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Msobo guru's


rosco

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Hi all,

I consdering what to bred so I am wondering what is the minimum tank requirement (including foot print)for Pseudotropheus msobo ‘Magunga’. Also are they best left as a species tank or can you mix them with another breeding colony.

cheers

Rosco

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I've only had them on their own in a 4x2, so I'm speculating here.

I'd say a 3ft would be minimum, but a 4ft would be better.

They are similar to saulosi in temperament (meaning males will still chase each other for territory, but you'll never see shredded fins).

I'm considering selling my dimi colony shock.gif to give me a 6x2 to build a massive msobo colony (probably 3 males and 20 females).

I personally wouldn't put them with another species, although they would tolerate other species fine I'd say. Probably a small hap of some sort (peacocks maybe).

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Hi Rosco,

My msobos started as a colony of 8 in a standard 3ft tank. They were doing fine there until the three boys started to get frisky and had to sort out the pecking order.

I think mine were in a 4' x 18'W x 24"H when you were here. I have a male and 5 females and they shared the tank with about a dozen mainganos. I have to have two species per tank wherever possible and the msobos now share their tank with a colony (1M + 9F) Aulonocara 'Ngara' and 5 juvenile msobos. The mainganos moved house.

What size tank? How many fish? Andy's colony of 23 wouldn't go into a standard 3 footer (but would look pretty awesome in his 6 x 2 x 2!).

I agree with Andy that "...3ft would be minimum, but a 4ft would be better..." a compromise, for say up to a dozen fish, might be a 3 x 18 x 18 (someone asked me about that wink2.gif )

Andy, thanks for the info on sexing msobos - I was saving my thanks to 'bump' my classifieds post when it slipped down too far LOL.gifLOL.gifLOL.gif

Cheers,

Lee.

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thumb.gif

My current lot are 1m and 5f in a 4x2x18 tank, but once I get them all in a 6 footer they should go well hopefully.

Does anyone that has them notice that only one girl holds at a time?

Mine will spawn and then I'll get no other action until after she spits, then within a few days another female will be holding, but never two at once confused.gif

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Thanks Andy and Lee for the great info,

I think that I may also go for a colony of Msobo as I have 2 6(L)x2(W)x18"(h) on the way (in the next month or so) they are pretty cool little fish. I also have a spare standard 4' tank growing up your yellows Lee that David picked up for me in February (they are looking spectacular ATM thumb.gif ), and way to many 2x18x18's (12 to be exact). What I need is a couple of 3x18x18's or 4x18x18's I wonder how I can squeeze them into my little fish room, maybe I should ask Cobalt craig he really knows how to squeeze tanks in a fish room.

Lee/Andy do you think that would ok will large colony yellows maybe 15-20 in one of the 6'footers above?

thanks

Rosco

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Hi Rosco,

A 6(L)x2(W)x18"(h) would be heaps big enough for 20 yellows - the only problem being that in a tank that big they may not be able to find each other to breed woot.gif

Craig does manage to fit a lot of tanks in doesn't he??!! How does he do it? I hear that he does wonderous things with vaseline wink2.gif

Cheers,

Lee.

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Hi Rosco,

A 6(L)x2(W)x18"(h) would be heaps big enough for 20 yellows - the only problem being that in a tank that big they may not be able to find each other to breed  woot.gif

Craig does manage to fit a lot of tanks in doesn't he??!!  How does he do it?  I hear that he does wonderous things with vaseline  wink2.gif

Cheers,

Lee.

lee,

LOL.gif I also meant to add that I would have a Msobo colony in there as well they would get lost on their own wouldn't they. Would msobo and yellows be OK together, and what size colony of Msobos.

As for Craig I wondered what secret he didn't reveal to us when we did our fishroom tour and know I now. Now all your secrets are out craig woot.gif

thanks

Rosco

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We've had our msobo colony for nearly 2 years now. They've been in a standard 4ft tank, 1 male and 7 or 8 adult females, a couple of subdominant males and some subadults. They shared their tank at one point with Synodontis nyassae (now gone) and also Juliadochromis dickfeldi.

Once they were up and running as a breeding colony we would often have 3 or four mouthfuls going at a time. We're in the process of moving at the moment so with shifting fish around breeding has slowed down now. The mums are good holders - we had to move a girl with a mouthful and she held the whole time despite being netted, an hour in a bucket and then caught and tranferred to a floatie.

A couple of things we've learnt about them:

1) they take a while to mature and breed well (though this may change as an "aquarium strain" gets developed with successive generations - the ones we've got are offspring of the first imports of these into Melbourne about 4 years ago). Ours were I think about 6-8 months old when they first started to breed.

2)the first few mouthfuls for any female tend to be infertile, or the eggs/embryos die halfway through (doesn't matter if tumbled or held by the female). Just stick with it - they do come good. One thing we didn't have the option of trying was using an older/experienced male with young females - it might help with infertile mouthfuls, but would not make any difference to the dying-halfway-through ones (never found an explanation for them; never had it in any other species; have had other people experience the same thing with it; don't get it any more except for the very occasional egg).

3)we found if you want to tumble the eggs you need to use quite a fine mesh for the tumbler (we used some extra fine netting from a craft shop) as for some reason the tiny embryos are good at getting themselves wedged into the holes on the usual netting and they die. The drawbak is fine netting gets blocked more easily, but if you just clean it daily there are no problems.

Hope this helps,

Jess

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Thanks Jess,

As always a wealth of information.

jess, just as a side note the saulosi I got off you, (I think it was now over 12months ago now), are really in full breeding mode I have had 2 mums (they were your fry) deliver around 30 bubs each in the last 6-8 weeks they are going great guns. They are also producing great quality fish as I have grown a few of the early ones out.

cheers

Rosco

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