Tropheus

[Firecracker]

I would like to get some tropheus or petrochromis to keep in a 55g in August.
Any opinions on Tropheus moorii Chaitika "blue rainbow"?  I have read before that they do not breed much??

[CichlidFan]

Re: Tropheus

I'm new to the troph scene and can't be too much help, but I would give a thumbs up to native raised Dubosis, they seem to do well in just about any 4 foot tank or better.  

CF

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus

I haven't kept any fish really in a 55g but I have seen lots of 55g's.....IMO they are not ideal as a std. 75g which would be greater than the 55g for breeding and just Tropheus in general.

As for Blue Chaitika.......it is consensus that rainbows do not normally breed well as the other variants but IMO what better to try and breed other then something worth trying to breed.

[Firecracker]

Re: Tropheus

The rainbows (blue and purple) sure are the most eye catching of them.  I would really like babies, though.
I am deciding between tropheus or petrochromis because they both seem to have such great personalities... very friendly.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus

The very friendly part is just to lure you into getting them! Then the true monster comes out which will either hook you or break you!    

Honestly though I think you will be much more successful with a bigger tank, Also with that size tank you could get away with Tropheus but IMO/IME you are not gonna get far with Petrochromis unless it was a singleton.

[Firecracker]

Re: Tropheus

Even for just Tropheus you would need more than 55g?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus

You could get by but room for error will be greatly reduced and that is not something someone new to Tropheus would want....IMO you want the odds to be in your favor.

[Firecracker]

Re: Tropheus

I am unsure what you mean... Are you talking about water quality?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus

Water quality
Aggression
Disease
Territory


just to name a few.....

[Firecracker]

Re: Tropheus

Aahh, got ya.  How many would you put in either?

[Zulaab]

Re: Tropheus

Most Tropheus from what I have learned from listing to others should be best kept in a 1:2 ratio or better at 1:3 ratio.  
In a 55 you would want to have max 4 males with 9 females, better 3 male with 10 females.
In a 75 you would want to have max 6 males with 12 females, better 4 males with 14 females.

In a 55g tank I would say about 13 fish would be the max.  Now here is where the problem is.. any less than 12 fish and you run the risk of aggression getting the better of the weakest fish and it will die off.  If no replacement comes in quickly after that you are going quickly end up with many dead.  This is the main reason a 55g tank is not suited well for Tropheus.   A 75g tank would allow you to add an additional 5 fish to the colony and now aggression will be greatly diminished.  IE if one kicks the bucket you are still not at the risk level.

Now water quality.  Absolutely it has to be crystal clear and WELL oxygenated.
What I have learned is a 8x turn over minimum with canisters/HOB and you should add some sort of powerhead in your tank to add water circulation for O2.
55g tank you should have a minimum of 55x8 ie 440gallon/hour with a canister.
75g tank = 600g/hour.
If you use a wet/dry you will increase the amount of O2 in the water column.  The calculation is still the same but multiply your final result with .66
ie (55x8) * .66 = 290g/h
(75x8) * .66 = 396g/h
This is because your oxygenation is better and your bio filtration is higher in a wet/dry system.

I believe the magical number of Tropheus in a tank is minimum of 4ft running space and a minimum of 12 fish to a colony (never allowing the number to go below that).  I understand from listing to others the calculation for good number is ABS(tanksize/25)*6)

55g = 13 fish, 75g = 18 fish, 100g = 24 fish, 125g = 30 fish, 150g = 35 fish, 180g = 43 fish, 210g = 50 fish

I hope I have given you some advice that you can bank on.. but I sure there will be a ton of people pounding me if I said anything wrong here...

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus

zulaab's info is good....pretty much what you will hear from anyone starting out.

Here's my little tweak to it though from experience...

-No less than 16 fish regardless, there are exceptions to that and there will be occasions where you will get by with less but 16 IMO is a safe number.
-75g footprint is probably the min. I would ever do but 55g is workable(I would still do the 16 min.)
-Water changes frequency should be measured through Nitrate testing, I like to keep it 20ppms or less before a water change....up to about 40-60ppm is max for me.
-Turnover rate, touchy here since a lot will say min. 10x with any filtration but for me I shoot for min. of 10-15x turnover with filters alone and 20-30x total circulation counting any water movement.
-IME, there is no other way I would set up a tropheus tank without a wet/dry....there is nothing that compares to the oxygenation it provides and bio is through the roof.
-Oxygenation is key to just about any Tanganyikan since they come from waters that are high in that aspect and with the other high parameters it's something to keep you in the clear when something unexpected happens. With this I try and get the whole water surface rippling since that is what helps the co2/o2 exchange in the tank.
-With the sex ratio that is gonna be hit & miss....if you start with fry/juvi's there is no real way of telling (here's where I think/my theory, naturally spit fry surpasses stripped since there has to be some sort of natural selection to cull excess males) but with adults you run into the same problem since there is always room for error when vent sexing Trophs....there is also the problem with wilds is that you get what the importer brought in and I'm sure that person does not want to sit on a bunch of males so you can get the "ideal" ratio. The least I would accept or even consider is 1:1 but with that a 55g is most likely not gonna work, 1:2 is about average, 1:3 is about ideal in the hobby and anything better is good for you.....this is male:female ratio.


I am basing my post through personal experience and what I have observed in various tanks throughout my time keeping or better yet since my interest in trophs. I like to pack the tank a bit more but also I have the time and patience to provide the husbandry to keep with that.

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: Tropheus

A 55 gallon will work, but it is not best for them.  I agree with EK, mostly in that Tropheus colonies always do better with 15-20 fish.

15-20 Adult Tropheus will require a 75 gallon aquarium.

When I first started in Tropheus I kept them in a 55 gallon.  I did this with colony sizes of 8 to 14 fish.  So, yes it is possible to keep them in that, and if your gettting small fry, then yes keep about 15-20 of them in there until they reach about 2-3"

Then move them into a 75 gallon for absolute best results.

Your filtration needs to be 7-10X in turnover if using canisters or Power filters.  IF your using a wetdry, then only 4-5X is all that is needed.  The key like everyone said above is to keep the water highly oxygenated and as pollutant free as possible.

The purple rainbow "Lufubu" is kinda rare and carries a higher price tag.

The Blue Rainbow "Chaitika" is not so rare, and is more moderately priced.  I know of three people here in  Houston that keep Chaitika.  I can get you in touch with them, and ask if fry is availible yet.

Tropheus are extremely addicting, the next thing you know, your getting rid of your home furnitiure to make room for a 300 gallon tank.

Petrochromis is the next stepping stone above Tropheus that most people take.  I would not suggest Petros as a starting out fish.  AND I would NOT keep Petros in a 55 gallon unless it was a singleton and the only fish in there.

If you going to keep Petros, I would not get anything less than a 6ft -125 gallon or larger.

Hope this helps...

Geoff

[myjohnson]

Re: Tropheus

You can keep them in a 55g.......but it's going to be hard.  

How many to keep in a 55g? It depends. If they are small, then you can keep a lot.  If they are big you can't keep as much.  

If you are stuck with the 55g and can't upgrade: I would keep 15 and no more than three males.  2 dom-males, one on each side of the tank with a rock pile of their own or no rocks at all. The 3rd male is there to take over if one of the other males die.

Petros is a no-no in the 55g...give trophs a try first before you lose all your money on petros.

There has been a lot of good advice given from the others.....I would follow it. Good luck.

p.s. it's an addiction.