[andrewe1985]

Hi
i had a group of tropheus of around 18 fish then while i was away they got bloat but my friend who was looking after them didn't notice quick enough and i lost 12 of them,
so now i only have 6 left most are adult.

My question is what can i do can i add adults into the group or should i add young ones?

 

[punman]

How long since you lost the last fish? Any chance you will lose more or is the problem over? I would think that adding adults would be way riskier.
Which variety of tropheus?

 

[andrewe1985]

Been a month now
i have a group of tropheus duboisi

 

[nodima]

How many more are you going to add? Assuming you are planning to replace what you lost, and not just add one or two?

I know people have done both ways. In either case, if it were me, I'd use all the tricks in the book. Big water change, re-arrange all the hardscape, keep tank dark. The theory is that all the territories will be gone, and need to be re-established, and the new fish would have a chance to establish themselves. With a larger number of new fish, the aggression should be spread out enough to not be an issue.

 

[noddy]

I would do all the things that nodima mentions. I would also add juvies as opposed to adults.
On the other hand, depending on how patient you are, I have raised two colonies back from a group of six.

 

[nodima]

I would do all the things that nodima mentions. I would also add juvies as opposed to adults.
On the other hand, depending on how patient you are, I have raised two colonies back from a group of six.

@Noddy, not challenging your opinion, just want to deepen my understanding. Why juvies? Assuming a large number of new fish ~12 added, why would it matter? Certainly juveniles might not be seen as a threat, but given there are more of the new ones, wouldn't you have the opposite concern about how they would feel about the 6 already in the tank?

 

[noddy]

I would do all the things that nodima mentions. I would also add juvies as opposed to adults.
On the other hand, depending on how patient you are, I have raised two colonies back from a group of six.

@Noddy, not challenging your opinion, just want to deepen my understanding. Why juvies? Assuming a large number of new fish ~12 added, why would it matter? Certainly juveniles might not be seen as a threat, but given there are more of the new ones, wouldn't you have the opposite concern about how they would feel about the 6 already in the tank?

I would add smaller ones because they are less likely to cause the original group stress by trying to establish territories. Also the existing fish would be less likely to see the small guys as a threat and therefore ignore them. Just my opinion on how I would expect them to behave.
Also, I'm a big believer in buying small Tropheus and letting them grow out to start with.