Sorry for the bad pic, thats her in the very top left corner.
Nimbochromis Livingstonii Question
Hey everyone,
I've got two of these guys in my tank. One male, one female. They are just now getting out of the Juvenile stages and starting to develop as I've had them about a year I'd guess.
I realize that this is a Polygomist Species and the ratio of female to male should NOT be 1:1 and this is starting to become a problem. The male constantaly chases the female to the point where she now isn't eating and is sitting atop my powerhead that is raised in my tank. Here's a pic:
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So my question is this: Will it help if I added 2 more female Livingstons? Do they kinda pool together or how does a polygomist family work? I really have no idea what kind of behaviour I'd expect. Adding two more females would make my tank relatively crowded...
Would this help the problem? I'm going to move her to a 10 Gallon tank tomorrow on her own that I'll set up nice so its not so much like a hospital tank but instead just one where she won't get harrassed until I can figure this out.
Any help would be appreciated.
I've got two of these guys in my tank. One male, one female. They are just now getting out of the Juvenile stages and starting to develop as I've had them about a year I'd guess.
I realize that this is a Polygomist Species and the ratio of female to male should NOT be 1:1 and this is starting to become a problem. The male constantaly chases the female to the point where she now isn't eating and is sitting atop my powerhead that is raised in my tank. Here's a pic:
So my question is this: Will it help if I added 2 more female Livingstons? Do they kinda pool together or how does a polygomist family work? I really have no idea what kind of behaviour I'd expect. Adding two more females would make my tank relatively crowded...
Would this help the problem? I'm going to move her to a 10 Gallon tank tomorrow on her own that I'll set up nice so its not so much like a hospital tank but instead just one where she won't get harrassed until I can figure this out.
Any help would be appreciated.
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Adding a couple more females will definitely help. They should be around the same size as the other female however.
What size tank (including dimensions) are these fish in?
What size tank (including dimensions) are these fish in?
FYI, none of the Malawi cichlids are pairing fish.
The tank is 120 Gallons. I've got a questionable mix for sure but almost all of my fish are now not considered juveniles and get a long fine. The stocking list is in My Tanks section of my profile.
Hmmm, not sure where I can find a couple females that are about the same size. I can only ever find juveniles of them... I could, I suppose, remove her too... I'll have to consider this.
So when you have 3 females and a male (or so). How do they act? Does the male keep to himself and the females to themselves? Or what? Do they almost school together?
Hmmm, not sure where I can find a couple females that are about the same size. I can only ever find juveniles of them... I could, I suppose, remove her too... I'll have to consider this.
So when you have 3 females and a male (or so). How do they act? Does the male keep to himself and the females to themselves? Or what? Do they almost school together?
You need to post the dimensions. Footprint is more important than gallons, and a 120G tank could be 48" long.
It is 48 inches long. 4x2 is the footprint. 2 feet tall.
I'd remove the female and keep just the male in a four foot tank. A breeding group of N. livingstonii really need a six foot tank.
holy frick! Ok so update: Apparently my female has spawned! Wow... this is actually shocking. I removed her to the 10 gallon tank and noticed she's doing better. Went to feed her a couple pellets to see if she'd eat and she spits out like 12-15 little fry... Not actually that "little" either... They are actually pretty big for fry from what I've seen!
PLEASE help me with this. What should I do? I've turned off the filter I've got running on this 10 gallon tank cause it would easily suck them up. What can I do for these little guys? This is the first time I've had this happen as a fish keeper! I'm pumped though! Please help, and whoever has experience please stick with me for a couple weeks as I raise these guys.
I assume its good I've removed her to this other tank?
How can I filter the tank safely? Any other tips?
PLEASE help me with this. What should I do? I've turned off the filter I've got running on this 10 gallon tank cause it would easily suck them up. What can I do for these little guys? This is the first time I've had this happen as a fish keeper! I'm pumped though! Please help, and whoever has experience please stick with me for a couple weeks as I raise these guys.
I assume its good I've removed her to this other tank?
How can I filter the tank safely? Any other tips?
How do I feed them? What do I need to worry about? Is there an article I can read?
Its canada day today so all LFS's around me are closed. Should I just crush up some flake food for them or what? How often do I feed? I've been reading some articles that have helped but still dont really know what Im doing... They are bigger than the only other fry I've seen, which was one time. They are about half the size of a pea. I'm not sure how old they are, but I think my female was holding them for a longer period than she'd have liked since she was around several other predators.
She seems to be a good mother though as she's taking them back in periodically as I approach the tank. Should I remove her or anything? I dont want to extract all the babies from her mouth. I'd rather just leave her in the tank for now. Worst case scenario I'd start up my 50 gallon to raise this batch of fry. I wouldnt really like this to be a regular occurrence though since Im renting and aren't suppose to have pets so if I had several tanks running it'd look bad.
She seems to be a good mother though as she's taking them back in periodically as I approach the tank. Should I remove her or anything? I dont want to extract all the babies from her mouth. I'd rather just leave her in the tank for now. Worst case scenario I'd start up my 50 gallon to raise this batch of fry. I wouldnt really like this to be a regular occurrence though since Im renting and aren't suppose to have pets so if I had several tanks running it'd look bad.
I set up a "buffer" around the filter. Basically a porous material slightly more porous than panty hose and I've got a cup surrounding the filter head just to keep the fry away from it but still filter water. So far its working well, the fry have swam near it and seem to be easily able to swim right next to it without being sucked to the side of it. Hopefully this works... After this experience I'm going to make something for fry as a filter intake.
Sounds like you've got it covered. Cover the filter intake so the fry can't get sucked in, and grind regular food so it's small enough for the fry. Daily water changes, and make sure the fry tank is cycled. The Mom should be removed 48 hours after spitting the babies or less so she doesn't eat them.
ok, daily water changes?
How much water should be changed? 10%?
How much water should be changed? 10%?
50% if the tank is cycled, more if it is not. That is what people do to maximize fry health and growth. Others who are not so concerned with fast growth do 50% weekly (same as adult fish).
Wow. lots of water changes. I should be able to do them quite frequently. I guess this is purely sucking out the water and putting in new water, then only once a week worry about debris? If I was to suck up debris in the rocks Id certainly suck up fry and I dont want to do that.
What kind of a tank setup should I have? Right now there's gravel in it, a piece of wood that has a lot of little nooks for them and also a couple fake plants.
Should I set up a better tank for them with no substrate? is that better? They almost get stuck in the crannies the pebble substrate presents. Though I think they're fine.
What kind of a tank setup should I have? Right now there's gravel in it, a piece of wood that has a lot of little nooks for them and also a couple fake plants.
Should I set up a better tank for them with no substrate? is that better? They almost get stuck in the crannies the pebble substrate presents. Though I think they're fine.
So the yellow ball on the fish is a yolk sac? I've read not to feed them until this is moreless gone. Is this correct? Until reading this I thought it was their innards. I guess I was wrong?
Congrads.. :dancing: ..I woud get a grow out tank shortly :drooling:
How big you think I need? I got a 50 gallon just sitting in storage that I could easily set up. Was moreless planning to if I dont decide to buy a diff tank inbetween the 10 and 50 I got. Normally only my 120 is running.Mitch101 said:Congrads.. :dancing: ..I woud get a grow out tank shortly :drooling:
When should I remove the mom? Im thinking about using a trap to remove her from the fry. I think trying to catch her in a net will only harm the fry as she tries to scoop them up or something.
Should I not feed them until the yolk sac is depleted?
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
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