malawigold Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Hey guys im new to the forum and although ive had cichlids for a while ive only just recently started to get seriously interested in them so any info people have would extremely appreciated I currently have alnocara eureka reds 2 males 5 females and protomelas spilonatus tanzania 1 male 3 females and a couple sucker fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simy696 Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 welcome im greener than you so still learning my self but love to see pic of your set up and fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LithoMan Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Hope you enjoy the journey lolits a diseaseif you can breed the spilonot many around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 Will try and get a pic soon my spilonatus were trying to breed today lol so fingers crossed the male is a beautiful specimen and the ladies I believe are high quality and best of all there pure breads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 Im on my phone here and cant work out how to put photos up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted December 7, 2014 Share Posted December 7, 2014 Very Nice fish. I would be very careful having Aulonocara and spilonotus in the same tank for cross breeding though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 7, 2014 Author Share Posted December 7, 2014 Ive been assured that it wont happen buy the guy that I bought the fish off as he wants to buy the babies back and he is super against any form off cross breeding and he also really knows his stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f245/thomasfinch/Mobile%20Uploads/20141210_094540_zpsnruwuckl.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 My spilonatus male Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 My tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 nice fish ......... what size is the tank ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Ive been assured that it wont happen buy the guy that I bought the fish off as he wants to buy the babies back and he is super against any form off cross breeding and he also really knows his stuffNice Spilo male.In that size tank, I would say there is an extremely good chance they will cross breed.Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LithoMan Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 my spilo was breeding in 7ft tank and he managed to kill most femalesnow he is solo in a display tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 The tank is 2ft by 1ft by 1 1/2 ft high ive set up. Ive asked the guys again at the shop where I buy my fish and who are the only ones I buy fish off and they said that the spilonatus could not breed with the peacocks and they seem to be sticking to their own anyway however I think there a bit to crowded so Ive set up my other tank today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 The guy in the shop is wrong. Flat out wrong. I am not saying they will, but I know they can. If the same guy at the shop told you that they would be happy in a tank that size he is also wrong. Like Lithoman said, one day you will come home and find a war has started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 ^^^^^^, Definetely agree with above with Josh,,,, spilo are super aggressive, I keep 3x colonies as assurance because the carnage happens in a blink.Nimbochromis venustus breeds easily with whitenight electric blues.Nimbochromis venustus breeds easily with Protomelus euchilus.Alounocara marble peacock breeds easily with Dimidiochromis compressiceps.These are examples and Definetely crossbreed-able as I've had them do this.I use single venustus and dimi comp females in some of my colonies as dither fish to sooth aggression and promote a quicker breed cycle in fish that have far between cycles,,,, pheromones from regular breeders can trigger breeding in non-regular breeders.Obviously I have never let one fry of these out my door.But I have plucked a few to grow and see how they turn out,,, then throw in my display tank that never has fish leave it.Spilo and alounocara would easily cross,,,,, if you let any fry out, you must see the entire spawn with your eyes with correct mates.Also, so you know, a separate specie male can cut in once during the correct two mates spawn, and squirt a little milt which effects the genetics,,,, the entire spawning must be seen.Otherwise a high chance of contributing to destruction of purity in this new age of hardly any more fish coming in due to stricter import laws.There are only very few specialist shops that has precise riftlake fish knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 No the tank size is my doing my eureka red male chased all his females to death one was pregnant to so I decided I needed a lot more fish to lessen the chasing ive got another tank set up any way and hopefully ill move the spilos on monday would you be so kind as to share how you know they can mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Thanks buccal I am going to split them if they can mate there not staying together can yellow labs mate with my spilo or eureka reds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 A lot less likely mate.A experienced breeder breeding for a long time can get away with a few more dont's as he knows exactly what he's looking at.Hybridization and first time breeders is where it gets messy.A good array of species are viable to breed, because many have evolutionized from similar genetics.I won't go into environmental adaptations, mutations, seclusion and even natural hybridization, but they have all branched to evolve into separate species with many being very different to each other while some are so similar.Then there are same specie varients which usually is locational factors but other factors play a part in sub-species and varients.A venustus and elec blue at mature size are so different and couldn't be more far apart,,, and yet no probs spawning.Experienced breeders can distinguish juvie markings, head shape and markings as the fry grow to know if a hybrid or not.Majority of shops have no idea because of these cichlids extreme diversity,,, though Sydney is lucky to have a few good shops,, but