jebe Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Hi guys im after some info on Tropheus im not sure what to think at the moment, what I have read so far is a bit Scary. Are they hard to keep, and keep healthy? Tank mates what is ok to put with them or are they best left to them selves? Cost- ive read the colony should be as big as you can get, is this true? Im looking at a 600L tank, how many? Should I go on? That will do for now thanks guys justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazimbwe Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Jebe, you have opened a Pandora's Box with that question, because there are so many differing opinions about what is the best way to keep these majik fish. Steve's Tropheus...here is a site I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in Tropheus. All the info there will give you a good idea of what you can expect. I have not found the Fish to be that hard to care for...just different. It is my belief that you will encounter less problems with a group of 15 than you will with a group of 8...and you will have less problems with 8 than you will with 3. I go for large numbers(35+) in as large a tank as I can manage, I feed only Sera-Flora(but any other High quality flake food will do), do weekly 30-50% water-changes, have Tropheus-Bloat medication on hand and keep a close eye on their reaction to food. I have never had a Tropheus die, apart from Floor-suiciders, in my tanks. Just do all the reserch you can. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 G'day Justin, I agree, when you are researching these fish it seems they are impossible to keep healthy. They are harder to keep than most other cichlids but if you do the little things right they will be fine. I have only kept Tropheus for about 5 months but have had no problems because of the great advice I have got, mostly from Jim (the guy who owns the fish in this thread). I'll share some advice he has given me that relate to your questions. Water quality- Keep the kH at 15 degrees, the pH at around 8.5, the temp at 26 degrees and the Nitrates low (of course the Ammonia and Nitrite should always be zero). Nitrates are kept low through water changes, I change 50% per week. I don't change the water straight from the tap. I have a 220 litre drum that is aerated and heated with salts and buffers added to the above parameters. Therefore the composition of the stored water is exactly the same as the tank. The fish receive no shock whatsoever with water changes. They love 'em. I use Seachem Salt and Tanganyika Buffer. Filters for the tank should also be adequate. Power heads are a good idea for good water movement. Water quality is extremely important with Tropheus. If you have good filters and do your water changes your fish will love you. If you get slack they will die on you. Food- I feed OSI Spirulina Flake twice a day and HBH Vege Wafers every so often. You need to make sure you watch them eat. If they're pigs they're fine. If they're not eating it's a sign they could have Bloat. Stock Levels- Tropheus do well in big colony numbers. In big numbers they are relatively calm. In small numbers they can rip each other apart. I have 25 juveniles in a 470 litre tank but I would like to end up with 35-40. All my Tropheus are T. moorii Mpulungu. They interact better if you have one group of the one type of Tropheus. Buddies- Some people keep them with other fish. The advice I was given was to keep them on their own, not even with catfish. Different people have differing opinions but I am going to stick with Jim's advice. He hasn't hardly had to deal with Bloat with his system. They definately benefit from a herbivorous diet so keeping them with Carnivores would be bad. Keeping the lights on your tank to grow Algae is a good idea as they love to graze on it, they do it all day if they have access to it. I hope this has given you a good starting point. They are really beautiful fish and are unreal to watch. If you take the plunge you won't regret it. Feel free to ask any more questions you might have. Jamie. PS I agree with HTH, do all the research you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 The more the merrier so to speak the more fish means the aggression is shared a bit more I have had no trouble with any of mine .......but like was said earlier --keep up the water changes and only feed high quality food . They are one of the most enjoyable fish to just sit and watch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Hi I agree that if you read too much it can lead to confusion. Every thing you read will say something different, the trick I found is to talk to some one you can trust and use their way of doing things. read Steve's tropheus site. It has good info. I have 24 tropheus in a 330l tank. They do fight, a fair bit at the moment, but with good numbers the agression get disspersed between them. I dont thnk I have a fish that has been damged due to fighting. I wouldnt be scared off by what you read on these fish. They are very rewarding fish to keep. They do require a little more work, but not a lot more. You just need to be more careful with your water and food Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 G'day I reckon these guys are wonderful fish.There are just three things you need to concern yourself about. Water, Food & Aggression. Water: They come from a lake that has almost zero Nitrates, Nitrites and Ammonia in it. Simple solution 30-40% waterchanges every week. Food: OSI Spirulina Flake and HBH Vege Wafers. The only other thing they sometimes get is zucchini. Nothing else! Aggression: 1. Keep their numbers up above say 12, we actually started with 11 fry without any dramas. The more fish you have the less aggression on any particular fish. 2. Put lots of rocks for them to form caves and territories around. If you don't have access to rocks you could try PVC pipes. Others have recommended forming piles of rocks within the tank. We simply layed heaps of rock into the back wall of the tank and the fish seem very happy. We have over 50 atm! One last thing I would recommend a tank that is at least a 5x2x2 or bigger, although I do have some others in a 4x18x18. (But they aren't breeding and I will be moving them as soon as a bigger tank appears at my place. ) They are fabulous rewarding fish. I highly recommend them to every motivated fishkeeper out there. Best of luck Matthew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebe Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 Thank you very much for all your help guys It’s good just to listen to what others have got to say on the matter I thank you all for taking the time to talk to me about your fish. Im sure I will have numerous questions in the future, its good to know that there are great people out there willing to give advice (great advice) thanks again justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazimbwe Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 PS I agree with HTH, do all the research you can. HTH = Hope That Helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 I just proved that you don't need a long neck to be a goose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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