Best Petro tankmates for Petrochromis Bulu Points in a 240

[Rift2Reef]

I've got a 240(8'x2'x2') with 24 Petrochromis Bulu Points that are around 3" and growing fast. Anyone have recommendations for tank mates for these guys?

We will be moving later this year and I will be upgrading to a 500+ gallon aquarium so size isn't a major concern. I plan on getting Blue Giants after I upgrade to the larger tank. I've got an 800 gallon reef tank in my store and I really like that footprint(10'x4'x32") and that's probably what I will go with in the new house.

I prefer F1s that I can raise like I have these Bulus. I'd really like to have Longola but outside of that I am open to everyones suggestions.

I see people are breeding just about everything down in Houston now so finding most of this shouldn't be hard.

Thanks.

[Rift2Reef]

No one?

[thedude]

I've got a smaller group that are little larger in a 210g. They are larger or as large as anything in the tank. I have Trews and Famula in with them. There's also about 15-18 Trophs and a pair of L. Cylindricus about 4" long. A clown loach and a couple of plecos round out the community. Things are fine with the only aggression issues confined to the trophs. My limited experiance and a lot of what I've read on Forums lead me to believe that P. Reds are not on the high end of the aggression scale. I've never seen mine aggressive either toward one another or any other tankmates. I've read about others having to seperate them from Longola or Moshi because they couldn't stand up to them. BGs would also probabley not work with them from what I've read about them. However, I'm a nimrod at Petrochromis keeping and in no way an authority. Your second post just seemed to plead for someone to reply so i've given you what I got.

[tbui1178]

I'll start with, I'm no expert and don't claim to be one.

Are you referring to red bulus? I've seen people have moshi's and longolas in the same tank as red bulus with no issues. I have moshi and longolas in a 215g tank together, and they just seem to take agression out on their same species. They've been real aggressive lately - I think I need a bigger tank soon.

[Rift2Reef]

I fixed the title I did mean Petrochromis Red Bulus. These guys aren't that big yet but man do they grow FAST. I've got 2 pairs of wild Daffodils in the tank as well as 4 J. Marlieri and a pair of Variabilochromis Moori that I plan on keeping. It's an 8' tank so I feel I have plenty of room.

I really want to try some F1 Longola in hopes that their aggression level isn't nearly as bad as the wild ones I've dealt with.

I guess the only major concern I have is aggression to other species and interbreeding. Doesn't seem like there are many issues with interbreeding so the main issue will be aggression. The Bulu's will outnumber everything else unless I just end up with a very male heavy group. I do plan on keeping 10-12 Trewavasae I think they contrast well to the Bulus and Longola would be the next option.

How many is too many? How many is not enough?

[thedude]

I forgot to say there's also a 5" J. Marieri in my tank. My female didn't make it so I'm left with this guy as tank decoration. Trophs and Petros completely ignore the lamps and julies. The lamps try to defend a little territory but its no issue. However fry predation may be an issue with the Daffodils. I feel pretty sure my cylindricus would eat troph fry at spit size. Also if daffodils tend to get into the harem breeding pattern that I've experianced with similar fish, you may have a sizable section of your tank viciously defended by them. They have disproportionatly big and sharp teeth.

[Rift2Reef]

I've always kept Daffodils in my community tanks and they don't seem to be as aggressive towards the Petros as they are towards the Julies and the Lamp Moori. There are only 4 in the tank and it's 2 males and 2 females. The Bulus tend to mob the rocks that they are living around to eat and they are all but ignored.

I thought about not having them in this tank but I got some wild ones in my store that are some of the most colorful Daffodils I've ever seen and had to get a couple pairs of them.

Now I'm just looking for more Petros.