Lake Victoria Basin, West African, Madagascar & Asian Species • T. Bythobates

[Timon]

Hi,

I recently was given 4 T. Bythobates juvies. I was wondering if somebody had some info about them (I have a hard time finding some).
What is the best food, the requirements in terms of tank and setud and also tank-mates?

Thanks in advance!!

tim

[Timon]

anybody????

[Catfish Dan]

Hey Timon- I recently picked up a bonded pair, possibly from the same source (as we're just a few hours away and they're pretty uncommon). We set up our pair in a 40 breeder, small gravel, lots of hiding spots. They've colored up beautifully. The male, who is about 2", is constantly digging pits. Both fish come up to greet you when approached. I've read they're rather shy and appreciate dither fish. Also, the breeder told me that when spawning the male can get pretty rough with the female.

We've been feeding flake and NLS pellets. Both have ravenous appetites.

I'd love to see a pic!

[Timon]

Catfish Dan,

Thanks a lot for your answer, I was getting hopeless. I'm still a pretty inexperienced hobbyist especially with west africans.
I don't know where my fish are from since they were given to me for my b-day (awesome gift!!), all I know is that they were purchased in an auction in St Louis on Apr 15th.
Right now the 4 fish (juvies, the biggest is 1-1/4" and is starting to color up) are in a 20l with some tangs (3 julies and 3 multies). I have a 40L with some Mbunas in right now but I'm getting a 75 for them and i will use the 40L for my T. Bythobates.
How is your tank setup? Do you have plants and what kind since I read they are good at eating them...? any driftwood or stones? what kind of filtration do you have? i will have a penguin 350 but i was wondering if i would need a circulation pump as well?
What other fish do you keep with them? I really like kribs so i was thinking of putting a pair of kribs with my 4 Bythos as well as some congo tetras to have an west african "biotope"

I will post pix of them this evening when I get home i can't promise they will be good but i'll do my best!!
Could you post pix as well??

Sorry for the ton of questions (there are not much info on them out there..)

Thanks a lot
tim

[Catfish Dan]

Tim- I got mine from the same auction so they are indeed bretheren Great birthday present indeed! The breeder had a good info page along with the fish saying he had kept them with many other kinds of fish, including haps/peacocks and mbunas. I can't speak from experience, as I've had mine as long as you, but he claimed they were relatively peaceful and easygoing except when breeding. He mentioned another hobbyist purchased a mated pair and put them in a 20L and that the female was dead within a week. That's why we opted for a 40 breeder instead, at least for the time being. They are alone in there now. We were going to add them to our S. causarius tank but the breeder showed concern about the lemon tetras in there. Hmmm...

We have a fair amount of plants (plastic, sadly), caves, and some driftwood in the tank so there are alot of hiding places. Either an emperor 250 or 400, I can't recall at the moment, plus a sponge filter, temp in the 78-80 range. I'll get a pic and post it for you.

For sure, there isn't much info on the net about these fellers. From what I've read (and seen) they are very similar to T. snyderae, at least in appearance and locale.

Another club member here also bought a pair. The three of us will have to learn together about these fish!

Cheers,

Debbie

[Catfish Dan]

Here's our tank

[img][img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7132/6990269692_236e024ec3.jpg[/img]
IMAG0784 by Weld Turtle, on Flickr[/img]

And our male

[img][img]http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/6990273542_933ee41dc2.jpg[/img]
IMAG0785-1-1 by Weld Turtle, on Flickr[/img]

When relaxed, the bottom lips on both are ultra white, as if someone painted them with white-out. Very cool.

I myself am not sure if they are Tilapia bythobates or T. snyderae. On many forums this seems to be the predominant question. I've read T. bythobates gets larger. I guess time will tell.

As for tankmates, I'm not familiar with other W. Africans, we only have the steatocranus. Hopefully someone else with more experience will chime in.

[Timon]

Debbie,

I got the same piece of paper

I had to put them in my 20l because they are definitely to small to be in the tank with my Mbunas. i will try to set up the 75g as soon as I can so I can move them to the 40l so i hopefully can avoid the problem of having casualties...

When I did some research online I became also concerned about their real identities... like you said hopefully time will help!!

you're guys is really really nice looking. my male is for sure smaller and he just started to get the black on his ventral side and the bottom lip is just starting to get white(i can't wait)!! how does your female look?

i feed them with omega cichlids flakes and they seem to do well. what is NLS?

I will post pix of my guys tonight!!

It great to share that experience with other fish keepers!! who knows maybe we'll write a profile page for these guys in a few month and share our knowledge!!!

Cheers,
tim

[Catfish Dan]

At that size, I'm sure they'll be fine in your 20L. Just give them some hiding places in case they need some "time apart"

The female looks identical to the male, only smaller. We had a fright when we were setting up their tank- they were dripping in a 5 gallon bucket, which was half full. While we were outside hosing out the 40b the female jumped ship! We came in and found her poor little self all parched on a towel. She was immediately scooped up and returned to the bucket, then to the tank. For 2 days she just kinda layed on the bottom, looking hopeless, but by Tuesday afternoon she was up and about, swimming happily. She appears to have made a full recovery. Lesson- these kids can leap! Cover your tank!!

NLS = New Life Spectrum, a commonly fed (and good) cichlid pellet. It comes in sizes ranging from 0.5mm - 3 mm (I think).

It great to share that experience with other fish keepers!! who knows maybe we'll write a profile page for these guys in a few month and share our knowledge!!!

Love it!!!

[Timon]

oh boy, that looked like it was a close one!!!

thanks for the tip with the food.
Here is a fresh picture of my colored up guy
[img]http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w368/timotheep/IMAG0294.jpg

hopefully the link worked!!

tim[/img]

[Catfish Dan]

Here you go! He's beautiful!!

[Timon]

thanks a lot

how did you embed the pix in the post??

tim

[Catfish Dan]

You just had the [\img] in the wrong place. I copied and pasted : )

[Timon]

here is the new tank for my Bythos



the pix are not that great (taken with my phone)!! i might add some more plants, mainly anubias and some tetras probably a school of rummy nose or cardinals although i never had luck with them...
what do you guys think?