Thinking about adding Brichardi Fairy Cichlid to my fishroom.

[ponderingky]

Hey all,

I will have an empty 55 soon and am thinking about putting a breeding group of Brichardi Fairy Cichlids in it. I have seen a few pics of them and they are really a beautiful fish. For those who keep them - what are the pros and cons and are you happy with them? Where is the best place to buy them? What are the more colorful strains? Any other general information would be appreciated.

Thanks so much,

 

[fshfanatic]

I have kept and bread Neo. Brichardi. They are cool. The young help raise the future fry. It is really cool. A 55 would make for a nice species tank.

I kept mine in a 90 with a ton to stacked river rocks..

 

[Lab_Rat]

Brichardi type species are really cool fish, but they get very aggressive when spawning. I'd keep it at a species only tank, or maybe do some shellies with a ton of shells.

Some species I like are:
Neolamprologus helianthus


Neolamprologus marunguensis:


Neolamprologus pulcher:


Those pics are all from www.davesfish.com and he's got them all listed as in stock. He's local to me and has great fish. Of those above, I've only kept the pulcher, but they were very pretty, very nice fish.

 

[Pearl]

I have a marunguensis colony in a 45 long. My advice is to include a predator species such as a cuckoo cat (synodontis multipunctatus) to control the brichardi population. Good luck!

 

[ponderingky]

Hey all,

Thanks for the info, pics and the link. I have contacted Dave's to see what he would recommend. Wow he has a lot of different offerings!

Thanks again,

 

[jpappy789]

Personally, would keep it a species only tank when it comes to this "complex" of fish

 

[Jerzboi]

I have kept Neo. Brichardi in my 55 gall as well, prob be better if they were alone as jpap's said
I kept mine with a couple small Yellow Labs and they were fine and even bred for me a couple times
If you want to see them breed and have young, i would do species only. My Brichardi were pretty social, loved to follow me when i was in the room

I hope you get a nice pair, keep us updated

oh, idk what substrate you are planning on, but they loved the "play sand" i got in my tank

 

[ponderingky]

Hey all,

Thanks abain for the input - I am going to go with species only, just have to decide on which one. Dave said that the daffodil and the helianthus are pretty popular - either would be a good choice (said that the heli is a little smaller and a little more aggressive). I am kinda liking the kapampa, but I'm partial to blue over yellow. I have pool filter sand in all my tanks but may have to add some "cichild sand" to raise my ph. Not sure on that one yet, still in the thinking phase. I went through a fish book I have and dog earred several pages of possibilities. So fun to have a clean slate to consider! Well - I have pygmy sunfish (2 kinds) and florida flagfish coming tomorrow so need to get the tanks ready for them. I'll keep you posted on the "final" decision - will be pretty soon.

Thanks again,

 

[Lab_Rat]

Good luck with it! Dave really knows his stuff, he's great.

 

[ponderingky]

Well - I have a dozen daffodils coming next week! Can't wait - I just finished doing some tank shuffling and have their 55 up and running. This is going to be so different from my other fish - the tank actually looks like a real tank, not a breeder tank. I have rocks stacked with breeder caves scattered and cichlid sand - so cool. It is REALLY cloudy right now, once it settles I will post a pic - these will be some fun fish!

I'm so excited!! How geeky is that??