Malawi Tank

[Malawi MaD]

Looks like you have a Aulonocara baenschi in your sig Riogal (top right corner)

 

[minnnt]

Ok, so Saulosi it is then. Would i be better off keeping a species only tank then? How many Petricola could i keep in there aswell?

Are the Saulosi an active species?

I believe my LFS has them in along with the 'Coral Reef' variety... Which would be the better choice? And i think they're all young so all the same colour so it maybe a case of buy 'X' amount then rehome any excess males?

Thanks for all your help, can't wait to get it all going now!

 

[Malawi MaD]

Ok, so Saulosi it is then. Would i be better off keeping a species only tank then? How many Petricola could i keep in there aswell?

Are the Saulosi an active species?

I believe my LFS has them in along with the 'Coral Reef' variety... Which would be the better choice? And i think they're all young so all the same colour so it maybe a case of buy 'X' amount then rehome any excess males?

Thanks for all your help, can't wait to get it all going now!

If you want to do a species tank yes that will look great or if you wanted to add another species you could. You have got a 4ft 240L to play with so the tank is shall we say lenient/forgiving. Try the saulosi first and then at a later date if you want another species have a look about and see what you like .. Could have 6 to 8 Petricola in there no problem. Yeah saulosi a very active species, very inquisitive species and the males will always be upto something.

The red corals as far as i know are a home/line bred species that originated from Germany, the juvi's usually show a beautifully deep orangey/yellow colour. If you can id go for either the coral's or the normal saulosi, but if they are mixed together and look pretty identical id guess they would be from the same batch, so id just choose the nicest ones in the tank. Where you planning on getting them from mate (if you dont mind me asking) Yeah thin out excess males later on just make sure you keep plenty of females for the X amount of males you keep.

 

[minnnt]

Wharf Aquatics mate. I had a similar thread going before but for my 3ft that i think you were involved in. The 4ft is around 260-270 litres.

I would imagine that the corals and normals would be in different tanks.

 

[Malawi MaD]

I have been to wharf before, got my very first fish from there. You see the big guy in my sig got him from them. Ohh 260-270L that's even better then. Well if they are in different tanks, then its your choice, me personally id go for the normal saulosi.

Yeah i remember your thread, didn't know if you set the tank up or not lol.

 

[minnnt]

No I didn't set it up, but am doing the 4ft this time. Just the ellioti to go now which should be soon. The harlequins and red eye tetras have gone.

 

[Tizer]

Multipunctatus might be a better option, a little more agressive and a lot cheaper, Petricola pretty pricey, but thats what you pay to ensure they are not cross bred mongs. I need to buy 4 more myself, gonna be £50 for live bait sized ones |:

 

[minnnt]

Lol. Will have to wait and see what I find.

 

[Tizer]

oooh cybers

 

[riogal_11]

Looks like you have a Aulonocara baenschi in your sig Riogal (top right corner)

Uh oh! I wondered why he looked different than the others, but I just thought he was a hybrid of some sort. He gets along well though and he's my favorite in the tank! Do you think he will be okay? I also noticed that he was slower moving and more docile, but I figured it was just his individual personality... oops!

Sorry for the thread hijack.

 

[minnnt]

No problem, always good to learn behaviour patterns of potential fish!

But now I have this totally inapropriate thought of frontosa's. I know my tank is not big enough for them, but I just keep thinking of them. Not good! Haha.

 

[Gidge]

270 L is around 71G. You could probably keep 2 in there, with maybe some Lelupi's? Or maybe 3 fronts by themselves.

 

[Gidge]

Especially if your tank has a good length on it. They're very slow growing, and don't move around all that much. They dont expel much energy, even when it comes to feeding. Mine usually waits for the food to float right past him. I've seen a lot of Fronts kept with Lelupis and the blue in contrast with the bright yellow looks great!

They're also quite shy, so if you decide to go with them, make sure you provide some caves and shelter for them, other wise they will feel very insecure.

 

[Lufbramatt]

Multipunctatus might be a better option, a little more agressive and a lot cheaper, Petricola pretty pricey, but thats what you pay to ensure they are not cross bred mongs. I need to buy 4 more myself, gonna be £50 for live bait sized ones |:

Almost all the petricola you see in UK LFS are actually Syno. Lucipinnis, virtually identical in looks and behaviour but have fewer, slightly bigger spots on the body and the max size is slightly smaller (they grow to about 3.5-4"). Still a stunning little catfish and very playful and active. I've seen genuine wild Petricolas once ever in a LFS and they were £35 each, and do best in groups of 3-4+ , Lucipinnis are normally around £15 each for an adult and are just as nice a fish.

 

[minnnt]

£15? Tizers were cheaper than that...

Quite liking the frontosa and lelupi combination now!!

Tank is 4ft. Would they be ok in a 5ft for good eventually? May go with 3 or 4 frontosa and 8 lelupi?