A good tank for a good group of Tropheus

Q&A about Tropheus and Petrochromis

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James Shingler
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 8:00 am
Location: UK Essex near Harlow

A good tank for a good group of Tropheus

Post by James Shingler »

Sorry to bug you. Good answer but could you give those figures in litres and give advice on what you think the best way of doing the rocks. It might be a different arangement for adults and young/growing on tropheus is what I think, I may be getting at. It might also be a different tank size for growing on to breeding and keeping adults (5 to 8 inch fish)alive and happy. No I am not trying to trick you, I realy want to know your opinion. As I am genuainly lost when it comes not to breeding them a few times but keeping the coliny going for over 5 years.

Thanks James
Pam Chin
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Post by Pam Chin »

Hi James,

I am so sorry, but I don't know how to convert gallons to litres. I think it is like 3 liters in a gallon, so approximately 300 liters, but don't hold me to that, I flunked math!!! lol I like to start with a group that is young, and then I dedicate a tank to them, and keep them the same way from juveniles to adulthood.

I don't think the Tropheus really care how you keep the rocks. I think hobbyists use different rock arrangements because they think they can get more fry easily. The two most common rock arrangements are: the two pile theory .... you take your tank, you put a pile of rocks on each end, and you throw in your Tropheus. In a matter of moments, you have one male on each rock and the rest of the group is in the middle of the tank. Good points. easier to keep your tank clean, it is easy to see how your group is doing, whether females are holding or not , removal of females easier etc..... Bad points, it isn't natural, they don't live like that in the wild. Group is held to one area in the tank. Females have no place to retreat. Stress to dominate males, it isn't an easy life being the dominate male in an open tank.

The Alternative..... Rocks all the way across your tank, throw your group in and it will take a few days for everyone to find their place. Good points: the whole look of the tank makes it a show tank; its more natural, the fish will feel more at ease and more apt to spawn. Fry are not in danger. Allows for more than two dominate males, and subdominate males are able to spawn more often. Having lots of rocks allows more algae, which allows them to naturally graze. Motivating grazing helps lessen aggression. Bad Points... it is hard labor to remove all the rocks to remove holding females or fry.


I have done it both ways, I have even kept and bred Tropheus in bare bottom tanks with PVC. These are breeding options; all different ways to maximise the amount of fry that you can obtain. However, if it is just your goal to keep them so you can enjoy their behavior as group, then I like to keep them as close to what they would find in the wild. Which is tons of rock, that is covered with algae so that they can graze all day long. Then start a routine with regular substantial water changes and stick with it. If you can provide that, then you should not have any problems !
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