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FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#1
May 16, 2003
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#1
Hey guys...I have a couple of specific cichlids that I'm wondering about.

I'm tossing around the idea of making my new 29 into a cichlid tank, since I have all other community tanks. These are a few I ran across at my local cichlid store...and then was talking with a friend and browsing on cichlid-forum and ran across some others that I was curious about. Please pass judgement and tell me to get or not get them. I'd rather hear if you have them or have stories about them what they're like in your opinion/experience, what type of setup they work best in. If you know about more than one of them (I *Think* they're all Tanganyikan...isn't that a couple of you's specialties? cough cough Taffy :D) and whether any would or wouldn't be compatible with another.

#1 Neolamprologus cylindricus - cute little guys...anyone have any of these?? The owner of this cichlid store said that she thought they'd be a great addition to a tank. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_cylindricus.php

#2 Altolamprologus compressiceps - Awesome little fish...from what I read they're a mite aggressive, but generally keep to themselves. That little horse face is totally cool. Does anyone have any of these?? http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/a_compressiceps.php

#3 Neolamprologus leleupi - cute...does anyone ever see these in local stores? I am wondering how common the bright colors are in these?? http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_leleupi.php

#4 Cyprichromis leptosoma - THIS fish looks awesome to have...and the article seems to mention that they're common, but I know I've never seen them. Have any of you seen them?? http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/c_leptosoma.php
 

C

Cichlid-Man

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Jul 9, 2003
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#1 - Cool little fish. Close related to the leleupi. Shouldn't keep them with the leleupi because of the aggression and inbreeding issue.

#2 - for a 29gal.....go for Calvus. pretty much just like compressiceps but stays smaller. :) Pretty much same shape and habits.

#3 - I see them all the time here. You want the brightest orange you can get....no black bars or black around the mouth. I hear they can be a bit nasty...especially when in groups or breeding pairs.

#4 - I've never seen these at my LFS. But i wish i did. Good color and can be kept in groups. A good dither fish for a tang tank, also provide color ;)

But defiently check out the Calvus and leleupi or cylindricus.
 

FroggyFox

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#3
May 16, 2003
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#3
I heard that the Comp was the opposite of what you just said...about comparing them to the calvus? The respective articles on cichlid-forum say that they each get to between 4-6 inches. Do you know of anywhere else that compares them...or have had any??

My cichlid store only has two of those ones I listed...they have the comps and the cylindricus. Didn't see any Calvus...but I'll look when I go again sometime. I know I would have seen those other ones...I'll have to ask her if she could order them or if she has heard of them.

Thanks for the reply cman!
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#5
May 16, 2003
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They sure are cool little buggers. It says that the comp grows really slowly, and the lady at the store had a couple in one of her show tanks. She had one that was a baby...and one that was about 3 inches...and she said that there was 3 years worth of growth between the little one and the big one. She also showed me her tank of them...and they were even smaller than the smallest one in her show tank. We're not talking about stunted growth because they were in a HUGE tank...I bet that thing was at least 100G and there weren't too many fish in it.
 

T

TaffyFish

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Jan 30, 2003
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We have to rule out cyps straight away, you need at least 4ft for this open water beauty.

Whilst you could do a species tank of either altolamp (calvus or compressiceps) I would say the 29 is too small. Whilst they do grow slowly they do grow (my calvus went from 2" to 4" in 18 months) given the right feed and conditions. You would need 1m and 2f reliably sexed to try this but breeding altos is not for the Tang beginner, they can be very frustrating.

So you're left with either leleupi or cylindricus and C-man is correct to point out the similarity. There's a risk of hybridisation so really it's one or the other. The usual method is to get 6 juvies and let them pair off, then remove the extras. You could get away with 2 large and 2 small. for best results you'll need to keep this as a species tank. It would be possible but risky to add one compressiceps or calvus, I'd advise against it.

