Haplochromis sp.44? Tell me more!

saganco

saganco

RIP my precious kitty baby
Oct 29, 2006
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Colorado
I saw this: http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles/african-cichlids/thick-skin/100080.asp
and I am VERY interested in this fish for my 65g (36x18x24) and would like to know more about it. I know it says on this site that it needs a 75 gallon, but am wondering if several of them could do ok in my tank - they are just incredible looking fish! How many could I have/should I have if I want to breed them? What kind of tank mates would be ok? My PH is 7.8, I have a fluval 405 filter, and will have some live plants in pots with lots of rocks, caves, and tunnels. I hope this can work for me!
Thanks to everyone!
Sharon
 
Ive had these for a few months now and what ive noticed so far is that they are definetely gorgeous fish. I would put them in the semi-aggressive class right now as they are young...@2" maybe a little over. These can breed at around the 1-1/2" size. Ive had 4 holdings in this amount of time, but, they didnt hold all the way yet as i think they were too small to be successful. I currently have one holding and looks like she's doing well so far. Hope fully some fry soon. I keep 2M/3 F. I keep the extra male so that one is always showing dominance. I had them in a 55g which wasn't too bad of a size. Just make sure there are plenty of hiding places for the extra male and the females to hide to protect them from over aggression. I will watch to make sure that as they grow the subdominant doesnt get over harassed to the point of sickness.

This is the best pic i could get so far...still waiting for the perfect profile shot of him with out the flash. :)

hap44pics1ystripe005.jpg


Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know. I will try my best. ;)
 
Are the females pretty as well or just the males? Who/what would be good tank mates for these pretties? How many could I put in my 65g without problems? And a stupid question: what does holding mean? Holding eggs waiting to spawn? If she's holding and waiting, what's she waiting on and why? What would good dither fish be for these fish? Thanks!
 
"Holding" means that they have spawned and she is holding the eggs in her mouth until they hatch. This type of reproduction is called mouth-brooding. They will typically hold anywhere from 14-21 days.

I have had them in with rock kribensis-*(victorian), peacocks, and yellow labs without to much problem at all. a little chasing here and there but no actual lip-locking or attacking. You also wouldnt want them in with aggressive Mbuna species or nothing too docile.

Usually if you have enough females in there to keep the dominant busy trying to get their attention he will only mildly harass the sub dominant male. But you will see a rise in the aggression when a little before the female is ready to breed. This is where having plenty of hiding places saves the aggression.

How many in 65g? That may all depend on your filtration, tank maintenance, and your tank set-up. The better this is the more you can have so your water conditions wont deteriorate as quickly. Say with an adult size average of 4" maybe 7-9 could work. 2m 5f. This ratio may aide in spreading the aggression, instead of only 1 or 2 fish getting harassed constantly.

oh yeah in the pic in my first post, on the left side of pic is a female.
 
Tankfan, after reading a bit more about these beauties, they seem like they are going to be a bit aggressive! I feel sorry for the poor little neglected, abused, confirmed batchelor non dominant male who never gets to spawn because the dominant one just won't let him! It seems like a mean way for the poor little man to live! Always wanting and watching, never playing!

Plus the tank mates seem to have to be rather aggressive as well (yours seem to be aggressive species). The size and color are both good for what I'm wanting, but I don't want others in the tank to get hurt or killed (and yes, I do want several species in there - all breeding if possible).

Perhaps there's a better choice for my tank (36x18 footprint) than these fish? I love them and they sound really cool - I just don't want dead fish!

Thoughts anyone??
 
saganco said:
Tankfan, after reading a bit more about these beauties, they seem like they are going to be a bit aggressive! I feel sorry for the poor little neglected, abused, confirmed batchelor non dominant male who never gets to spawn because the dominant one just won't let him! It seems like a mean way for the poor little man to live! Always wanting and watching, never playing!



Plus the tank mates seem to have to be rather aggressive as well (yours seem to be aggressive species). The size and color are both good for what I'm wanting, but I don't want others in the tank to get hurt or killed (and yes, I do want several species in there - all breeding if possible).


Perhaps there's a better choice for my tank (36x18 footprint) than these fish? I love them and they sound really cool - I just don't want dead fish!
Thoughts anyone??
Click to expand...


welcome to the world of cichlids!

mine are currently in with yellow labs that are 2" smaller and rock kribensis that are 2" smaller and no troubles yet. i think if you get all your fish together and around same size to grow out together aggression might be a lot less.

go with some yellow labs, peacocks or maybe some saulosi. with the saulosi the males are blue as adult and females are yellow and fairly peaceful for mbuna.
 
After trying to stay away from all rift lake cichlids on my second venture into the fish world, this fish made me fail at my goals :) I have about 18-20 in a grow out tank right now. Several males have already started coloring up and they're barely 1" or under. A better question to ask would be what other types of fish are you intrested in? Might be easier to figure out if they'll fit in with the 44's or not
 
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