dan200 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 just wondering if there are many wc mpimbwe colonys as im looking at getting some f1 or f2 from different bloodlines, if possible also wondering on how long it takes from fry to breeding adults in months and if they general grow quicker in larger tanks ie 12 to 18 fish in a 10 by 2 by 2 thankyou for any help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 WC Mpimbwe's are harder to come by then WC Zaires because they have been here, in Australia in numbers much longer then the zaires have. Due to this many Mpimbwe's are multi generation captive bred. Also, many breeders are trying to pass off F1, F2 Mpimbwe's as WC so if you ever want solid proof, ask for a receipt of some sort to prove they were purchased as wild stock. One well known frontosa breeder purchased some Mpimbwe's without a known Filial generation, then purchased some F1's and then some WC and has labelled the entire colony as WC and is selling the fry as F1. So yes proof of purchase is recommended. From fry to breeding adults will vary depending on many various factors. However as a very general guide, females mature at about two years (24 months) of age and males general take longer and can begin breeding reliably at three years (36 months) of age. Fish growth is determined by the quality of the water. If the nitrates are high, fish growth is often slower. Fish also release a growth inhibiting hormone whilst growing which is used as a weapon almost to slow other fishes growth down. Fish generally grow faster in larger tanks therefore for two reasons. a) The water is more stable, which ulitmately means it takes longer for nitrates to build up. b) Providing the tank is lightly stocked, the growth inhibiting hormone is less effective as it is less concentrated. In a 10x2x2 tank with 18 juvenile frontosa you could expect them to grow to 5" within 12 months. Females perhaps slightly smaller and males slightly larger. That is of course with regular feedings and weekly water changes (These need to be only small ie 10% should suffice) to ensure nitrates remain as close to zero as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan200 Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Thankyou for your reply It would be nice if people sold there fish as there generation if they are good stock and f1 f2 different bloodlines they would still be highly sort after also have you seen captive breed stock grow to full size? do you think they can get to the same size as wc stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingfishyhmm Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 i have been growing my f1 mpimbwe for 1 year now,,i have a colony of 9,,,,they are absolutely stunning fish with an appetite of a horse :-)) my males are already @ 15cm.. females @ 8 to 10cm & have spawned a nuber of times already,,but due to them being juevies they have only held for a few days!! they are housed in a 6x2x2 with a few dither fish! i do 2 x 1/3 water changes a week with all my fronnies. that has worked for me! out of all the fronnies i find mpimbwe to have the best character! they are so full of life & feed out of my hands! hopefully i wont be waiting to long for for some fry clean water is a must! cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjfish Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Hey Mate, 20 F1 Kigoma (7 Bar) Frontosa fry for sale. They are 4-5cm. Great colour and quality. Fed on bloodworms and NLS Growth If interested, sms or call me on 0449 185 298 / They are not mine, but i can get you in contact with the guy that is selling them. Pick up from Lane Cove, Sydney. Peace out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 WC Zaires I am pretty sure that there is no real Zaire frontosa but different variants like Moba and Kitumba. Zaire is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that is large shoreline on the lake. I think that you find that Moba's are quite common in Australia because bayfish and others imported massive numbers when they were legalised but they are a rarity across the world. The Kitumba come from that region but are much more scarce. To my knowledge there is now only 2 colonies in NSW (used to be 3 but 2 have been joined up) and a suspect one in Melbourne. The Melbourne colony is most likely kapampa as they came in as 3-4cm fry before the legalisation of importation of fronnies and came in as Frontosa "Zaire". You should be careful when referring Zaire frontosa some people can get a little edgey I have F1 Kit's and IHMO they are pick of the 12 variants that I have seen. They are very subtle and don't have that bump thatonly a mother would love like big male burundi's. I have seen have colony of genuine WC Mpimbwe and they are nice fish as well. If I was to go for a second variant I would go for the gold fin karliani (sp??) cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I've been somewhat out of the loop when frontosas are concern for the last few months but it is my belief that the term Zaire is the variant of Cyphotilapia Gibberosa which covers the collection points Moba, Kitumba, Kapampa, Tembwe plus more. .... and Gold fin Karliani? Might as well go for some burundi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 I've been somewhat out of the loop when frontosas are concern for the last few months but it is my belief that the term Zaire is the variant of Cyphotilapia Gibberosa which covers the collection points Moba, Kitumba, Kapampa, Tembwe plus more. .... and Gold fin Karliani? Might as well go for some burundi You are correct, I believe the variants relate to catching locations along the congo (Zaire) coastline. I was probably being a little pedantic in that there are many Zaire Frontosa and they are not all that common. The gold fins I have seen are a lot better in person than most photos, but yeah there is not a lot of difference. In saying that I am probably would go for Ikola before gold fins mainly because of the lack of bio-diversity that we currently have available (I am not brave enough to get some imported). I reckon if you are going to spend 3-4 years growing something up i might as well be a little less common. cheers rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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