Same game. Adding adults to an existing colony means heavy fighting and will give a clear disadvantage to the newcomers.danotaylor
RD.
Sorry, I should have clarified which species as Dan asked. I am trying to enlarge my Bemba colony.
Down the Tropheus hole
- Thread starter fishguy1978
- Start date
I have a friend who has a 240 gallon with a colony of fronts and he also has about 15 Tropheus and his whole tank is filled with rocks and all the Tropheus hide in the rocks and when he feeds they all come out its a nice to watch but he told me that the Tropheus need a lot of rock work to hide and do there Tropheus things.
I have no clue about Africans
I have no clue about Africans
FYI….. adding adults, to a group of established adults, is exactly the type of stress that we have been referring to. Your group will be enlarged, but only until the killing starts. Then the entire group will be stressed, and you risk losing them all. Lost count how many times I have seen this happen.
I appreciate the advice. I know that the decision I am making may fail but I am willing to take a chance. My 220g aquarium(72in x 24 x 30) is empty. I placed an order with Dave’s Rare Fish for 20 Bemba juveniles. I am going to set up the 220g for the new crew and grow them out. Once they are a couple inches I will attempt combining both colonies.
Ok, if that’s your decision here’s what I would do. Raise the 20 juvies in the 220, bare bones. Just sand, no rocks. When it comes time to add your current adults, again, leave rocks out. This will allow the fish to develop a loose hierarchy with no real territory to defend. It should help keep the aggression at a lower level. After a few weeks, introduce your rock work. The best chance of success would be leave the tank bare, but I understand most folks won’t find that aesthetically pleasing.
What size tank is the existing Bemba colony housed in? What is the M/F ratio?
Apart from the usual chasing games, adult tropheus are very tolerant of the presence of much smaller trophs. In my 125gal tank I have fry released into the tank that are growing up with the adult colony. Everything from 0.5” to 4” adults.
I say this because the bigger you grow the new juvies separately the more risk of the males being targeted and killed by the adult males when you bring the 2 groups together.
Dave typically sells 1” juvies. If it were me I would quarantine them and grow them to 1.5” then add them to the existing group and let them grow up together. In a male heavy group you will most likely have to remove some males as they mature. At least this way you can pick the best genetics for color as you reduce the male population in an attempt to create a stable breeding group of 3-4 males and 15-20 females.
Apart from the usual chasing games, adult tropheus are very tolerant of the presence of much smaller trophs. In my 125gal tank I have fry released into the tank that are growing up with the adult colony. Everything from 0.5” to 4” adults.
I say this because the bigger you grow the new juvies separately the more risk of the males being targeted and killed by the adult males when you bring the 2 groups together.
Dave typically sells 1” juvies. If it were me I would quarantine them and grow them to 1.5” then add them to the existing group and let them grow up together. In a male heavy group you will most likely have to remove some males as they mature. At least this way you can pick the best genetics for color as you reduce the male population in an attempt to create a stable breeding group of 3-4 males and 15-20 females.
I am unsure of the current M/F ratio. I do know I have at least one female but she has only produced 4 fry from two spawns. The first two were killed by the dominant male when they reached 1.5in ish. The current tank is a 90g long (72/13/22).
Also, if you already have the 220, I would still proceed as I explained in previous post. Grow the 1” juvies out to 1-2” in the 220 , then add your existing group. I agree with
danotaylor
, 1.5” TL should be a good size to mix at.
danotaylor
, 1.5” TL should be a good size to mix at.
