Breeding Julidochromis transcriptus

yhbae

yhbae

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Aug 5, 2003
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I'd like to try out breeding this species. I have a 33g that I'd like to use a divider (it's a 3ft tank, hence julies will get about half of that) to share with another species (probably shellies - multies most likely).

Most seem to suggest to purchase 5 or 6 young ones and wait until the breeding pair forms, then only keep a pair. How long does it take to get to this point, assuming fries are about 1.5 inches now? Also, is it impossible to purchase and get a mature male and female to breed?

Appreciate any help!
 
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i ve never bred any cichlids but i plan i trying it with my brichardi i have now. i plan on buying four or five more from a differnt source and putting them in one at a time till he bonds with one. i ve had transcriptus's before and from my own experiance they grow pretty slow. too slow for me i got impatiant and got rid of them. from what i ve heard through dwarf africans from tanganika such as julis and lamps grow really slow but there easy to breed you put a bunch in your tank and they ll take it from there. if you want to speed up thier growth rate try feeding small amount often 6 or 7 times daily and food high in protien. thats what i m doing now with my brichardi
 
I don't think that transcriptus's grow slow. Mine is an adult now and I haven't had him for even a year, and he was an adult by late spring (I bought him last February). Transcriptus's are, however, the smallest julie specie with a 3.5'' fish being considered pretty big.

Yhbae,

I am trying to get a pair of transcriptus with the hopes of breeding as well. I think it was Deb2 that told me that you will usually get a pair out of 4 fish.

I don't think you'll need the divider, unless you want it for other purposes than aggression. My adult juli doesn't touch any other fish unless they come within and inch of his cave. The smaller Juli of course being the exception... even in that case, if the larger one is on the opposite side of the tank from his cave, he allows the smaller one to come near him if it wants to. (The other fish are 2 N. leleupi and 3 guppies). I've also read several places that the parents don't protect their fry after they hatch. The fry only get the protection if they stay within their parents territory.
 
Originally posted by wantsome48091
i ve never bred any cichlids but i plan i trying it with my brichardi i have now. i plan on buying four or five more from a differnt source and putting them in one at a time till he bonds with one. i ve had transcriptus's before and from my own experiance they grow pretty slow. too slow for me i got impatiant and got rid of them. from what i ve heard through dwarf africans from tanganika such as julis and lamps grow really slow but there easy to breed you put a bunch in your tank and they ll take it from there. if you want to speed up thier growth rate try feeding small amount often 6 or 7 times daily and food high in protien. thats what i m doing now with my brichardi
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I hear that Bricardis are one of the best parents (or best family for that matter) - they have tendency to overtake the whole tank regardless of the size?

From your experience, how long did it take for julis to reach sexual maturity and form a breeding pair?
 
Originally posted by PumaWard
Yhbae,

I am trying to get a pair of transcriptus with the hopes of breeding as well. I think it was Deb2 that told me that you will usually get a pair out of 4 fish.

I don't think you'll need the divider, unless you want it for other purposes than aggression. My adult juli doesn't touch any other fish unless they come within and inch of his cave. The smaller Juli of course being the exception... even in that case, if the larger one is on the opposite side of the tank from his cave, he allows the smaller one to come near him if it wants to. (The other fish are 2 N. leleupi and 3 guppies). I've also read several places that the parents don't protect their fry after they hatch. The fry only get the protection if they stay within their parents territory.
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How large tank are you planning to use for breeding J Trans?

I was suggesting a divider because I figured there will always be stupid fries who will make a wrong turn and end up in the wrong territory... :D Besides, I already have a divider that I haven't used yet, and it fits in the tank perfectly, so if it helps at all, I'd use it... (Well, if it doesn't help, obviously I'll find a better use for it)

As for the decoration (rocks for the julies), what do you use? Is there any cheaper and lighter forms of objects I can use instead of boulders? :D I'd imagine it would be super hard to catch the fries when you have so many holes for them to shoot into...
 
I am keeping them in a 30 breeder. I have smallish sized rocks for the rift effect.

As for the rocks and small holes, very good point, lol. I guess I could train them to not fear the net as my brother suggested or just suck them up in the siphon.

It is my hope that the leleupi and my comprissiceps/calvus will weed out the weak and ones not smart enough to stay in their parents territory.

I also see where you might want maximum fry yield, and the divider would help to accomplish that.
 
Originally posted by PumaWard
As for the rocks and small holes, very good point, lol. I guess I could train them to not fear the net as my brother suggested or just suck them up in the siphon.
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Curious, how did he accomplish this? By nature, wouldn't most fishes be scared of the nets, especially if they experienced it before? I don't net fishes very often in my tanks but when I do try, most of the fishes swim away from it except for some hyper platy fries trying to eat more than they can handle... :D
 
He fed them through the net, usually something they really liked, like mosquito larvae. They start to think that the net means food and aren't afraid of the net and actually swim up to it.
 
Originally posted by PumaWard
He fed them through the net, usually something they really liked, like mosquito larvae. They start to think that the net means food and aren't afraid of the net and actually swim up to it.
Click to expand...

Interesting idea.... :D Thanks for sharing!
 
the only reason i said that juli's grow slow is because they do compared to pike cichlids ands south americans i ve had pikes that i can watch grow day by day. juli's are cool fish though the local aquarium club is haveing a auction at the end of the month i'm gonna see if i can get some nice specamins
 
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