just a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Ive been told by a lot of people that the place I go to is the best in sydney but I also except that no one knows everything so when I here solid advice like what your saying I listen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 There are many ways an experienced breeder will combine fish in a single tank.Firstly never have more than 2 species in a breeding tank.Some people will put stripes and spots together for example as a way of cutting down risks.Some people will put an open water fish with mbuna (rock dwelling) for risk managment etc.At the end of the day you have a peacock and spilonotus together. Both are open water and both are similar shape, even though one has spots and one stripes. Not only that but you have them in an extremely small tank which limits the space that the 2 colonys can set up and seeing as your spilonotus is the dominent fish, its unlikely that your male peacock will ever establish any dominent role to breed. that leaves your spilonotus to breed free will through the tank.On the point of spilonotus agression, I have had many different species of spilo and never had any agression issues with them. If you have open water fish then you should always give them as much tank space as you can. personally I have never put any Hap in anything less that 6 foot. they need space to move about.With regards to retail advice, no shop is ever going to have the passion and advice that breeders have on a forum. There are some extremely passionate and experienced breeders here that are here to help. If there is an issue, generally you'll get some gentle advice as to any issue.If in doubt its much better to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alvon Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 Hi Malawi Gold.. Welcome to the forum mate. What Chuck has said is great advise to keep in mind.. You could speak to 5 different local fish shops (LFS) about the same fish and have 5 different suggestions.. My biggest peice of advice is to listen to all peices of advice and go with the majority.. Its that simple.. If 5 people have had same experience with a species and 1 person has had the opposite, chances are you with have an experience the same as the 5 people.As chuck chuck said too.. Its a job for the staff of your local LFS, knowledge comes from experience and time.Not everyone on the forum may simply be a hobbyist either. A lot of guys on here work at a LFS, either currently or previously.. Take me for example. I worked for the biggest retail aquarium and fish importer business in WA for 10 years.. I built up a great base a customers and I specialised my knowledge in African cichlids..Do I agree with the others that the chance of crossbreeding is high in such a small environment.. Yes..If the guy at the LFS knew the size of your tank and sold you those fish, he has given you bad advice.I dont pretend to know everything, I know I centainly dont know half of it, but its all about learning.. Ask questions, take advice and read and read and read.. Once you have finished reading, start reading.. Im in Sydney too. Im a member of the Sydney Cichlid Society. Maybe you should consider joining and meeting like minded people for a catchup every so often.Ive been told by a lot of people that the place I go to is the best in sydney but I also except that no one knows everything so when I here solid advice like what your saying I listenWhen these people have told you they are the best in Sydney, you should ask them 'The best at what'?? I am yet to find an LFS that has been able to provide more comprehensive information on something than the forum can. I do support my LFS by buying food, small accessories and other bit and pieces, but I tend to look to ACE forum for more accurate advice.. One post on the forum and you will have the opinion of 3-4 people within 24hours.. You will also find that we correct each other too.. If I post something up that it incorrect, it will be corrected quick smart by someone more knowlegable..Dont align you opinion with someone elses.. If you are considering a new species, ask a few people about their experiences, read about experiences of people in other countries, then once you have the species, you can form your own opinion about them..Its al an exciting adventure.. Keep an eye on the classifieds section as cheap and sizeable aquariums become available in no time..Soon enough you will be like Chuck and have aquariums all over the house full of rare expensive cichlids..Again, welcome and goodluck!!PS. What local fish shop did you attend.. So I can stay away from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted December 10, 2014 Share Posted December 10, 2014 I think a lot of people judge the quality of a shop by the quality of their stock. The best shop in Sydney for advice and stock would be Labyrinth Aquarium. There are some others that have really good stock but specialise in marine or other exotics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 Chuck its funny that you say the peacock wont be the dominant while I agree that is the way it should be in my tank at the moment the peacock seams to be the dominant male he is the only one who has established his own spot and he has had not problem mating with the peacock females no babies yet I think shes to young hes made his own breeding spot and everything im still seperating them tho when the tank is ready Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawigold Posted December 10, 2014 Author Share Posted December 10, 2014 At alvon and josh I agree with what your saying about the forum guys having a lot more knowledge then my lfs hence why I am here and am listening lol but if you have the chance check out reef river reptile at hornsby they are really good with the exception of putting these fish together they have not steered me wrong they didnt know the tank size only that im trying to get a decent sized tank soon and that im working on a budget with the last they have been quite good just trying to build me up slowly and it turns out the old tank I just set up may have a very small leak time for some silicon ill just put on the outside tho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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