Whats new with you cichlid keepers?

[DMD123]

Have not been as active on the Fish Box forums and many guys that used to keep big cichlids are out of the hobby...

So whats new with you cichlid keepers who are still around?

What are you keeping?

Where do you shop for fish?

Looking forward to hearing from you guys.

 

[Joel]

Africans Africans and more Africans. And a tank that has an Oscar and a kribensis (among other inappropriate tank mates)

 

[DMD123]

Africans Africans and more Africans. And a tank that has an Oscar and a kribensis (among other inappropriate tank mates)

Been some time since I had Africans. Would love to do a frontosa tank... maybe one day.

Ive kept a few Oscars in my day, a favorite of mine. Very cool.

 

[lloyd378]

I’ve got more than I want.... haha in fact, I’ll be posting up to rehome some soon. But back to the topic at hand:
210 : umbee pair and 500 fry
180: growout tank ( almost all must go) 3x amph hoga, 4x amph Chanco , 1x zonatus, 1x rtm, 5x delhizhi polypterus
125: rtm pair Rio blanco
75: male trimac Rio naranja
75: male Chanco
75: African peacock / hap tank + 2 fronts
75: cycling in my classroom
40b: hemichromis frempongi pair
40b: 4x Red Dovii fry (2-3”) and dithers
40b: flowerhorn
40: 2 blood parrots and a neet (daughters tank)
29: shrimp
20: shrimp

 

[DMD123]

Wow, Lloyd you have a lot of tanks going!

Let me know when your closer to rehoming any cichlids... I might need a pearsei replacement. She is really starting to show her age and I think her time is limited.

 

[lloyd378]

Wow, that’s a bummer!

When I post them up you know I would want to help

 

[DMD123]

Wow, that’s a bummer!

When I post them up you know I would want to help

Yeah she has been totally lethargic, her color is off and she is just hanging toward the top, facing the back wall and zero interaction except to go hide when someone gets too close. She has not ate in a month now... but was always thick enough to 'live off the land.' At this point I think its just her time.

Not sure what I want to do but likely just one solo cichlid to live in the big tank with the 3 bala sharks and 5 polys. I have been thinking another amph. since its been quite a few years since Ive kept one.

 

[Joel]

I did try growing out some frontosa but it was a disaster so I sold what was left lol. Tangs definitely take more patience

 

[DMD123]

I did try growing out some frontosa but it was a disaster so I sold what was left lol. Tangs definitely take more patience

My other African ‘dream’ cichlid I would like is a group of ‘blue dolphin’ C. Moori
But I have enough tanks going on where I cant take anything else on. Nothing on Lloyd’s level, lol. Just my 300g community, and 2 65B’s.

 

[sir_keith]

So whats new with you cichlid keepers who are still around?

I have been keeping African cichlids since the Mbuna first started to appear in this country, and have been keeping exclusively Tanganyikans for about 20 years. Initially I concentrated on Tropheus, but now my tanks are about equally divided between rock-dwellers and sand-dwellers, as follows-

125- 12 WC Enantiopus sp. ‘Kilesa’

2 Xenotilapia ochrogenys ‘Ndole’

8 Ophthalmotilapia nasuta ‘Magara’

Really beautiful WC ‘Kilesa’ are the stars of the show here.


125- 16 Xenotilapia spilopterus

20 F1 Enantiopus sp. ‘Kilesa’ juveniles

Waiting for the biparental spiopterus to start pairing off.



100- 11 WC Ophthalmotilapia nasuta ‘Kipili Gold’

7 Xenotilapia bathyphilus

Just got the WC Kipili Golds a few months ago; one of my all-time favorites.


75- ~16 Tropheus sp. ‘Ikola Kaiser’

~14 Tropheus annactens

My living room show tank, which I bought in 1987. Annectens and Ikola occur sympatrically in the lake; they make a stunning community together.


