Neolamprologus Tretocephalus a.k.a "the Five Bar Cichlid".

#1
Ok guys I have Decieded that I need to wait on my frontosa tank. I guess I can go with the Neolamprologus Tretocephalus a.k.a "the Five Bar Cichlid". I would love to have these. I have 2 Mbuna in the 55 gallon as of now. How many Five Bar Cichlids coul I keep? I would also love some information on these gorgeous fish.
 

Orion

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Feb 10, 2003
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#3
"Poor Man's Fronts"! Can't go wrong there. lol

Never kept them, but they do have a rep of being quite nasty to others. Depending on what type of Mbuna you currently have, you may be able to get away with adding some.

I would say that in the end you would be lucky to keep more than one pair in the same tank. Start off with several juveniles, and let them pair off. With a good amount of rockwork on either side of the tank and a more open area in the middle, you may be able to get away with two pair. I can't say for sure as I've never kept them. But with two pair I don't think that your mbuna would fair very well.

You can do a nice Tanganyikan community in a 55. Have you thought about any other species that play nicer with others?
 

FroggyFox

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May 16, 2003
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#5
Trets are nasty....but gorgeous little fish I've had both the blue and the gold. I was sold two of them (not knowing what they were) and one killed the other, I replaced it and then they both ended up dying a couple months later the same day...and I attribute it to them killing each other because the rest of the fish in the tank were fine. I'd do some serious research on them deciding how many to get. Like Orion said...I dont know that they'd mix with the mbuna...and there are so many other wonderful lake tanganyikan species that would "play nice" in a good size tank like a 55.