humbug

At that size, I’d be relatively confident that you have a female.

Are you buying your fish from a shop or privately?  If you are buying coloured fish and getting them home to find they lose colour over a few weeks, they may well have been “juiced”.  These are fish that have been fed a “colour enhancing” food.  These foods not only “enhance” the colour of male fish, but also make females take on the colour of males.  Once the fish are off the food, they gradually lose their colour. 

I’m assuming you are running a display tank.  You will likely find that an all-male tank would run more harmoniously than one with a mix of males and females.  The females give the boys more to fight over.   The girls aren’t contributing to the colour in the tank, and are taking up the space that could be occupied by another colourful fish.  

If you do decide to keep females, please don’t remove any fry from the tank, as mixed community tanks tend to be a hot-bed for hybrids.  While most fry will likely get picked off by the adults in the tank, a small percentage will survive.  You will need to work out how you are going to deal with these.  Over time you may well end up with an increasing population of fish of doubtful parentage.  Having an all-male tank means you just don’t have to worry about that side of things.

I sat and watched the breeding in one of my tanks the other day.  Its a species only tank containing six male and 14 female Lethrinops.  A pair were spawning in one corner, and as they circled, a "sneak" male dashed through the action, obviously adding his milt to the mix.  Then a second, and a third male joined in.  I'm pretty confident that that mouthful of fry will have at least four fathers. 

This isn't the first time I've seen this sort of behaviour.  I've also seen it in mixed cichlid tanks, with the action involving more than one species.  The problem is that a spawn may stretch over several hours.  No matter how diligent you are, you can't be certain you've caught the entire spawn, and that no other male was involved. 

Its even more complicated than that.  There are well recorded instances of females carrying fertilised eggs despite the male being physically separated in the same tank by a grill or divider.  This demonstrates that milt can move from one part of the tank to another.  So technically if you happen to have different species spawning at opposite ends of the tank, you could get cross-fertilisation.

The safest option is just to not take fry from a community tank.


 

 . . . . and a BIG thank you from me to Andrew at Labyrinth, and Poncho, Mattia and Aquotix in WA (plus anyone else behind the scenes!), for making this folly possible. I'm sending fish from Adelaide to Perth . . . via Sydney    Andrew has put himself out to house them for a week at the shop en route.  They fly to Perth on Wednesday, and then have to be handled and housed by the guys at Aquotix until the auction.  The logistics of this is insane!!!!  Thank you all so much for making this possible.  Hopefully it raises something for the Stuart Grant fund, and helps to get some of these rarer fish established in the west.

Please, please, please, dig deep for a good cause, and show support for these guys who do so much to keep your Society going.  I'm betting a lot of you take the Society, and its tireless workers, for granted.  You don't know how lucky you are to live in a state with an active group such as this!!!!

Hybrids are worth less than nothing.  They are a liability.  They cost money to house and raise.  Once they are at the 4-5cm mark, they have no monetary value if advertised for what they are, and the breeder gets landed with a stack of fish they can't move.  If they advertise and sell them as something they aren't, it takes no time to get a reputation for breeding hybrids.  The hobby is pretty small, so once a reputation is earned, its pretty well impossible to shake.  Even if they breed good fish later, there will forever be a question mark over the fish they advertise . . . . .  In my opinion, its just not worth the risk. 

If you are serious about wanting to breed something, its worth hunting down a nice sized group of quality fish from a reputable source, and set them up in a dedicated single-species aquarium.  Remember, it costs no more to house and raise the fry from quality parents than those from lesser quality fish, but the offspring you produce will be in greater demand.  Choose a species that you enjoy, rather than one which is "fashionable".  Fashions change very regularly in our hobby.  You are the one who has to live with them, and put in the hard yards with all those water changes etc, so far better doing it with something that you love.

But be aware that breeding is a labour of love.  You will require a separate tank for growing fry. To get reasonable growth rates you will need to feed the fry several times per day, and do very regular water changes on their tank.  Even so, it still takes several months to get most African species up to size.  If you are looking to collect fry on a regular basis from the colony, you will likely find you can't mix very different ages of fry in the one tank, so that means you need multiple fry grow tanks. And it goes on, and on . . . . . before long you have a house full of tanks  

There is a reason people get hooked on breeding fish.  One of the aspects that make cichlids so interesting are their unique, advanced parenting behaviours.  I've been keeping cichlids for more years than I'd care to admit, but I STILL get a hell of a buzz out of watching a female mouth-brooder releasing her fry, perhaps gathering food for the youngsters, and then rapidly taking them back into her mouth at the first sign of danger.  Sad to think that so many people miss what is THE most unique aspect of these fish simply because of the recent practice of stripping females of fry.   Take the time to enjoy your fish!  Its better for the fish involved, and will help maintain your interest longer-term than just churning out fry "battery-hen" fashion.

Good luck on your next adventure in fish keeping!!!

Someone posted on one of the Facebook groups today about having one of those bad days that leaves you questioning why you keep fish. I know how he feels.  I’ve had a lot of those days lately. Too many other distractions in my life making it a struggle to find time to care for the fish properly, let alone to have time to sit back and enjoy them. A couple of equipment failures leading to the loss of important fish. A couple of experiences with hobbyists and industry that have left me wondering why the hell I bother . . . . . .

