Ultimate Visit

[CichlidFan]

Went to Ultimate Fish today with FishLady, and of course, more than a dozen fish had found their way into the truck with us when we left.

There where a couple nice Oceanic Tanks there today, a new 150 for 799.00 I believe, and a black 125 for a little less. There where other nice deals on the tanks there as well.

The prices on the fishies where a bit high of course, but after crying for 20 minutes, Cassie finally gave me a bit of a discount on my purchase.

I'm about 275.00 lighter tonight, but that's what vacation money is for after all, seeing how I could not afford to drive anywhere..... :)

CF

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Ultimate Visit

What did yall get?

[CichlidFan]

Re: Ultimate Visit

Flame Tail Fry
Petro Fry
Regani
Calvus
Petricola cats
Heliv.....something like a bricardi but not....

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Ultimate Visit

What kind of petro fry did Alex have?

[CichlidFan]

Re: Ultimate Visit

I have no idea EK, I'm not really a big fan of Petros, but they seemed to be pretty happy in there with the Flame Tail fry, so I took three of them as well.

I know Cassie would know what kind they where.

CF

[fishlady]

Re: Ultimate Visit

Neolamprologus helianthus.......




A recent introduction, Neolamprologus helianthus is a substrate-spawning Tanganyikan cichlid first typed by Büscher in 1997. This fish is part of the Brichardi complex, all of which demonstrate outstanding parental care.

Neolamprologus helianthus is, perhaps, the most colorful of the Brichardi complex and has distinctive markings. A yellow-tan base color is overlayed with red-orange markings over the entire fish. A dark "V" marking is present on the gill plate. Yellow-gold speckling extends into the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. Overall, quite a good looking fish!

Neolamprologus helianthus is an aggressive cichlid, especially when guarding fry, so beware. Only keep it with tankmates that can "take it."

I kept a pair of 1.5 to 2" Neolamprologus helianthus is in a 90-gallon tank along with eight Vieja fenestratus which averaged seven inches long. They regularly beat on the larger fish which were easily 20 times their mass. Amazing!

I believe Neolamprologus helianthus has sharp teeth at the front edge of their mouth. They would hang close to rocks and then rocket out to engage the sides of the larger fish. It was clear that the attacks were painful and the larger fish soon learned to stay out of the way.

Male Neolamprologus helianthus obtain lengths of about 2.5 to 3" while the females stay a bit smaller at a bit over 2". Other than size, I have not found a good way to distinguish the sexes of this fish.

Habitat
In Lake Tanganyika, Neolamprologus helianthus is found at depths of 2 to 7 meters in close assocation with rocky cover.

Care
Neolamprologus helianthus is easy to care for, but mind intraspecific and interspecific aggression!

My water is pH 7.4, 300 ppm hardness. Water of neutral pH and medium to high hardness will suffice. I did regular partial water changes of 50% weekly.

Feeding:
I haven't been able to find out what this species eats in the wild, but my guess is that it picks food from the rocky substrate and free-floating plankton. In the aquarium, they take a variety of prepared foods. I fed Tetra Cichlid Flakes, HBH Graze, New Life Spectrum and baby brine shrimp.

[Delock]

Re: Ultimate Visit

more likey trew fry

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Ultimate Visit

Yeah those helianthus are mean buggers!

Are y'all mixing them with the other brichardi's?

[J-WS6]

Re: Ultimate Visit

Yeah, Alex has F1 Trewavasae fry and a few of the Petro. Orthognathus 'Kambo Green', really cool fish.

[CichlidFan]

Re: Ultimate Visit

I put my Heli in my community tank, and I only have one, I don't really have any plans to breed this one.

CF

[fishlady]

Re: Ultimate Visit

i put mine in a tank without any other brichardi's......no intention of breeding this one either.....

[dblondfemme]

Re: Ultimate Visit

ohhhhhhh I saw them on one of the fish orders, but i couldn't convince myself to pay $150-$200 for less than ten fish.   How much were the Neolamprologus helianthus?

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: Ultimate Visit

I was in Alex's store a week ago, and he had (3) tanks of Trewavasae fry.

[CichlidFan]

Re: Ultimate Visit

ohhhhhhh I saw them on one of the fish orders, but i couldn't convince myself to pay $150-$200 for less than ten fish.   How much were the Neolamprologus helianthus?

I think we got them for 12.00 with a discount buy on over 20 fish. They where normally marked about 14. I believe.

CF