my stock.

I would wait and see, but keep an eye on them, because when a pair forms you will have to remove the 2 extras or it might start to get violent

The marlieri are going to be larger, and perhaps more aggressive than transcriptus would. The comps won't care, but your shellies might. The larger julies are hard on shellies- even pulling females out of shells and killing them to get at the eggs/fry in the shells.

When they pair off, the outsiders can get killed off PDQ! Keep a close eye on the pair bonding and be prepared to act quickly to save the outcast. Other than that, I like your tankmates (with respect to the above cautioning). I think you have room for some more altolamps.

Also, an alternative to cyps could be a Callochromis. They occupy that middle zone too and are very active and very fun to watch.

Russ

cheers. They are only around just over an ich at the mo but will see what happens. Russ i have a wild pair of goldheads that im happy with at the mo but my understanding was that i couldnt add anymore? They have recently settled in but i have the female hiding from the male at the mo as i think he wants to mate with her but shes not interested. Any advice here? cheers

Just been looking at the callchromois. They look pretty cool and a decent price. The cyps, nigripines seem to be expensive but hadnt 100% decided. What sort of number do i want to have with them?
Overall i do want a peacful tank so if the julies are gonna be harrassing the shellies then i can address that. Ill also get a pic of my tank so you can see. cheers

bullit said:

cheers. They are only around just over an ich at the mo but will see what happens. Russ i have a wild pair of goldheads that im happy with at the mo but my understanding was that i couldnt add anymore? They have recently settled in but i have the female hiding from the male at the mo as i think he wants to mate with her but shes not interested. Any advice here? cheers

Click to expand...

4-foot tank - I would add another trio with two more females and one more male. A little bit of competition and a couple more females would do nicely and should improve the situation. I have had as many as six mature calvus & two mature comps in a 4-foot tank and they all did great.

Also, describe this hiding behavior. There is a possibility that what you are experiencing could be pre-spawning behavior. I'd need to know more details though.

Cheers,
Russ

bullit said:

Just been looking at the callchromois. They look pretty cool and a decent price. The cyps, nigripines seem to be expensive but hadnt 100% decided. What sort of number do i want to have with them?
Overall i do want a peacful tank so if the julies are gonna be harrassing the shellies then i can address that. Ill also get a pic of my tank so you can see. cheers

Click to expand...

4-foot tank: the ideal would be 1 male and three females. I would try to add a second male. 4' might be too small for two males??? The males are fun to watch and aggression between them is usually not life threatening.

Russ

sorry for late reply russ. Basically *** had this pair of WC for 5 weeks. They hid for a couple but they couldnt resist the frozen. The male stayed outside the rocks and the female wouldnt let him in her area. Then i added the julies the other week and adding a rock pile to the right hand side and put a few more on the left hand side. I then came in after work to find the male was in the females place. She was staying out the way now and then thats when he started to chase her, harrass her for a few days. Its settled down now as she keeps to the right hand pile of rocks but he will still chase when he sees her. cheers

Looks like a pair of julies is forming already. There is a larger one thats domminant in the tank. Is it the male or the female that gets bigger?

Julidochromis marlieri the female is bigger. Yep can be well too big and nasty for a 4 foot community tank when they pair.
My advice would be to dump em quick (should be able to sell a pair at a very good price) or pop em in a breeding tank before they start killing your other fish.
Some variants only get to 5" but I have seen some well bigger and very mean.
transcriptus or ornatus would have been fine.
All the best James

Nice

quick update. *** still got the julies and wanted to see how it progressed. Only recently *** noticed a split fin on one of my shellies, domanant julie looks the culprit. Also because my comps arent paired, the female stays at the right hand side of the tank and that where this pair of julies stay so *** just noticed the dom one nibling at her. Looks like im gonna have to change things around. Here is quick pic of them. Is there a way of telling that it might be a gombe?
So ooks like im going back to a bare tank lol. Im just waiting to get hold of some cyps to fill the tank up, but i def want a peaceful tank over all. cheers

Hi. Gonna add some smaller julies and a group of cyps. Will 10 be a good number for a group of cyps in a 4 footer? cheers