Joined
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20 Posts
Hello everyone,
It's great to finally be registered here, I'm looking forward to sharing and talking about this great new hobby I've discovered. :fish:
So, whilst I fully appreciate stocking decisions are entirely down to personal taste it's also a good opportunity to listen to others opinions and learn from their experience.
To be clear, my plan is to have a species tank that reflects (within reason) the chosen fishes true aquatic environment. My tank has been hardscaped, I've got my new filter (FX4) ready to rock, all that's really left is to fill the tank, plant it, cycle it and stock it. I'll include some pictures of the tank in more appropriate location of forum.
Anyway, back to the original point of this post - I think we can all agree that there are so many beautiful fish in the African rift lakes and after a few discussions with some breeders and others in the hobby I appreciate that my tank size dimensions (L120cm x W40cm x H55cm) are probably best suited to the smaller African cichlid species. I think I've narrowed down the selection to two species which are quite different.
Pseudotropheus saulosi vs. Neolamprologus brichardi
I've done a quick summary of what I see as the pros and cons of both species...

Pseoduotropheus Saulosi
Pros:
Cons:

Neolamprologus brichardi
Pros:
Cons:
So although these lists are not exhaustive it's just some thought's that I had... To be honest they are both beautiful species and suitable to beginners apparently (which I am) so I'd like to open this to you guys and girls - what are your thoughts on these two or do you fancy pickling my brain a bit more and perhaps suggesting another species?
It's great to finally be registered here, I'm looking forward to sharing and talking about this great new hobby I've discovered. :fish:
So, whilst I fully appreciate stocking decisions are entirely down to personal taste it's also a good opportunity to listen to others opinions and learn from their experience.
To be clear, my plan is to have a species tank that reflects (within reason) the chosen fishes true aquatic environment. My tank has been hardscaped, I've got my new filter (FX4) ready to rock, all that's really left is to fill the tank, plant it, cycle it and stock it. I'll include some pictures of the tank in more appropriate location of forum.
Anyway, back to the original point of this post - I think we can all agree that there are so many beautiful fish in the African rift lakes and after a few discussions with some breeders and others in the hobby I appreciate that my tank size dimensions (L120cm x W40cm x H55cm) are probably best suited to the smaller African cichlid species. I think I've narrowed down the selection to two species which are quite different.
Pseudotropheus saulosi vs. Neolamprologus brichardi
I've done a quick summary of what I see as the pros and cons of both species...

Pseoduotropheus Saulosi
Pros:
- Dimorphic species (and both colours are great!)
Simple Mbuna dietary requirements
Apparently very entertaining behaviour
Don't need as hard a water as Brichardi
Cons:
- To fully stock the tank with quality fish will be quite expensive
If I wished to breed them, would be more complicated than Brichardi
Will more than likely nibble any plants I put in

Neolamprologus brichardi
Pros:
- Can populate an entire tank from a single breeding pair
Really interesting colony behaviour
Beautiful looking fish
More than likely won't bother any plants I put in
Cons:
- More complicated dietary requirements
Breeding is easily possible in a single tank so will need to offload fry to a LFS
Tougher water requirements
Not as colourful as Saulosi
So although these lists are not exhaustive it's just some thought's that I had... To be honest they are both beautiful species and suitable to beginners apparently (which I am) so I'd like to open this to you guys and girls - what are your thoughts on these two or do you fancy pickling my brain a bit more and perhaps suggesting another species?