fshkpr4evr Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I have a 50 gallon aquarium that originally had 10 small (3/4 inch) Tropheus duboisi. I am now down to 6. The more dominant fish tormented some of the smaller ones and well...the strong survive. I would like to introduce another Tanganyikan species such as Neolamprologus brichardi, Altolamprologus calvus, or Neolamprologus tretocephalus to distract the duboisi from one another. Can anyone comment on a compatible species to go with Tropheus duboisi. What are your thoughts on my suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nandopsis Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I'am no african expert, but wouldn't most Neolamps like the brichardi be alittle too aggresive for the Tropheus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fshkpr4evr Posted December 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I was thinking it would be the opposite. I know Neolamprologus brichardi are more of a somewhat docile Tang. species that are more acceptable to other aggressive fish. I just don't know how these two species would mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 I dont' know anything about tropheus but it seems from what i've read most people keep them in species tanks. Brichardi are "peaceful" as long as you dont' get a pair and they start breeding. They can be terrors when breeding and take over a tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 You don't need dithers, you need a larger tank. If not, 6 will most likely soon become 1. The larger the tank (6ft footprint is best) and the larger the tropheus colony, the better the odds are for long term success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop Eye Posted December 12, 2007 Report Share Posted December 12, 2007 i had tropheus. and started with 12.. the one started picking one off one by one. I put them i my 150.. and still only ended up with one at the end of it all.. Hope this doesnt happen to u Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hemingwaygt Posted December 14, 2007 Report Share Posted December 14, 2007 dither fish will help - like rainbows - but the previous posts are right - minimum 75 gallon (idealy 6ft 125 gal) with lots of caves. I'd trade the duboisi for other tanganykans that do well in a smaller tank before you lose more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CORVETTE Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 OK not everyone will agree with me, but thats life. I've bred Tropheus 5 or 6 times in 50 gal tanks. The secret it to make as many hiding places as possible. Make the hiding places different sizes so different sized fish can get to them. Biggest problem with keeping other species with tropheus is there specialized eating requirements of spirlina only. There digestive tracks are long and skinny meant for constant grazing not over feeding. Feed them 5-6 times a day not 1-2 big feeds a day. Oh and when i said many hiding spots i meant like 30-40 if possible. But that just worked well for me it might not for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JORG Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 My theory is different tank size is not as important as crowding(although a 50 gal is right at the bottom of tank size for these fish) I crowd aggressive fish and when I say crowd I mean load them up.It will mean a lot of water changes and or good filtration but it works for me.And as Corvette said have a lot of rock work etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 The other option is cram the tank with a bunch of fish; Tropheus keepers I've talked with who've used smaller (50 gallon) tanks for them had about 18 fish in a tank that size, and often NO hiding places works better, b/c if there's nothing to defend then the aggression often goes down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 I've seen adult tropheus colonies successfully kept & bred in 24" bare bones (no caves, no rocks, no substrate) cube tanks, but that doesn't change my earlier comment, which was focusing on increasing the odds for long term success. As Kyle just stated, no rocks = no territory to fight over, and no matter how you slice it 6 tropheus in a 50 gallon tank is a recipe for disaster. Overcrowding aggressive species does help spread the aggression out, but IMO a 50 gallon tank with a 36x18 footprint is far from ideal (for long term success) for this species of fish. Biggest problem with keeping other species with tropheus is there specialized eating requirements of spirlina only. That isn't an issue at all, in the wild tropheus do not just consume algae, and they can be fed any high quality easily digestible fish food, right along with the rest of your Tangs. I know scores of people who feed the same food to their tropheus, as they do to the rest of their fish, no matter if they are classified as herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JORG Posted December 15, 2007 Report Share Posted December 15, 2007 (edited) I agree with RD on their dietary issues as I feed my Tropheus 1 mm NLS pellets and they do fine, breed all the time--Here's a list of the fish that are in that 90 gal tank. The foot print is a little bigger than a 50 gal though,but still a 4 foot tank. - 6 Alounocara baenschi---Breeding - 3 Dimidiochromis compressiceps---breeding - 3 Otopharnyx sp. big spot---not breeding (yet) -11 Limnotilapia dardenni---breeding but not holding -5 Tropeus Moori. sp flame bemba---breeding -1 Neolamprologus helianthus---not breeding ha ha -2 Neolamprologus cylindricus----breeding The tank has a couple of sections that the fish can hide in etc---I kept Cichlids for many years before my 10 year break--and I have a feel for them--meaning I can usually tell how things will work out in a tank before bad things happen and I have tanks available to shuffle things around if need be, you might not have that option-- Edited December 15, 2007 by JORG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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