But then you have one of those good days, and it reaffirms why you keep plodding on. I’ve had one of those days today.
 

I’ve kept a lot of species over the years, but there are a couple which are particularly close to my heart. Lichnochromis acuticeps is one of those. If really pushed, I’d probably admit this is the species dearest to me.

Four years ago, they were a fish that I’d admired from photographs but never thought likely I’d keep. At that point, they had only been bred successfully a handful of times in this country. But in March 2013, some juvis became available and I grabbed 10. My “Holy Grail” then became to breed them myself.

A couple of disasters early on, and I lost half of the ten. I ended up with only two females from the remaining fish. Not a great start. They eventually bred in early 2015, and I kept the fry from that first brood. The adults have bred on a couple of occasions since, and gradually we have been getting juvis out so others can enjoy what I consider to be the ultimate Malawi hap.

So I’d reached my “Holy Grail”. But you know what I find even more rewarding than breeding a species for the first time? I get a HUGE buzz out of raising home-bred fish, watching them mature, and then breeding the next generation from them.

Today I stood in the fishroom in front of the tank containing the youngsters from my first Lichno brood. They are now 22 months of age. To my surprise and delight, I stood and watched a pair spawning for the very first time. The little male looks gorgeous in his newly acquired colours. The little female is plump and a picture of health. In the tank I spied another couple of girls which look ready to spawn as well. My heart sang.
 

Yep – as I said to this guy on Facebook earlier today, if this was all easy, and you never had those bad days, then days like today wouldn’t feel half as sweet.

It was hard to choose, but decided on getting exochochromis

Also considering Stigmatochromis woodi
Anyone have/kept these before?
Not many articles/photos available

Good choice with the exos.  You will love them!  Amazing fish to watch.  They are true strike predators.  They slowly approach their "prey" and when they get within a certain distance, they strike. They are lightning quick!  Hilariously funny to watch the seriousness with which they undertake that ambush of a bit of flake food drifting in the tank.  One hap species where I think the females are at least as, if not more attractive, than the males.  That deep yellow with the black dots on that torpedo shaped body . . . . what more can I say.  I guess its obvious they are one of my real favourites

I've just got hold of some woodii myself.  I'm guessing mine are from the same batch as the ones being offered by Aquotix.  I've only had them a few weeks, so far too early to really have them pegged yet, but they are certainly worming their way into my heart.  Ugly as sin as juvis, but character plus little guys who seriously love their tucker.  Their begging puts Labradors to shame.  

Another of the haps on that list to seriously consider is the Taeniolethrinops.  They need a big tank as they grow to be big fish, but they are docile, gentle giants.  I have a young colony that have only recently started breeding.  Another of those fish for which photos just don't do justice.  The male when spawning is absolutely breathtaking!!!!  He extends his huge dorsal fin and uses it like a flag.  The display is outstanding!!!!  I'm soooooooo looking forward to seeing my guys full grown!


 

The lawsii are absolutely outstanding fish!  I'd never been interested in them, having only seen them in photos.  But to see them in the flesh . . . . they are breathtaking!!!  Photos just don't do those fish justice!!  They mature quickly, and are good solid breeders.  I would certainly have them myself if I had any tank space.  I reckon they have a real place in the hobby. 

With kaskazini, I've started with groups of 10 fish and then weeded out excess males.  My older group is one male, six females, and the younger group is one male, four females (I think).  The older group is in a 4x2x2 tank with a group of Cheilochromis euchilus.  I suggest you'd only likely to be able to keep more than one male if your tank was large with lots of structure.

That's the ploy I usually use when taking on a new Malawi species.  When I can, I buy between 10 - 15 unsexed juvis, and then move on excess males as they mature.  Generally there is a good market for larger, definite males for all-male display tanks, and their sale can help to subsidise the cost of the fish you keep.

 

Interesting - and why its great to swap experiences.  I can think of a huge string of mbuna I'd rate as more aggressive than kassies, with auratus at the head of that list!   Now that's a species I think has no place in the hobby!! 

I'd agree on the kiwinge, but probably from a different perspective.  I've kept them before, and absolutely fell for them.  They are the species that took me to Malawi as I was keen to see them in the lake.  They are one of the really enduring memories of diving there, but having seen those big, majestic fish over their bowers, and seen the amount of space they occupy, I can't ever see myself wanting to keep them again in the sort of aquariums that I'll ever be able to provide!!! 

Sorry for hijacking the thread, Aquotix!!  Some absolute ripper fish on the list, some of which have rarely been available in the hobby in Australia in the last decade.

Come on, who's got some b***s and tries to breed Melanochromis Kaskazini???
Nastiest animal ever, left me bleeding few years ago after a bite
 

 
Interesting to read your comments on kaskazini, Mattia. I've got a couple of breeding groups from two quite different sources.  The older guys I've had breeding for a couple of years now.  I've found them to be utterly captivating fish, and I haven't had any aggression issues.  For a mbuna, I've found them to be very laid back.  They intrigue me because their behaviours seem to be much more hap-like than mbuna-like, which is probably why they appeal to a hap-addict like me!!!

