fecat Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 hi guys I got out of the hobby just over a year now but has decided to go back Well, I have a 4 x 18 x 18 tank which is empty at the moment. I am thinking to give tropheus a go, as everyone was saying how amazing they are. I want to experience myself. would the tank be big enough? I don't want to invest in a bigger tank at this stage. I am planning to buy maybe 10 juvies and grow them up. The filters I have are the aquaclear 500, I also got a spare aquaone 1000 canister. I have the crushed white marble for the buffer. should I get crushed coral instead? would the PH level 7.5 be enough? what is the best natural buffer for tropheus? Can the troupheus expert here point me to the good direction of the setup, the tropheus breeder of this forum who I can get them from, and things that I should be aware of those beautiful fish? I kept mostly African before. I think I know the basic. Thanks in advance of any input. Regards Felix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sicj Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Here is wgre you will find everything that you need. It is where all my tropheus questions get answerd as there is so much info on them here. http://tropheusfanatics.invisionzone.com/index.php? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 Gday mate, I'm no Tropheus expert but I have been keeping them successfully for a while now. Your tank is at the smaller end of the acceptable size, but I'm sure it would work if you were to start out with some Tropheus duboisi. 10 isn't really enough, I would be looking at maybe 15 for that tank and growing them out. You should be able to pick up some fry for around $10ea if you look at the Breeders Register on this site. I wouldn't really recommend any moorii or other variant as a first up Tropheus. Duboisi are nowhere near as aggressive generally. I would definitely be looking at the crushed coral as substrate. I'm not sure if the marble has buffering capabilities, I've never used it. 7.6 is a bit low but they would survive. With the substrate, your water should buffer around 7.8 to 8. This applies to coral pieces, limestone etc. They all provide buffering to your water. I would use the canister filter as well as the HOB to increase turnover. You should be looking to turn the volume of your tank over at least 6-8 times per hour in my opinion. The main thing with Tropheus is to keep the water quality very good. They are intolerant to ammonia/nitrite, so make sure your tank is completely cycled before putting Tropheus in there. Weekly water changes of 30-50% are recommended. Make sure you feed a good quality food that is not too high in protein. I use New Life Spectrum, but others have had success with HBH, OSI and other flake foods. Never feed blood worms etc. I guarantee if you get these guys you won't be sorry. They are very entertaining and addictive. Good luck shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sicj Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 As you can see shane is a tropheus fanatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fecat Posted February 7, 2008 Author Share Posted February 7, 2008 thanks guys for the kind input. I will start my tropheus hunting now. Killtroy, I saw you in the breeding register. do you have any fry at the moment? oh, I need to get some goldfish to cycle my tank as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulochromis Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 oh, I need to get some goldfish to cycle my tank as well. Hi Felix, Glad to have you back. My wife and I bought your multies beofre your "break". They're doing well. Forget the goldfish, use Seachem Stability. It may be wise to do an ammonia test BEFORE hand, just in case your tank has started cycling without you. Otherwise, follow the instructions on the bottle, and start the day you add your fish. Cheers, Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fecat Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 thanks Paul, will certainly look into it Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noyd Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Duboisi would be a perfect start and they are excellent fish Your tank is a good enough size for 10-15 of them. Apart from the two or three dominant males, they are generally peaceful. So you need atleast 3-4 seperate spots/caves with a bit of space between them for the males to hang out in other wise they will fight. Once the males have settled in they usually just focus on the girls rather than fight. I fed mine OSI spriluna flakes with lots of success. Once they got mature (8+cm) I was giving them a little taste of frozen brine shrimp once a week to keep them extra happy. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fecat Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 Duboisi would be a perfect start and they are excellent fish Your tank is a good enough size for 10-15 of them. Apart from the two or three dominant males, they are generally peaceful. So you need atleast 3-4 seperate spots/caves with a bit of space between them for the males to hang out in other wise they will fight. Once the males have settled in they usually just focus on the girls rather than fight. I fed mine OSI spriluna flakes with lots of success. Once they got mature (8+cm) I was giving them a little taste of frozen brine shrimp once a week to keep them extra happy. Good luck I still have half bucket of the New Life Spectum cichlid formula. would that be suitable? can anyone who has Duboisi please give me a pm? I will order 10 of them. prefer to have two different bloodline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Hey there, Dubs are a great choice start with and really cute as bubs. I am very new to trophs (only having kept them for around a year), and I am serious hooked. Shane being Shane talked down himself down but he is an excellent source of knowledge. The tropheus Queen (Aline aka Chipimbi) is a real guru. I am currently keeping Dubosi 'Maswa" and Moorii "Chipimbi" in the same 6x2x18. I have 19 Maswa (started with 20 I lost one to Bloat ) and 12 Chimps. I am currently feeding them HBH Flake but I am in process of changing their food because I am having trouble getting bulk lots of it. I am looking at OSI Spirilina and Sera Flora, I will probably go OSI since I have used it before with my Malawi's. As Shane suggested a group of 15 is better and 4x18x18 is really your minimum tank size. Dubs are good choice to start with and a lot more forgiving. Moorii are not much more demanding except that you really should have a larger group. As to decor I have 3 small rock piles due to the size of the tank but one at each end of the tank is more than adequate. You should probably try to achieve a higher pH by adding some form of buffer like tang or malawi buffer and of cource a healthy GH and carbonate hardness is essiental. So as mentioned, you need to carefully watch your nitrates and ammonia levels and have good effective filtration. I don't have a filtration throughput of 6-8 times but I have a lot of biological filtration (masses of Pond Matrix and bio sponges) in a big water system (1220+ litres) so it is easier for me to achieve water stability and quality. cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fecat Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 looks like I need to invest in some spirilina flakes. thanks for the input again guys. really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 thanks guys for the kind input. I will start my tropheus hunting now. Killtroy, I saw you in the breeding register. do you have any fry at the moment? oh, I need to get some goldfish to cycle my tank as well. Gday mate, I sold off 40 odd ndole fry today and I have the remaining 30 I have getting picked up at the end of the month. After that I am going in a different direction. I will be letting females spit fry in the tank and will only remove the fry a couple of times a year. I will update my breeders register when I have fry available. Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dobbin4 Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 Shane has given you good advice, And I would go for 15/18 fry in that size tank. good water and filter & food are a must. I keep my ph at 8 and have crushed coral on the bottom, Only just covering the bottom of the tank, Lots have none at all. Good luck, they are a nice active fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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