pride Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Can anyone tell me what the availabilty of these guys are like in Sydney and what do these usually sell for as juveniles? I saw a couple at a LFS for $60 at around 5inches. Is this a good price tag?CheersAdam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACKBAR Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 yeh thats pretty good ive usuallly seen for about 10 - 20 bucks at fish shops at about 1-2 inch bit hard to sex em Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 What, $60 each at five inches?Occasionally people sell larger ones on the forum, not that expensive. I got my two privately from different people for $30 at about 9? inches and the same? for about 10? inches. They are both about 11 inches or so now. I've had them both a while now and may not be 100% on sizes and prices I bought them at, but what I've said is pretty close.It's not easy to sex them when they are larger, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pride Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 Thanks guys,I've since located a shop selling for $30 for a 4inch one.Fiona,Have you managed to keep these with any tankmates?ThanksAdam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACKBAR Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 sorry to but in but these guys are some of the toughest fish i've ever seen managed to knock off my venustus male (7 inch) livingstoni male (6 inch) and then had an entire tank of 7 inch malawi's (polystigmas, champsochromis spilorynchus venustus that were left hding at one end of the tank and he was only 5 INCH maybe it was just the one i had that was this agro ended putting him in his own tank and he used to charge at anyone that walked passed and bit me a few times wasnt even scared of the net awesome looking fish though im looking for a pair myself im pretty sure it was just this individual that was so agro though coz my broher had one from the same batch and it was fine in his tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 These fish are riverine not rift lake so don't keep them with rift lake fish, they need different conditions. Go for more neutral conditions, but they are hardy and can cope with some fluctuation.Yes there is variation between temperaments. Some will be more and some will be less peaceful. But they are dominant fish and don't mind asserting themselves.No I don't keep mine with any other fish, although I did have a largish pleco in there for a while, it had good hidey holes to go into. I also had to keep a barrier between them until they became evenly sized, or else the smaller one would get too bashed up. The barrier meant they could know each other without the possibility of damage. I am not sure if I could have put two evenly sized fish into the same tank without that initial (long) getting-to-know period. Now they spar occasionally but no damage is done. There is a definite dominant fish in the tank. I have two terracotta drainage pipes in there with them that they use as shelter. The submissive fish will hide in one (it has a favourite one) if it's feeling too picked on.They are good looking fish with character so I don't mind having a tank just for them. Visitors always comment on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACKBAR Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 anybody had luck breeding them i wouldnt mind having a pair Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[-fireStorm-] Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 I agree with fiona, there is a general consenus in many LFS, that every african fish is from a rift lake : I heard some unknowing fishkeepers being told that the kribs and Synodontis eupterus [they were buying] would be fine with their Tanganyikans, because they come from the same water!!!-Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Gun_Riff Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 i was told that they are illegal? cause i was looking for 1 before i got my jags and i never found one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pride Posted December 5, 2003 Author Share Posted December 5, 2003 On the NSW fisheries site they list Tilapia zilii, Tilapia mariae & Tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus ( Mozambique mouthbrooder ) as illegal. So not sure on t. buttikoferi? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLACKBAR Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 "...T. buttikoferi is illegal to keep in outdoor dams or ponds but legal to keep in the home aquarium....".this is out of the cichlid profile for them on this site i've spoken to a few people about them and they agree with what it says here so as long as you dont put them in dam or pond you are fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 Hey Fiona how come you didn't show me the tilapia? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrseby Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 BIG FANTASTIC AWESOME AND TOUGH FISH :^: $ will vary on avail ..i have seen a pair sold for $1000 + and young for $100 but now you can get them for like $10 + These guys are BAD FISH LOLDO NOT TRY FEEDING THEM AT HOME ALONE HAHAHAHA :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 Hey Wui maybe you didn't see them, they were in the kitchen, right in front of your face if you were looking in the right direction!! :lol: :lol: : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saudukar Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 Til. buttikoferi I have to admit are the most aggresive riverine cichlid I have come across even next to Jaguars/Cich. dovii. Expect them to get bloody huge. Pairing should be done EARLY, not later in life where they have never attempted pair bonding and tend to attack everything that moves. Ive taken care of single specimens of male and female in separate tanks. They would never tolerate each other in any other curcumstances but to breed. Im sure if they where acclimatized to each other from a young age this probably would have been different.The male would attack ANYTHING. Rocks/Hands/People walking past/Light from a TV. The female was not much different except she tended to shy away at first then attack.Not really a fish I would recommend for beginners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon_Lord_Tia Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 ive seen them in a fights with jags and after a while they do seem to back off but that jag wouldnt give up till the fish was in its stomach or out of the tank lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 They are an excellent fish but not for a community aquarium of anything less than large Central Americans The best way to breed them is with a divider either complete seperation with a grid or a grid with portals small enough for the female to get throughHaving said this you can find that some pairs will cohabit a tank, but it would need to be at least 6' x 18" x 18"The main problem is that there has been no culling of poor quality fish with poor markings, seems the mighty $$ wins out again L2H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pride Posted December 6, 2003 Author Share Posted December 6, 2003 Got mine now in the tank. Hes's about 5 inches and already within 24hrs he's moved about half the gravel in the tank. I can tell this fish has got loads of personality. Very happy.Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pride Posted December 6, 2003 Author Share Posted December 6, 2003 Just wondering what you guys feed these guys - what sort of pellet/frozen or live food?Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 They eat almost anything. Pellets, frozen, live (they love worms), peas, just try them out and see what they will eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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