 

A guy in Victoria bred buttikoferi and had them advertised on Gumtree and local Facebook pages a few months back.  They are the only ones I've heard of being bred in recent times. 

If you are game to ship from the east coast, Andrew at Labyrinth in Sydney is worth a try for less common cichlid species.  Shipping can be a killer for just a handful of fish, but possibly worth considering doing a group buy with mates.

I agree - they do nothing at all for me!  But one saving grace, at least this doesn't impact their health.  I find fish like balloon mollies, parrot fish, etc abhorrent.  Why deliberately breed fish ( . . . . or dogs . . . . or cats) with defects which affect their ability to live a decent life?

If the milk crates are the 36cm cubes, then looks like a 3 footer

I can’t say whether or not it’s the glutaraldehyde that’s caused your problems, but this, along with many of the other additives we use in our tanks, are toxic and corrosive chemicals which really need to be respected and used with care.  I think we all tend to get into this false sense of security – the stuff is safe for our fish, therefore it must be OK for us. 

An interesting article was brought to my attention the other day, which not only questions the benefits of using glutaraldehyde to promote plant growth, but also highlights the seriousness that we should be placing on using what is a potentially harmful product. 
 

https://www.jbl.de/e...the-reliability

I’ve taken a look at a number of the glut products which are readily available in Australia and sold for use in our hobby for both promoting plant growth and removing BBA.  The ones I’ve looked at range in concentration from 2% to 4% glutaraldehyde.  In my opinion, several have grossly inadequate warnings regarding their safety.  Packing of some possibly don’t meet the Australian safety requirements either (ie child proof caps on bottles etc).
 

Always worth doing some research into anything you are using in your tanks, not only so you aren’t wasting your hard-earned money, but also so you can understand any potential safety implications.  A good starting point is getting hold of the Material Safety Data Sheets for products you use regularly.  Some are available on the internet (ie all of the Seachem products), or whoever you buy the products from SHOULD have MSDS available for everything they sell. It’s a legal requirement for this information to be available for any of these kinds of products sold in Australia.

I’ve looked at the recipe for DIY liquid fry food in the article in the link below on several occasions over the years, but I’ve always been scared off at the prospect of trying to hunt down the apparently obscure ingredients. Not sure what made me look at it again earlier in the week, but this time I decided I’d see if the required components were accessible in small enough quantities to make it worthwhile giving it a go.
 

I was actually surprised how simple it was to find the ingredients. The powdered egg and the chick-pea flour were on the shelf at my local Coles. Has anybody seen it in the latest Coles catalogue? The yeast (often called Seasoning Yeast in Australia rather than Nutritional Yeast) was available at the local health food shop. I already had the oil at home from a previous occasion where we used it for medicating fish food.
 

It was easy to mix up according to the instructions, and the small fry seemed to think it was pretty darn good. It may take a bit of playing around to work out how much to feed without clouding the water (I went overboard on one tank – whoops  ).
 

For the time being, I’ll probably only be using it for one feed a day. The fry here get a range of stuff at different feeds and depending on size of the fry - freshly hatched baby brine shrimp, crushed flake, NLS fry starter and NLS Grow. I’ll trial it for a bit and let you know if I think the DIY liquid food has a place in the repertoire going forward.

http://www.cichlid-f...es/fry_food.php
 

Anyone else used it?  What does everyone else feed their young fry?

 

I had a bit of a thought bubble today, and thought it might be worth sharing.

For a long time, when people asked me for recommendations on tests kits, I advised the purchase of a brand of readily available, reasonably priced kit. 
 

It’s only in more recent times, having personally experienced some disturbing results from these kits, that I started to question the accuracy of these products.  A little more digging, and I’m finding more and more retailers who no longer stock these kits because of similar concerns.  And then we see a recurring story on Facebook pages, with hobbyists chasing their tails over tank “problems”, only to find there was no issue once they test their water with an alternative brand of kit.
 

I know some retailers swear by this brand, but I wonder if these issues are masked because their usage is quite different from that of a general hobbyist.  Perhaps the throughput of newly opened bottles in shops used for customer water testing isn’t representative of the same product sitting on a hobbyist’s shelf for an extended period of time and only being used occasionally.  Remember, these products are produced for, and sold to, hobbyists and need to be fit for that purpose.  There is no point in a kit which doesn’t give accurate results!

Thinking about it today, while bored to death pulling a mountain of weeds, I remembered an article I read on the internet some time ago, about a group of reefers testing their kits at a meeting.  Here’s a link to the article.
 

http://www.advanceda...012/6/chemistry
 

I’m wondering if this might be an interesting exercise to conduct at a Society meeting.  Members bring along any kits they have, current or expired.  The data is collected on each kit, and each is used to test a couple of previously prepared water samples, using exactly the procedure you would use when testing at home.  Even swapping kits to get results from multiple users is likely to prove interesting. 
 

It could be a great way to get an idea not only about accuracy of kits, but also about how their use can impact the results they produce.  Would be great to see the results published on the forum as a resource for others!!