Hi new member

[colin]

Hi colin

When you come into the shop on Friday ask to see me as I will be anywhere except on the fish section.

When talking about ratio's of fish, it can be a bit of trial and error. At home a lot of my tanks were heavily laden with males, as a lot of people would go for female heavy groups. I soon found out that a lot of males to even one female worked really well for breeding. Sometimes there was as many as 6 males to 1 female. It was a good breeding strategy. What actually happened was, the alpha male was in full colour and the others progressively were a duller colour as they went down the ranks. No other male ever got near the female as the alpha was there to protect her, non coloured males are not interested in breeding. Because the alpha male was in breeding colour and fighting colour it seems as if he was more attractive to the female and she would respond to his advances, if the breeding was unsuccessful I would take the alpha out and immediately others would be trying to take his spot and I would guarantee the female would be holding within a day or two.

Too many times I have tried trio's of 1 male and 2 females, sometimes this can work but I have seen many times when the odd female his harried by the breeding pair, sometimes to death. I have also noticed that when 2 females are present the male seems not to try to hard, if you know what I mean. This leads to the females being not being interested in the male and the male then is constantly chasing the female and she does not respond. Mind you if you put a mirror in when this happens, the male starts to attack the mirror and 9 times out of 10 the female will then respond.

Pairs are good to keep, but I would never have just 2 males as 1 will virtually always make the others life a misery which can lead to disease. 3 males are a much better option than 2 as any aggression is shared. On the whole It really doesn't matter on the amount of females as it will mainly be the alpha male that breeds, but again I would avoid having 2. 1 or 3 is my general rule whether male or female.

If it is a fairly rare fish I would go for groups as these sort of fish don't come about often and you don't get the F1's about. If you want them to breed go for male heavy groups. Otherwise I would go for pairs, unless of course its a fish that you really like then have a group anyway

[trumps]

You can mix same genus as long as females and males look different ie colour

For instance I have

Metriaclima zebra chilumba luwino reef, metriaclima estherae Minos reef, metriaclima membe deep, metriaclima zebra gold lions cove and metriaclima hajomaylandi but all are different colours, some are barred and some not and from different locales

Certain types like the cynotilapia afras can be very aggressive towards other afras, although I have not kept them personally and was advised not to mix them!


Hope this helps

[colin]

When mixing fish its not a bad idea to look at the other fish at the same locale. As that way, we virtually know that they shouldn't interbreed (it can happen but not normally). A lot of the fish have different breeding procedures so its surprising what you can mix. The M. estherae at Minos Reef for instance breed different to other M. estherae, this is due to the fact that there is a species of Metriaclima at Minos Reef that is remarkably similar to the M.estherae, but the female M.estherae don't breed with them as these other males do not possess small yellow spots on the back of their dorsal fin. M. estherae from other locales don't have these yellow spots. There is research now suggesting that scent may have something to do with mate selection !! I had M estherae and M callainos in the same tank both species of males were in colour with little aggression - again its trial and error

[robpole]

If I stock just pairs how can I finish up with a tank of
40 fish as from what I've read you should not mix
different genus types
Defo going in to pick up fish on Friday and hoping to speak
To Colin

You should have no problems mixing the genus types so long as they look different.
For example i have had 3 sorts of wild tropheops together in a 350 lt tank and they all bred true.
Likewise with the metriaclima and pseudotropheus types there are so many varieties so achieving your desired stocking level is more than possible.

[Nads]

A good large group of interruptus would be fantastic, their behaviour is brilliant in a group. But go for a single or three or more males and try to have at least as many females as males. With interruptus the females can be feisty towards each other and will form a hierarchy. I had a large group (would have to look back for exact numbers), but had at least four males and eight females in a four foot (300l) tank, with other species. Will try and dig out the stocking for you

[colin]

sorry to go off topic a bit but

You wanna see the interuptus that Col has picked Nadine - it is stonking, its just a solid blue. It didn't show up until the alpha had been removed. Its one that I would of took home had I had of seen it in colour

[Scubacol]

Hi I'll defo seek you out when I come in on Friday and thanks
I think I have a clearer picture now
Defo want to stock a group of intteruptus ill be seeing how these settle
In and hoping to go back and pick some more up if theirs any left
Thanks to all that replied Colin

[Nads]

sorry to go off topic a bit but

You wanna see the interuptus that Col has picked Nadine - it is stonking, its just a solid blue. It didn't show up until the alpha had been removed. Its one that I would of took home had I had of seen it in colour

Can you send me a pic? Might be interested if you have a female or two, could be a good project

[Scubacol]

Hi all just thought id post an update

Picked up my first fish from New World on Friday 12/04/2013
pair of M. Esterae
pair of Cyno red top Likoma
3m and 2 female m. Interruptus

All have settled in well and have formed a nice group doesn't seem to be any fighting going on at the moment
All are feeding well
Going to let them settle in a couple of weeks then if Colin at New World has any M. esterase left plan to up that group with 2 males and another female
to give me another group of 5 (3m/2f)
Ill post a video link to a you tube video as soon as I have time bit busy at the moment

[Rdwh]

Hi all just thought id post an update

Picked up my first fish from New World on Friday 12/04/2013


if Colin at New World has any M. esterase left plan to up that group with 2 males and another female

do you mean NATURAL world??

[Ray]

Hi all just thought id post an update

Picked up my first fish from New World on Friday 12/04/2013
pair of M. Esterae
pair of Cyno red top Likoma
3m and 2 female m. Interruptus

All have settled in well and have formed a nice group doesn't seem to be any fighting going on at the moment
All are feeding well
Going to let them settle in a couple of weeks then if Colin at New World has any M. esterase left plan to up that group with 2 males and another female
to give me another group of 5 (3m/2f)
Ill post a video link to a you tube video as soon as I have time bit busy at the moment

nice bunch of fish mate if the cyno and the interruptus are anything as good as leakystans your a very lucky fellla

[Scubacol]

Hi the male cyno has just coulered up and he looks great

Sorry did mean Natural World

[vinboy]

Hi mate
Great your taking good advice and plus right in with the wilds
You will study your own tank and fish and learn much more than anybody can tell you as some things work for one and sometimes not the other.
I like groups of atleast five and a couple of pairs can work.
I think the scape of the tank and good water and right food is the most important to having a good setup.

Your wanting a show tank so go for the most colourful females and sub-dom males as many mbuna can look really drab coloured down as stated breeding will
happen soon.
I would go with nads and get a large group with a nice yellow base ie your interruptus.
Ive tried all female heavy or male heavy but I think this is a species issue I think 3m 3f is good. Just like us you will find bold fish and nervous too.
Good luck some photos
vinny