Willy Wombat Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 In a 4*2*2, running fluval 404, + 1 internal powerhead, and airstone. 10 x Paracyprichromis nigripinnis 5 x Altolamprologus compressiceps "Gold" 2 x Ectodus descampsi – Blue Spotted Sand Sifter 4 x Neolamprologus tretocephalus 10 x Julidochromis marlieri Can you please comment on my proposed choice of fishes for my new setup. Will i run into any problems here? Cheers for your help WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffin Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 Looks like a pretty good choice there, the only trouble I see is the trets, which could get aggressive - if they did, the nigripinnis would become very, very unhappy. They really need peaceful tankmates to thrive. I find that ours don't even do that well with jumbo Cyprichromis - they are healthy and have good colour, but don't breed as often as they could. Cyprichromis species tolerate aggression better than nigripinnis do (in fact they are surprisingly good at standing up for themselves), so they might be a better choice (they'll also go out into the midwater more than the nigripinnis will) but some varieties such as the Jumbo types (which are also the nicest IMO!) need absolutely pristine water conditions to thrive. HTH, Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy Wombat Posted February 2, 2004 Author Share Posted February 2, 2004 Thanks Jess - You are probably spot on with your advice there. I quite like the look of Cyprichromis sp. "jumbo kitumba", but i am worried about their high price and also availability. Do you think they would do much better than the nigripinnis? The trets will start off pretty small. (deliberately) i have always found that agression is less between tank mates if they can be allowed to grow up together. Cheers for your advice WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffin Posted February 2, 2004 Share Posted February 2, 2004 Hi Willy, funny you should mention Kitumba - that's our male Kitumba in our sig! By far our favourite Cyp, they really look fantastic in a school - the males can be any colour combo of blue/purple and yellow (can be all yellow, all blue or half/half!). They would hold there own better than nigripinnis would.....but we have not kept trets with them before or any of the aggressive Neolamp types so can't vouch for their safety.....they cope perfectly well with calvus, and we've kept other large Cyp. varieties with large featherfins. Our Kitumba also live with some Callochromis macrops and get on well with them - they can be aggressive but usually only between themselves. Unfortunately all the Jumbo varieties of Cyps are expensive - they just don't breed as readily as the smaller leptosoma types. They have to be older to breed and only have small mouthfuls. They are prone to "wasting disease" (which is effectively incurable and can wipe out a whole colony) and they require real attention to water quality (MUST keep the nitrates down!). This might scare you off.....I hope not - to us they have been more than worth the effort, expense and time - even photos don't really do them justice I think - males are always active, dancing around to females which is a great show. Also, while leptosomas might not be quite as showy as jumbos, if you can get good quality ones of any of the varieties they can look really great and are less expensive, hardier and breed more readily. Cheers, Jess and Julian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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