMO. The males WILL weed each other out, unless there's enough running room in the tank. You do realize you're pretty limited for tank mates that are suitable to go with them, right?

Barbie

[monty]

Thank's for your opinion Barbie,
Unfortunatly 10 is probably my limit at the moment (money wise), but hoping to add more if i can as i go. How do these fish go with the addition of new tank mates being added (Duboisi only) I know it would probably have to be females. These Duboisi will be the only fish in the tank so don't worry about any other tank mates. Thanks again Barbie
Monty.......

[Bart]

@ monty: Adding new fishes to an existing group is tricky. If you cannot pay money right at this moment, you'd better wait til you can buy 15, or better, 20 duboisi.

@ all Tropheus lovers, especially the new ones:
Please follow these 10 golden rules for succesful Tropheus-keeping. Not following them will quite certainly result in death of these fragile fish sooner or later. And when they start dying, most of them die.

1. get the water conditions right (and enough O2, no NO3)
2. feed spirulina-flakes
3. if you desperately want to feed anything else (but think about why), choose (defrosted) frozen cyclops after feeding spinach or chopped peas
4. buy a large group; 15-25 is fine, not less
5. put all fish in together and never take a fish out to put it back later
6. the tank must be big enough: 400 liters for 15 fish is the minimum
7. avoid stress: slow water changes, enough rocks for lots of hiding places, slow food change
8. feed everyday, three times a day, little amounts (there always hungry, don't let them seduce you to overfeed them)
9. have medication available 24/7: metronidazole or dimetridazole. Treat twice to kill newly hatched cysts that survived the first medication
10. first-timers: don't buy wildcaught fish, they are even more likely to get stressed. Start wilt F1: no inbreeding, good looks and used to tank conditions

The points mentioned above are too short to get the touch. Buy a book about these great fish and you will be rewarded!

Don't get scared now, just be smart and keep your fish alive.

[Frode]

Hey Bart,

Sending out your message to the U.S.A.

You need to make a few corrections ..everydag and dag

See you in the lowlands

ps cool template here...

[Bart]

Hey Frode,
Made the corrections, replaced the "Dutchifications"!

[offtopic] My template is a LOT nicer, btw! No, I created just the template that fits better with the rest of my site. [/offtopic]

[monty]

Thanks for the tips bart.
Tah!

[sidguppy]

Hi Barbie, just stumbled across this....

You do realize you're pretty limited for tank mates that are suitable to go with them, right?

Hi Monty, adding tankmates to Tropheus is a trick, and the trick is what and how you feed your fish.

There are a few "unwritten" rules, so I'd better write them down

RULE No#1:
Tropheus is THE main occupant of the tank, the rest has to "adapt" to them, with food, water, furniture etc.




A list of fish that do fine with Tropheus:
-Julidochromis spp. Juli's are hardy fish that graze a bit too, or at least like some veggies as well. Stick to a single species and get a proven pair or a group of youngsters. In a six foot tank, any Juli will fit, but do NOT keep more than 1 species.

-Telmatochromis spp. These are even hardier than Juli's and much overlooked IMO. There are two "groups" of Telmatochromis; one is brownish the other strongly remind of Julidochromis, but less striking and with a stump headprofile. The striped Telmatochromis (brichardi, vittatus, bifrenatus and sp 'Zambia') shouldn't be mixed with Juli's; those will harass them. The brownish (bourgeoni, temporalus) will be fine with Juli's. Some Telmatochromis actually graze! Telmatochromis are generally peaceful, a group of youngsters wioll be fine.

-Chalinochromis spp. These are closely related to Juli's, and often look like big versions of them! If you like these sturdy cavedwellers, best stick to a single pair and forget about Juli's and Telmato's both, to keep things simple. Only experienced fishkeepers with big tanks should attempt to make combinations between Juli's and Chalino's..... But, like Telmatochromis, these are greatly overlooked, very hardy and well worth the keeping.

-Goby cichlids (Eretmodus, Spathodus, Tanganicodus). Somewhat more fragile than Tropheus, often; due to many being wildcaught.
Captive bred Eretmodus however are very nice tankmates in a Tropheus setup. Never kept Gobies before? best start with captive-bred Eretmodus and leave the rest for what they are. Like Juli's they should not be mixed, keep only 1 species of Goby. Best keep a proven pair or at least 8; in a small group interaction will be extremely agressive. Gobies however are completely oblivious to other fish, and combine fine with Tropheus, Juli's, Telmato's etc etc.

-Synodontis petricola dwarf. Of all the Tanganyikan Synodontis species; this one's not only the smallest, but available in huge numbers; captive bred....and they do better on a "Tropheus-diet" than any other catfish from the lake....
They're completely peaceful, but social; get at least 4 or so, although 6-8 is better. Single or duo's are a waste of cash, because then they're very shy. Except for bucketsized tanks, I have yet to find the Tang-tank where petricola dwarfs are out of place!!

Us weirdo's keep other fish with Tropheus as well, but -and I will say this clear- it should be left to experienced Tang-freaks to combine for example with Neolamprologus, Triglachromis etc etc with Tropheus....it's NOT easy or to be taken lightly and requires a very strict foodroutine and "fingerspitzengefuhl" as well

Sid[/b]

[Barbie]

Hi Sid,

I actually keep other fish with my tropheus, including a trio of rainbows, and an outcast male P. nicholsi, but I don't recommend it to people, as I consider it far from ideal, and if at any point it becomes a problem, I can toss them into another tank that would be easier on them. I've kept A. compressiceps with them successfully also. I feed only veggie based foods, period. They all have a good measure of protein added, in a mix that is stable and doesn't upset their digestive tract. Horses get colic from too much protein, so I just equate the two as far as feeding regimens go and have no problem.

Having all these tanks has a couple benefits I guess. Just wish I had more!

Barbie

[Bart]

Funny that you bring up the horse dietry: I also like to compare Tropheus with the horse to explain what to feed and what not. Just like a horse:
- Tropheus graze all day long
- Tropheus don't like lots of protein
- Tropheus like lots of fibers