My leleupi spawned in an upturned flower pot which was hidden behind rockwork. They are not the greatest of parents initially and may require 2 or 3 goes to get it right. Hope that helps with the initial decision, always come back for more specific info!
 

Cichlidian

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#8
Sep 23, 2003
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I'd go wth taffy. Mixed african tanks do hv the threat of hybridization. In the wild they're seperated by natural territories & boundaries. But aquaria doesn't hv any and bring them closer.
Also they're highly territorial. One of my friend tried Johanni mbuna & Yellow hap in a 29 gal tank but the Yellow haps were ruled out. But now he's running the tank wth absolutely no prob with 6 johannis.
I think going for a species tank would be a better idea.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#9
May 16, 2003
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#9
Like I said at the beginning of the post, the cyps are VERY cool...was just curious if anyone has ever seen them in a store or available anywhere. They're gorgeous! I realize they need open water and are a schooling fish, so they wouldn't fit in my tank...but just the same...wanted to hear about them if anyone has any info.

I think I'll start a new thread about what to put in my 29...because as I said...this isn't really about stocking my tank...I just wanted to hear about these 4 fish.
 

T

TaffyFish

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Jan 30, 2003
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OK, well I have cyprichromis leptosoma "Kekese" and they are a fabulous fish. I started with 2 males and 4 females, wild caughts, and lost 1 male almost immediately because it jumped the tank. It couldn't handle the territorial demands of the alpha male and squeezed out of a gap you couldn't get a little finger in. A few weeks later I lost the first female to be holding through the same gap, lightning did strike twice and it was devastating to find 5 fry still in her buccal cavity. This was about 18 months ago and I have since lost 2 more of the original 6 through internal parasites, one female never did put any weight on and the alpha male bloated up. I now have 9 cyps as fry have grown on, 3 fry less than one week old in the fry trap, 2 females holding eggs.

I have witnessed the mid water spawning act several times, happily they seem to prefer the Summer evenings even though the males are up for spawning at any time.

I have kept leleupi and calvus rather than cylindricus and compressiceps, I could go on for another hour or two on those species.....
 

FroggyFox

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#11
May 16, 2003
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#11
how cool :) Orion showed me that profile about the cyps and both of us were like in awe of their colors. I bet its hard for them to adjust (the live caught ones) to living in a tank...has it been easier for you to keep those fry then I assume...because they're tank born?

Do you know the differences between the comps and the calvus? I'm getting conflicting stories (as Cman and I discussed up there) about their sizes and tempraments. The gal who owns this cichlid store pointed her's out and just totally raved about the comps. Could have been a cleverly disguised ploy to get me to buy a tankful...but it didn't come across like that. Maybe SHEs confused too?

I will go up to her store and look some more...and see if I can find the leleupi anywhere...they seem to be brighter which my roommate would vote for the brighter colors in the tank.
 

T

TaffyFish

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Jan 30, 2003
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Behaviourally there's little between them, altos are essentially pair forming cave spawners, they don't form colonies and the males in particular are very aggressive towards one another.
females reach 8cm, males 12cm, the young are difficult to rear and very slow growing - 3 years to reach sexual maturity.

I have 2 black Congo males and the only reason they tolerate each other is I believe because they are siblings. Their markings are identical even though one, the dominant male, is larger and darker.

Physically the main differences, along with what c-man points out is that the comp has a taller body and is more compressed ans has more scales on the head region. Calvus is Latin for bald, hence a scaleless head.

God only made so many perfect heads, the rest he covered with hair! Calvus are the coolest fish.

C-man - do you happen to know if comps use the same body-curving defence as calvus, you know where they present their tough scales for the aggressor to bite on?
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#15
May 16, 2003
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#15
I talks about that on the comp article off of cichlid-forum that I linked up there...sounds pretty neat :) "... when attacked, they will bend their bodies so as to expose their scales to an enemy, which will easily fray the lips of an enemy when bitten. "
 

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