50g lamprologus meleagris/stappersi tank

[jamntoast]

So I went out and scooped up a group of 8 of these little fish. They are really small right now, bout .5", but man these fish are great. I can't wait till they grow to their full size and get a bit more colour on them. So much personality in them though. It will be interesting to see how their behavior changes as they settle in. I was expecting them to stay closer to their shells and the territory they chose but so far they have really been all over the place. A couple have chose their spots but they have also been going over to their neighbors to see what their place is like and spending a lot of time in and around the rock work. Either way I'm super happy with them, I think I have at least a couple females but really can't tell yet. I'm still trying to see how the dynamic is with the group, figuring out where the shells should be and how many I need. Here are a couple pics of the setup and the fish.

here is the tank while the fish were still acclimating in the bag. I've moved the shells a bit but not too much

 

[jamntoast]

Here is how the tank is arranged currently, does anyone have any pointers on how the shells should be laid out?

 

[Milingu]

The layout of the shells is ok.
In the end the fish will choose their house and may even dig the unused ones in the sand.

Nice tank and nice fish by the way.

 

[jamntoast]

thanks, i had read online that they might claim more territory if the shells were too close together. but maybe they just like to bicker.
the fish are nice except for one who looks like he (i'm pretty confident its a male) got a bite out of his back prob as a fry or a small juvi, he is missing the entire middle of his dorsal right down to the flesh. its not growing back. i saw him in the tank when i was at the lfs and i didnt think i'd gotten him in the bag until i got home. w/e though, if i dont keep him no one else will and he has spunk. i just hope he still appeals to the ladies.

 

[jamntoast]

can i add more later or will they get killed by the current residents? i'm worried that i will have too many males in this group, although it is early to tell i'm sure

 

[Milingu]

thanks, i had read online that they might claim more territory if the shells were too close together. but maybe they just like to bicker.

The easiest way to cope with their aggression is to opticaly devide the possible territories bei some rocks. I see 3 maybe 4 possible territories in your layout.

I woul not add more individuals. Although the fry grows not very fast it wont take long to fill the tank once a pair starts breeding

the fish are nice except for one who looks like he (i'm pretty confident its a male) got a bite out of his back prob as a fry or a small juvi, he is missing the entire middle of his dorsal right down to the flesh. its not growing back. i saw him in the tank when i was at the lfs and i didnt think i'd gotten him in the bag until i got home. w/e though, if i dont keep him no one else will and he has spunk. i just hope he still appeals to the ladies.

I have a crippled Paracyprichromis nigripinnis male. He seems to live a happy life but never managed to attract some of the females. That is ok because i dont know if he was cripled from birth or not. So he can not pass it to the next generation.

 

[jamntoast]

I have a crippled Paracyprichromis nigripinnis male. He seems to live a happy life but never managed to attract some of the females. That is ok because i dont know if he was cripled from birth or not. So he can not pass it to the next generation.

yea this one i'm sure was after birth, so not genetic. this little guy is one of my most aggressive/dominant. hes taken over the middle territory all to himself.

as for the territories, that's what i see too (about 4 territories). there is the one on the right side, the middle, then on the left it seems to be broken up a bit with the shell right by the rocks are a territory for now and it seems like the shells in the front and the back on the far left are a territory. i was only thinking of getting more just in case i ended up with 7 males and 1 female or something, but it will be fine if i'm patient i suppose

 

[jamntoast]

So it's been about a week since I picked up these fish, so far so good. No deaths or anything. the way some people report their experiences with this species, I was sure to see some casualties but it's all been fairly chill, a bit of chasing. I've messed around to try to maximize available real estate and I'm fairly happy with how it's going. Out of the eight, four have claimed territories. I tried to put a shell behind the rock pile away from the other territories and one guy claimed that and the entire left side. he would float back and forth chasing the others away. The ones who have territories are my bigger, aggressive and darker/more colourful fish. I'm assuming these are all male.There is one group of shells that seems to be held by one of the smaller paler fish, will the females try to claim territory as well or is this likely a weaker male? Im pretty sure there is at least one female in the group because there is one smaller fish that seems to be more tolerated than the others, was even hanging out by my most dominant fishes shells. Either way, like I said some of them are starting to colour up and get darker now that they are settling in. They are starting to dig and rearrange the smaller things in the tank. One was trying to move a shell after I repositioned it which was great to watch for me but a lost cause for the fish. Any advice on sexing or at what size I can expect them to begin spawning?

 

[jamntoast]

Added some julidochromis sp gombe to this tank
Here's a video of how it's going

I guess the plan is to get a pair from the Julie's and get rid of the rest or move them out either way. I love the way the two species interact, when I had the Julie's separate I was thinking they are kind of boring but this tanks is pretty lively now. Really pleased so far.

 

[stempy]

Great tank and fish. Those shellies are loads of fun to watch