Blue yonder Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I've been offered a colony of red cap lethrinops and have been breeding several time but in the last year they haven't been breeding the person who has them has had them for about 5,6 years are they getting to old too for breeding any help on this we'll be much appreciated thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi sand diver Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 They are getting long in the tooth. A lot depends on the condition of the fish. Once haps get that old they tend to get thin unless kept in the right conditions. Do the fish have a full body e.g. not thin? If so, then you might still be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue yonder Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 I haven't seen the fish for a couple of years. I was asking the guy for fry and he offered the colony too me. There well looked after Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humbug Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 I got my first group of red caps in early 2012, but a couple of years later I lost them with a tank crash. The group I have now were from bubs spawned in late 2012, so are now approaching 5 years of age. They are breeding regularly, but perhaps not as prolifically as they were when younger. How is the colony you are interested being housed? Lethrinops are a relatively touchy species to keep. They are very soft, and don’t cope well with anything but the very softest of tankmates. To do well, they really need to be kept in a reasonable sized group in a species-only tank. If the ones you are looking at are housed with other fish it may explain a lack of breeding. I’d also be asking about water conditions. Does the current owner work at maintaining good general and carbonate hardness in the tank? Water conditions may be impacting breeding success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humbug Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Out of interest, I did a google search on “lethrinops life span” and got varying results from 8 years, 10-12 years, to 15 years. Based on that you would think that happy, healthy fish should still be breeding at age 5-6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue yonder Posted October 11, 2017 Author Share Posted October 11, 2017 There tank mates are trophues and I did think that they might not be helping with breeding activities water condition are good I no he keep good water and change water weekly If I did get them there tank mates would be dimidiochromis compressiceps in a 6x2x2 they might not be the best tank mates for them but saying that dimidiochromis are not that bad thanks for your reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humbug Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 I think that probably answers your questions. Based on my experience with the species, I think it unlikely you would see healthy, happy, breeding red caps with such "robust" tankmates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ageofaquariums Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 I had mine with electric yellows and even then they were often interrupted while trying to spawn. IMHO they would mix excellent with jumbo lepto or even a goby species.... as much as that may upset people who dont like mixing lakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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