Tankmates revisited

Q&A about Tropheus and Petrochromis

Moderator: Pam Chin

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sneakypete
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 10:30 am

Tankmates revisited

Post by sneakypete »

Hey Pam:

Just found your column here and I have a few questions. I'm planning on stocking a 125 over the next month or so and could use your opinion on some stocking ideas.

The focus of the tank will be a colony of 20 Ndole Reds. I would also like to add 6 peacocks (males only) and 6 Alto Comps to the mix (all fry in the 1 1/2 range) and maybe 10 lepstoma jumbo. Your preference for a one species tank with respect to Tropheus is well documented - not to mention your preference for single lake tank. That being said, the focus of your arguments seems to be on breeding, which is not a huge concern for me. I'm trying to create a community tank of my favourite fish, all of which have a general reputation of being fairly peacefull with other species. Also, until my basement is renovated (big bucks), I only have room for one big tank.

I plan on feeding NLS once a day, Omega Veggie 2x a day and maybe Omega flake once in a while. Weekend treats will be something like freeze dried Mysis shrimp. Tropheus will also be fed lettuce on a frequent basis. I would consider the pea/shrimp recipe, but would prefer to see how the other combo works first.

From my research so far, my biggest concern is the comps. They can be shy and the Trophs might beat them to the food. That being said, if I get the comps, cyps and peacocks at the same time before introducing the Ndole colony, I'm hoping the comps will learn to feed aggressively (I've read that the presence of both peacocks and cyps can add confidence to the shy types). I've seen larger comps in community tanks feed aggresively alongside mbuna and peacocks, so I know it can be done.

On other forums I have spoken with people seen variations of the above list done before with good results. I have never seen anyone do all of them together. I realize I'm not creating the most ideal tank set up here and I do expect some problems along the way, but I don't want a complete disaster ether.

I would appreciate you opinion on my suggested mix. Leaving the optimal fry production argument aside for a minute, what would you predict to be my biggest problem with my list of tankmates?

pete
Pam Chin
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Re: Tankmates revisited

Post by Pam Chin »

Hey Pete!

You say that the Tropheus are going to be your focus, if that is truly the case then you wouldn't be adding tankmates. My goal is different, I want to provide the most optimum conditions, when you start adding other tankmates, your optimum conditions for Tropheus goes out the window. I just don't think it is fair for the fish, and then you compound the issue with feeding high protein foods. And it is just not the Tropheus, the Altolamprologus are not going to be able to get enough food and the peacocks are probably not either. And while trying to feed more so they will get food, the Tropheus are going to over eat. People think I am worried about the Trophues and I am, but I also worry about the tankmates. Have you ever seen the mouth on a Tropheus? They can de-scale another fish in minutes.

So other then the breeding argument, you are going to have Tankmate, diet, and aggression issues.

I have kept a lot of different cichlids over the years, and hands down there is nothing more fun then watching a group of Tropheus interact, they are such social fish, and the hierarchy is fascinating. Thats why I keep them!

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