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Neolamprologus Brichardi tank

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  gliding_serpent 
#1 ·
Hi , I have a tank with 5 juvenile brichardi

I never had in the past cichlids and really Ι'm happy to see their behaviors now
My tank is 28 gallon , 100cm long
I also have 10 zebra snails and 2 valisneria spiralis

I want to ask If I could even place one or two synodontis without problems !

thanks in advance !
 
#5 ·
Brichardi will do well with larger juli varieties (think regani or marlieri). The trick is to get a mated pair of julies that are a bit larger than the brichardi. Put them in the tank first with one large pile of rocks on each side of the tank, and no mans land in the centre. Make sure ideal caves are placed on opposite sides of the tank, not near no mans land.

I did this in a 20 gallon long...

Put the julies in first. If they are young, put 5 or so in, and let them sort themselves out until you are left with one mated pair. Remove the rest that are chased away. If they are older and paired, put them in, but accept that they may divorce... Be ready to split them up. So long as the female is not being pounded in a top corner of the tank, and has lots of hiding places, i find they will eventually make up.

Make sure your julies are a little larger than the brichardi. They need to be a bit larger to compensate for lower aggression. Too big and they will bully the brichardi. Still, air on the side of larger julies.

Place a divider in the centre of the tank. Julies on the side they chose. Place your brichardi on the other half of the tank. Let the brichardi sort out their colony (a few males may need to be removed form the tank... Juveniles will start doing this surprisingly quick. Get it down to one pair.

If caves are chosen that are too close to the divider, destroy them. You want chosen caves to be on the tank ends.

Remove the divider. Some fighting may occur, but since territories are established and pairs are formed, two will usually defend against one, and a truce will form.

If this method fails, return the divider, remove the dominant side, wait until the other pair breeds, then replace the previously dominant pair, and again remove the divider. Fry will make the pair cooperate more, stay closer to their own territory, and better defend.

If this method fails, return the divider, and let both sides breed, and then remove it again. Don't let one side get too far ahead with the breeding.

Rock and territory is key here, as is fish sizing, and your patience and chaperoning as a fish keeper until a balance is found. You cant drop 4 fish in a tank and expect success (unless your tank is big).

I set a pair or regani and a pair of brichardi in a 20 long this way with no big issues (the biggest was the regani fighting if i changed the rocks on them, which i had to do once as they made a cave too close to no mans land). Everyone bred and it was a very peaceful tank.

As the fry started to get larger i moved the entire setup to a 40gal long (4 ft), which was much easier, and more impressive as each colony increased in size. The trick is to remove fish rejected from each colony, and thin out the population to maintain reasonable numbers and not let one side get the upper hand.

Both were some of my favourite and most productive tanks for breeding. Doing this in a 20 long is not for beginners
 
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