55- 12 Tropheus sp. ‘Red’ Lunagwa Sud breeding colony

An unusual and beautiful Tropheus, rarely seen in the hobby


55- 12 Tropheus moori‘Kasakalawe’

12 Tropheus sp. ‘black’ Bemba

4 Tropheus brichardiKabimba

These Bemba are descendants of my first Tropheus, acquired in 1994


55- ~20 Tropheus sp. ‘Ikola Kaiser’

Breeding colony.


55- ~14 Cyprichromins leptostoma

6 Julidochromis ornatus

Hoping to move 2-3 breeding pairs of Xenotilapia spilopterus into this tank once pair-bonds form.


40L- ~20 Cyprichromins leptostoma juveniles

12 Lamprichthys tanganicanus juveniles

Grow-out tank.


40L- Neolamprologus multifasciatus


Breeding pairs and fry, too many to count.


40L- ~12 Cyprichromins leptostoma juveniles


20H- Currently unoccupied.


20H- Currently unoccupied.


Here is a recent pic of my Kipili Gold colony; one of my favorite tanks-

 

[DMD123]

@sir_keith, awesome stock list!

Good looking tank picture!

 

[Betty]

DMD, is that Pork Chop that's not doing well?

No American cichlids for me, still just some Africans. I've had to downsize and not purchased any new fish. Mine are all really old and slowly dying off. The tropheus keep having babies survive so that tank is still active. I got rid of most of my bristlenose plecos -- taking care of them was becoming a full-time job.

 

[DMD123]

DMD, is that Pork Chop that's not doing well?

No American cichlids for me, still just some Africans. I've had to downsize and not purchased any new fish. Mine are all really old and slowly dying off. The tropheus keep having babies survive so that tank is still active. I got rid of most of my bristlenose plecos -- taking care of them was becoming a full-time job.

Sadly it is Porkchop who is aging out. It is just sad to see her not her perky self anymore. I was watching an old video of Mel talking about his old dovii and how it did a very similar thing before it passed... anyway Im ready for it, just not sure when its going to happen.

I really liked all the different Africans you have kept over the years. The pictures of them really tempted me to want to start another tank or two, lol. They just have so much color in a small package. But I am somewhat downsizing in that the 3 tanks I have running are it. No more tanks for a while.

 

[DMD123]

Well I am no longer a cichlid keeper... my big Porkchop the pearsei passed this morning.

She was 16" from lips to tail. She was at least 9 years old and a fun fish to have over the years. Not even sure what I want to do now.

 

[sir_keith]

Well I am no longer a cichlid keeper... my big Porkchop the pearsei passed this morning.

She was 16" from lips to tail. She was at least 9 years old and a fun fish to have over the years. Not even sure what I want to do now.

Sorry to hear about that; always hard to lose a pet...

 

[Joel]

Sorry to hear that ! Super sad

 

[DMD123]

Sorry to hear that ! Super sad

Thank you, she was a big part of our family. She was always to main attraction in the living room tank. Cant help but be impressed by a big thick pearsei.

 

[DMD123]

Sorry to hear about that; always hard to lose a pet...

Thank you, She will be missed.

 

[Joel]

Probably best thing to do is take some time, especially with that long term you had her, then someday soon a fish will take your fancy when you least expect it at the LFS

 

[DMD123]

Probably best thing to do is take some time, especially with that long term you had her, then someday soon a fish will take your fancy when you least expect it at the LFS

Probably best idea to wait... My first cichlid was a Petsmart midas that I had for about 5 years and I made a rookie mistake of introducing two wild caught fish into the tank that I did not quarantine first. I lost almost the entire tank and it took about a year and a half to figure on what to replace the midas with. I went through quite a few cichlids before I settled in on the pearsei, which I have had for almost 9 years now.

I feel like Im ready to go back to another ampholophus type... maybe another midas or something like that. Pretty much a solo cichlid with the bala sharks and bichirs as tankmates. I have also been thinking of a solo Jag in the tank... Again probably best to just wait a bit.