Question on Xenotilapia bathyphilus

[SydCic]

Hey again,

I am thinking about acquiring some bathyphilus and have done a little research on them. From what I have found out they are classified as 'peaceful' however the same website classifies sunflowers as 'peachful'. Clearly the opinions from this forum are that sunflowers or bi-parental pairs are not peaceful.

So from experience would you consider these peaceful and would a tank 36" by 24" (3 foot by 2 foot) be suffcient for a group of 8?

Thanks

[Thomas Andersen]

Hi there

Whether they are peaceful or not is rather dependent on how you keep them. I’ve kept them as couples 1.1, trio’s 1.2 and several males and females together, and in my experience it works best with a single male and 2 or more females. If more full grown males are kept together they can in fact be quite nasty to each other. Your tank is a little to the small side, but you should be able to keep one male with 2 or 3 females.

It’s a beautiful and very interesting sand-dweller. I keep both the variant from Kekese…



…..and Zambia at the moment….and they are for sure some of my favorites



All the best,

Thomas

[maraser]

Sorry for using his post SydCic. I introduced recently a group of 5 xenos bathyphilus. I know the difference in the anal pore, but they are more differences between males / females?.
My best regards

[Thomas Andersen]

Hi maraser,

are you fish juveniles or adults and do you know the collection place?

Juveniles are hard to sex, but as soon as they reach sexual maturity the males will develop a intensified coloration; the males of the Kekese/Isanga variant will get a yellow snout and a blueish hue on the body, while males from other parts of the Lake will get a very clear blueish upperlip and a blueish hue on the body as well. The females are much lesser colored. Besides that, the males grow a bit larger than the females, and they tend to have a larger and more robust looking head.

I´ll se if I can find some photo´s to show the difference

All the best, Thomas

[maraser]

Thanks, Thomas!
They have now 6 cm of size.
I am not sure, but I believe that the variant is from Zambia. In my group there is a bigger fish of color more marked ( male?), and another one also bigger with fewer color than the previous one (male?). Other fish are thinner and have subdued color (females?)

[Thomas Andersen]

At 6 cm the males should show some color. Here is a male from Zambia with a blue hue on the body and dorsal and clear blue lips....



....and a female (incubating), which is lesser colored with only faint markings in the dorsal:



Submissive males are also lesser colored, but will nearly always have the blue lips

All the best, Thomas

[joseff]

I have a group of bathyphilus and I strongly agree with Thomas. They really do work best with 1 male : 2 or more females. In my opinion, they are pretty docile compared to my Xenotilapia ochrogenys "Ndole Bay" but the male will get a bit agressive towards the females now and then.

Thomas, both your males look stunning. Mine only seems colored up when enticing his females or during feedings. Do yours stay that fully colored all the time? (Mine are from supposed to be from Isanga and he does get the yellow snout you mentioned earlier).

[maraser]

Sorry, my photos are bad. I believe that the fish of the center is a male, and another male that of the left, down. The first male is the most colouring, and hi has blue lips.

[Thomas Andersen]

Good to see you in here again, joseff

My males are colored up most of the time, but of course gets intensified when displaying for the females

The first picture of the Kekese male are actually taken with several males in the tank, that´s why he looks so exited. It´s good for photo purposes with more fullgrown males present, but not in the long term

Maraser: Yes, the one in middle and to the left are males. The smaller one in the middle I´m pretty sure is a female, the last one is difficlut to sex. Anyway, it sure looks like you have both sexes presents in your tank

All the best, Thomas

[joseff]

Thomas, I've checked back from time to time

As you mentioned, my male has a yellowish snout. He also has a blue lip. Is this not right for a Isanga male? I really wish I could take a picture but I would need to get a camera first.

[Thomas Andersen]

Hi joseff,

as far as I know the Isanga variant (I´ve never kept it) has the yellow snout without blue lips. Here is a picture of male....



....and here a picture of the very first Isanga that were exported back in the late 1980´s


Picture from DCG-info 21 (7) 1990

[joseff]

Thomas,

In that first picture of the Isanag variant, the male has a bluish sheen to the lip hinge. That was what I was talking about. My male has the same thing. I guess it just looks more blue on mine because of the angle and the lighting which I observe it under.

[Thomas Andersen]

In that first picture of the Isanag variant, the male has a bluish sheen to the lip hinge.

Yes, you're absolutely right, I´ve never noticed this

Speaking of geographical variation in Xenotilapia bathyphila, this is something we really do not know much about. It could be quite interesting to explore further, so if any of you are keeping or have pictures of X. bathyphila please post some info here

Here is a X. bathyphila from Nyanza Lac:


Picture (C) Julien Ruiz

All the best, Thomas

[karel]

Hello, I don't know how to post a photo, so only has a link.

http://hkfishstreet.com/gallery/display ... 228&pos=89

http://hkfishstreet.com/gallery/display ... 228&pos=90

[joseff]

Wow Karel. Very beautiful.

[Thomas Andersen]

Beautiful bathyphila Kekese, karel

To post pictures, just put your link between the image brackets [img][/img], like this [img]picture-link[/img]

All the best, Thomas

[karel]

Hello, Joseff, thank you for your admiration.

Hello, Thomas, I see. Thank you for your information and also your admiration.

[Lisachromis]

[Lisachromis]

Here's how I posted it. I got the properties of the photo and added the code like this:

Code: Select all

[img]http://hkfishstreet.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13672/normal_Xenotilapia%20bathyphila%204.JPG[/img]

[karel]

Thanks again, Lisa.