patrick

Welcome to the forum Jessica

This is a very good suggestion on how you can keep fish that hybridize together in the same tank and still breed them. As long as you can tell the difference between the females of the species you keep. When a female is ready to spawn, just move the female and male to a 20 gallon tank, let them do their thing and then remove the male. Now you just have to wait until the female spit the fry and then remove her and the fry is already in their own tank where they can be raised.

Almost all species in Lake Victoria and basin are capable of crossbreeding, some are more likely and some are less likely. I think the same goes for malawi's correct? I would say that the Xystichromis sp. "flameback" and Paralabidochromis sp. "redfin piebald" are less likely to crossbreed, but sometimes when you mix two species that don't live together in the wild, the flameback from victoria and the piebald from victoria nile, kyoga and nawampasa, the species might crossbreed even though they look completely different. If I have more than one species in a breeding tank, then I won't keep fry unless I witnessed the actual spawn, or am 100% certain they are pure. In the case of the flameback and the piebald, it will probably be quite easy to tell as the fry grow up. I kept Xystichromis sp. "Kyoga flameback" with Astatotilapia latifasciata (5 females), thinking that there was no way they would crossbreed. Both species are from the same area and completely different looks. The Kyoga flameback male eagerly spawned with all the latifasiata females within a week or two. You just never know. Keeping fish together that are likely to crossbreed is fine with me if there is no intention to keep fry. As long as the fish are happy. The Lipochromis sp. "Matumbi Hunter" that Dal got from me are pretty much 100% safe from crossbreeding. It's difficult to keep several species of vic's together that wont crossbreed simply because there is not much of a selection today. In the end the hobbyist must take responsibility not spreading any hybrids to the public. Sometimes hybrids can be very difficult to recognize and be mislabeled as a pure species and before you know it, a pure strain has been wiped out, maybe forever. The hybrid fry would make a real nice snack for the matumbi hunters though :smokey:

The last time I went to Home Depot in the south end they did not have Target Playsand anymore. It had been replaced with Quikrete Playsand, which also is a great, but slightly finer mix. Just like Target, it's not dusty att all and only requires to be rinsed a few times.

Me

Welcome to AA

Really, if the shipper does his end of the work all we do is pick up the fish and pay gst? No more no less? Yes, but you still have to take the fish through customs unless you let a brooker do it, and they will charge you additional fees. If you import using a business name then you need a license, otherwise there should be no problem. Just check up with customs in regards to importing WC fish, it's not the same as tank raised. Also, the shipper may charge you for US Fish & Wildlife fees. See link below. http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showN...A3A8434A509D59D

You can get fish shipped with fedex overnight from anywhere in the US. In the end the shipping will cost you around $150/box

I don't think the melafix will bother the fry. Do you keep the fry in the same tank?

OK< Because I have no clue...you did what to your female? what does stripping her mean and why do you do it? first read I got the image of skinning..eww not nice Stripping is when you "help" a mouthbrooding female to release her fry. It's important to not damage her slime coat, which a net or dry hands will do, so keeping the hands wet is a must.

Hi energie, When stripping a female, hold her directly in your hand. Make sure your hand it clean and wet first. Don't hold her with dry hands! Try treating her with Melafix, it usually works really well in cases like this.

I have the Hydor Koralia 2. I used it for about 1 year in a 90 gallon. No issues whatsoever and very good performance.

It looks awesome. I really like the size and the placement of the rocks. Nice Job!

I love the algae growth, it makes it look very natural Below is a link for future inspiration. It's in Swedish I'm afraid but there are pictures and a movie clip at the bottom of the page. http://www.ciklider.se/artiklar/wl_stromvatten.shtml

Trying a couple of clips with a borrowed camera. Xystichromis sp. "Kyoga flameback" Lithochromis rufus

I added some more plants. The algae growth has stabilized as well.

Lol don't worry about me Dal. You should keep some to add to your group and sell the rest. I want vic's to become popular to ensure they remain in the hobby. They are great fish

That male looks awesome! He will be stunning when he gets bigger

Paralabidochromis sp. "redfin piebald" on their first swim after 16 days in mom's mouth F1 Paralabidochromis sp. "rockkribensis", Mwanza gulf on their first swim after 19 days in mom's mouth These are MY bettas. I got them a while back as feeder fish. Some ended up with my ruby green fry and they get along just fine

Welcome to the forum

The really nice thing with a HOB is that it is so convenient to clean.

Personally I am a big fan of hydro-sponges. They are very effective. In most of the 45's I run one hydro-sponge IV pro (rated up to 80gallon) hooked up to a powerhead. Works great but even better is to have one additional air powered hydro-sponge III as a backup. I also have a 45 grow out with two hydro-sponge III powered by air only. At most I had about 80 juvies 1-2 inches in this tank without any problems. Hydro-sponges are quite expensive in the stores which I think is a reason why not many are using them. Why buy a sponge filter + air pump, air stone and hose if you can get a HOB at the same price? If there is enough interest I might consider looking into the possiblilites on bringing these in. In my case, using internal sponges meant that I could put the rack closer to the wall and saved a lot of space. Also, they are sure to boot up after a power failure and there is no risk of leaks. The drawback is that you have to get into the tank to remove them, and pulling them out of the tank usually leaves a bit of a mess.

Good to hear. I heard that Dalray's flamebacks have spawned as well.

I should add that a 33 gallon is below the minimum I would recommend for this fish. This does not however mean that you can't successfully keep them in a 33.

I have about 15 where 7 is from the original stock and the rest are offspring. There is a big difference in quality between the original ones and the ones that I raised myself. I can already tell that they will grow larger and the bodyshape is much better. Watch out for poor quality fish (goes for all vic's really), and hybrids. Paralabidochromis chromogynos males will crossbreed with females that look different than its own species. I find them not to be very productive. Have yours spawned yet Raymond? My juvies from the original stock have spawned once but the female was small and lost the batch. It also appears that they have a fairly slow metabolism, and sensitive stomachs, but this really only applies to the original fish that I aquired. The other ones, no problems. When I buy fish, I prefer to buy them as young as possible. I would catch the fry in a bag as the female spits them out lol, just to have the ability to raise them properly. I'd say you can keep 12 in a 3 foot 33gallon tank. Atleast 3-4 males, 2 males in 33 gallon will most likely result in disaster no matter how many females. A 1/1 ratio is optimum as it will keep the gents busy fighting over females and the females get to watch the fight and relax lol. PH can be anything between the low 7's and high 8's. Edmonton city water is perfect.