patrick

Very nice fish. I have 2 groups of these, 5 males (sorry Patrick) & 8 females. The only time I see all 5 males is just after w/c for about 1/2 a day then they go pale again. Only the largest male stays colored all the time.

Check early in the morning before the lights come on. All my males are red in the morning.

Very nice specimens tydus

Thanks Patrick. I love these fish and they are my most favorite species of vics to have ever kept. You are one of the reasons why I first started to keep the kyoga flamebacks, since seeing your beautiful male. Your male is probably the best I've seen and I wish I could have some just as nice. And I thank you for being an inspiration.

So cool, saw some at Aquagiant. Was told the ones that are really that bright are the dominate males.

You should grab yourself a group, these fish are amazing! You won't regret it.

Thanks tydus. I have been told that males that have the red coloration far down their body at young age are the ones that will look the nicest once they mature. The male that you mention did not really have that, but he's been fed NLS The offspring that I have now, about 30 or so at 1.5"-1.75" have the red all the way down. I will probably keep a couple of them for myself.

Very nice specimens tydus

Some seriously awesome aquascaping here:

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/....php?blogid=233

Thanks everyone

Very nice show Patrick. Is that the canyon rock background in the second last pic? Looks great for photography.

Yes it's the Canyon Rock, now with a natural layer of algae on it.

I am going to leave it to your imagination where my vote went

Maybe the oxygen level plays a big part as well. It's funny because my fish start flaring and showing off BEFORE I add water back into the tank at water changes. Either they predict that I will add fresh water or it has to do with the powerheads/filter outtakes being above surface, creating some serious surface agitation that increases the oxygen levels.

Last year I was lucky enough to aquire 5 F1 fry of Paralabidochomis sp. "rockkribensis", Mwanza Gulf. It turned out to be 3 males and 2 females. The males are now about 3" in size. Males are starting to get some really nice coloration but I still expect more red on their bodies.

Within a few weeks, I will have a small group of F2 fry available. Vic's with low F numbers are extremely rare.

Here are some pics.

Male and female, older picture, male still not fully colored.

F2 fry

Check the silicone seal inside the tank all the way around. If you can peel it off, then it needs to be re-sealed. Don't be "careful" when you do this. Silicone does not come off unless it's too old, or the surfae was not cleaned properly when applied.

Brad has a good point. It's not going to hurt filling it up in a safe place first.

Would an XP-4 be enough filtration for a 90 gallon tank of 22 full-grown tropheus?

I would say yes, but add a powerhead or a hydor koralia for extra flow.

I find that minimizing stress helps. I always keep the lights off during any kind of treatment.

Awesome capture, thanks for sharing that

I finally got some fry from these guys, after 5-6 failed attempts. Female released the fry for the first time after only 13 days, about 15-20 of them.

Cyn. afra ? or Lab. Hongi?

This is a really good one

Very nice Greg, your pictures are getting better and better!

A snail crawling up the glass...

Eggs, you can see the tiny shells developing inside

Finishing off with a shrimp.

I meant what camera and lens :P

although you must have an impressive amount of light to be shooting at that small an aperture and iso 100. using a flash? everytime I try to use the flash my pics end up all washed out...which makes me sad

Ahh, I use a Canon Rebel XT with a Canon EF-S 60mm marco. I also use one or two external flashes from above, sometimes with a diffuser and sometimes with the flashes pointing up towards a reflector/diffuser to get the light to bounce back evenly into the tank (I have white plastic sheets mounted underneath each level in my rack). The last alternative allows you to shoot in almost the entire tank without changing camera settings.

you strip the exif data I was gonna see what you're shootin with :P

He he,

First three ones of the dayglow: shutter 1/100, aparture f5, ISO 100

The two of the lutea: shutter 1/100, aparture f7, ISO 100

The flameback: shutter 1/100, aparture f13, ISO 100

The piebald: shutter 1/100, aparture f16, ISO 100

Thanks everyone for your encouraging comments

I find myself returning to this post to look at that second pic of the Mbipia lutea. You really achieved a very natural look with this Patrick, it's definitely one of your better shots, or at least one of my favourites.

Thanks Taylor. The pictures of the dayglow and the lutea were taken with a shorter depth of field than usual which blurs the background and lifts out the fish more.

Xystichromis sp. "Dayglow". I got some very nice fry of these that are 1.5"-2" with males coloring.

Mbipia lutea, Yala swamp. This is a melanistic male. He is not supposed to be blue so I don't use him for breeding. I was going to sell him since he would be a great candidate for a mixed tank but I kind of like him so he stays, for now.

A tiny Xystichromis sp. "Flameback" fry that just left her mommys mouth.

Paralabidochromis sp. "Redfin piebald" only 1/2".

I also prefer to keep colonies of fish rather than a few of many different species. I find that their behavior becomes more interesting when they have many of their own species to interact with.

For a show tank I think it's perfectly fine to mix species from the lakes. It is so difficult to know what will work or not though. I have kept Aulonocara kandeense and stuartgranti with both vic's and tangs and it work great. I also know people that keep vic's with mbuna's.

I actually tryed that Taylor, but they didn't turn out well. With no flash the shutter speed wasn't fast enough to not get blurr with the moving fish. Suggestions?

Boom

Try setting the aparture as low as it goes (a regular lens should go down to f3.5) and up the ISO, try ISO 400 first and set the shutter at 100. If that does not work out try ISO 800. It will get a bit grainy at high ISO but it will allow for higher shutter speeds.

What is the chance of electric yellows and dayglows cross breeding?

I don't think there is any chance of the two species crossbreeding.

Do common plecos eat free? sometimes? anytime?maybe? not at all?

lol all my fish eat free since I am paying for their food

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