17 replies to this topic

[geemaril]

i was wondering if its possible to put 50 ocellatus gold in a 6x2x2 species only tank with plenty of shells to go round. the ratio of males to females would probably be best at about 1:4, so i would get 10 males and 40 females.
what does everyone think this tank will look like when complete and will the stress levels amongst the males be too high for the females to handle or will things run pretty smoothly
cheers in advance
L

[oo fish styx oo]

I have about 12 in a smaller tank, but it is a community tank and they are only just coming up to breeding size. I was planning on taking any pairs out, they are pretty aggressive.

Not sure how they'd go in the setup you described, but if you were going to try it, you would probably need to put some rockwork in as well to hide them from each other's line of vision, or I think there would be a bit of aggro in there.

My occellatus have always bred in pairs, so I don't know about the 1:4 ratio, maybe others have had different experience?

Good luck

Colleen

[wysiwyg]

Hi,
I also have most of my occies in pairs in smaller tanks, but I also have 2 blue males with 4 blue females in a 3'. They have sorted themselves into two subcolonies of one:two.

wys

[me]

i think it wud look sick but dunno if it wud be worth it.

Occelatus are slow growing especially when young, can get very aggresive are fetch a fair price.

i wud go for 100 multi's instead

[Lee Hodge]

It could be possible, BUT what are u going to do if the fish just decide to pair up? then u will have like 30females without a mate, I personally dont see the point in buying 50 occies (i doubt u will be able to get 40 females anyway).
why dont u just try to get a small colony going? say 8?
anyway, good luck

lee

[Bristle nose catfish]

why would geemaril get multis when he can afford ocellatus gold. multis are worth $11.00 at 3-4cm whereas ocies are woth $27.50 at 2-4cm.
From what ive seen of breeders on the internet and locally the majority of them seem to get their occies to produce maximum amounts of fry by keeping an overwhelming amount of females to each male. When one female has a brood in a pair situation the male is forced into the quiet corner for the duration of the females brood tending time and therefore the production of eggs grinds to a halt until the fry are released by the female,
However in a group situation, after the male has spawned with the first female he can simply start to court female number 2, then 3 and so on, this would result in a constant stream of fry being produced by the breeding tank and therefore a much more steady income

Good plan gee and i hope it works out

Blake

[Lee Hodge]

YER... but not all fish colonise, i know ppl who tried to get there occies to become a colony, but a single pair was formed. So it really depends on the fish...
And i think what blake was trying to say was that, if geemaril wanted a large colony fish he would be much better off getting multies... because occies rarley breed in colonies.

lee

[me]

yerp well worded lee
i back lee up 100% on what he has said.

If they do only pair up what do u do with the uther fish who will be alone?

i am sure there are much better things to do with a 6 x 2 x 2 but i guess it is how much money u got and ur personal preferance.....

[Bristle nose catfish]

i am sure there are much better things to do with a 6 x 2 x 2 but i guess it is how much money u got and ur personal preferance.....

Like what a ZAIRE BLUE FRONTS COLONY

B.

[mtchye]

I would have to agree with these guys. In my experience, ocellatus don't form a true colony as such. Instead the male sort of just pairs up with whatever females is available, and the females instead of cooperating just tend to fight for their own territories. Multifasciatus are a much more natural colony fish. That many ocellatus would become a nightmare IMO once they all start pairing up and breeding, they need a fair sized footprint around their shell to breed successfully and will be clearing that space quite aggressively!

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[geemaril]

ok ive changed my mine once again(surprise surprise)
how does this sound

10x ocellatus gold
16x Cyprichromis leptosoma 'utinta' (8males,8females)

ill eventually be getting more utinta but this should do as a start.
now, who likes the list and does anyone know of any improvements or extra tankmates that would still allow both these species to breed and produce fry?

[mtchye]

Hi that sounds like a decent idea.. But you might find it more interesting if you had a few more different species in there rather than just a large number of two species.

The occelatus i reckon you'd want to start with about 6 of them. This way you can be sure of getting at least a pair, and they won't roam around taking up the whole tank. What might happen with 10 of them is that a few might pair up and take up heaps of floorspace, and the rest will just fragment and take up even more floorspace... lol

You can try a colony of another shellie in there eg multifasciatus, brevis, calliurus, etc.. You could also keep an area of sand open and try sand sifters like enantiopus, featherfins (Opthalmotilapia and Cyatopharynx), etc.. Build up a corner with rocks and keep a rock dweller like Julidochromis, Chalinochromis, and Neolamprologus species.. the list is endless and we have had many species set up in our 6x2x2 raising fry with fry surviving. As long as you have a niche set up for the species you are trying they will keep out of each other's way and you will have a nice little biotope in your tank.

HTH

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[geemaril]

i havent seen too many sand sifters around perth but i spose its cause i havent been looking for em. the tank you described would look sweet in my room but i wasnt sure about the rock dwellers due to the fact that the leptos spit their fry between the rocks and if there is a julie hiding in there wont it eat the fry??? if not i would love to get a full on mix of fish.
do you rekon i could leave in the vallis and swords that are growing in there or would the fish rip them up?
thanx
Elliot

[mtchye]

I haven't kept leptos before so am not too sure whether their fry will be hunted excessively or not... You can definitely leave in the vallis and swords and the only problem you may find is that the shellies excavate the plants and uproot them.. Once your tank is established i'm sure there will be spots where you can plant the plants where they won't be uprooted. We have some swords and also some Boblbitis and Java fern on pieces of wood - they can't uproot those!

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[geemaril]

if the shellies will rip up plants ill get calvus instead which is what i wanted to add eventually anyway, which would mean id have to get rid of the shellies anyway.

[oo fish styx oo]

I wouldn't put occellatus and Leptosoma in the same tank. Just my opinion, but occellatus are aggressive little buggers when spawning, and I think they would have the leptos for breakfast. I believe that multifasciatus are much better tank mates for leptos.

Colleen

[me]

me


4 x Frontosa
12 x Juldichromis (what ever of the species i preferre)
5 Calvus
4-6 Furcifer

Providing you get them frontosa smaller, so by the time they r grown up the juldi's r too big to be eaten.

Regani would be your best bet of the Juldi's as they get quite large.

Would look awsome with some nice rocks and a few plants

[me]

Geemaril,

Really this post from the start wasnt heading anywhere because in the end it is up to YOU what you put in your aquarium.
I know, believe me i know, how hard it is to choose what fish to put in a tank that large but it is all about personal prefferance.

In my 5 x 2 x 2 i have the following fish
2 Neolamprologus Pulcher 'Daffodil Brichardi'
7 Neolamprologus Leleupi
1 Frontosa
7 Neolamprologus Cylindricus
8 Neolamprologus Multifasciatus
1 Tropheus Brichardi 'Katonga'
2 Juldichromis Dickfeldi
3 Juldichromis Regani
2 Juldichromis Marlieri
2 Neolamprologus Caudopunctuatus
1 Neolamprologus tretocephalus
3 Altolamprologus Compressiceps 'Golden Heads'
8 bristlenose plecs

Now this is what i wanted in my 5 x 2 x 2 and have since made certain desicions to remove some species and save the muney to get a couple more, to match my prefferance.
No-one really told me what fish to get, they gave me ideas and i made the choice.
So goodluck in stocking your 6 x 2 x 2!