MSOBO :) Please read

[LithoMan]

Hi All

This topic has probably been already bought up.....

I have been breeding these guys for a while BUT

i still cant master them they get big mouthfuls(look huge) a couple of days go by and looks like holding hardley any eggs and surely enough 4-6 day if lucky all gone

i have caught them in the past and tumble the eggs because they are in the critical stage most eggs go bad.

and if you are lucky out of 10 or so eggs left 4-5 may come good.

If you have bred these and have any suggestions - tricks - secrets

please help

i have tried changing males to see if he is the problem

i just added another 8 females ..hoping the aggression within the females slow down i have noticed there is always a female bully.

If you go to my facebook page

lithoman cichlids

you can veiw video of them. (unless someone can copy video here)

some people say have 2 males others say 1 male just for a test i put in a 3rd male bigger than the 2 younger ones he has stayed sub dominant its only been a few days..

HELP.... lol

And i have been having issue once the fry get to 1cm-1.5cm they drop off

i am now trying a change of diet and have noticed a little more success(less protien more green diet)

cheers

[brucem]

It sucks when you get troubles like this. I reckon many of us have a bogey species that we struggle with.

I haven't kept Msobo for ages but I had 5 or more males to 8 or so females. I changed a couple of males around and there was always long settling periods thereafter. I did have one male go crazy and attacked heaps of males but at the end of it I had 5 or so females with mouthfuls.

Mine were in a 4x18x18 and seemed to behave and breed for the most part.

Food would have been nls for the adults and HBH flakes for the fry. I never had issues with fry losses but I'd try metro when you see the first signs. I had similar issues with Taiwan reefs for a while but metro held things at bay.

Hope you can get them going again, mate. They are a great fish.

[Ben]

Hi Lethoman,

I was having the same troubles you describe with my most recent colony, girls not holding more than a week. Like you I tired stripping early (I hate doing it) and also changing males and no joy. So over a few beers I thought to myself what am I doing differently now days to when I use to breed them years ago. The only thing I could put it down to was I use to use Seachem buffers and salts. So I purchased a 4kg bucket of both and bought my tank up to 8.0pH over a week (honestly I haven't measured the kH). Sure enough 2 days later and I had a mouthful (and several Tropheus mouthfuls that share the tank). Two weeks later she was still holding so I stripped her and got 16 young from her. Two days after that two more mouthfuls, they have been holding two weeks now so I will give them one more week then I will strip them and let you know how I go.

Of the 16 young I only have 4 survives. I had 16 for a few days in a frysaver then there were only 12 and no signs of the other 4. Next day only 9 and again no signs of the other 3. Then came Xmas leave and I checked on them every few hours and found the other young were eating the egg sacks of the others. They all had egg sacks and locked the same size and age when I stripped them so I am at a lost as to why they turned on each other. I have since added a couple of plants to the frysaver to provide shelter and hiding places and the remaining 4 have been fine for over a week now. Hopefully I wont have any issues when I strip the other two girls next week.

So my advise is to check your pH, maybe try bringing it up if low and see if you have any better luck.

Best of luck

Ben

[LithoMan]

hmmmm i have been using seachem salt and buffers from day one..i love it.

but i never check ph because i do same thing week in week out fish all happy and breeding.. I will check just so i know what its sitting at.

thanks for advise so far

the dam thing is they breed get mouthfuls but no success or very low ...

[Ben]

the dam thing is they breed get mouthfuls but no success or very low ...

And this could be why there are so few around now days. We might be doing everything right and it is just how this species is. I wont give up tho, hopefully I can build up a nice colony like yours.