noddy Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Hi everyone I am setting up a Pseudotropheus saulosi species tank and I am concerned with the stocking levels that I will have. I understand that you can overstock to reduce aggression etc and I have read just about every article on them on the net...not quite but close to...... to try to find stocking examples but everyone just mentions that they should be kept 1m:3+f and no suggestions for tank size etc for multiple males. The tank will be a traditional Malawi setup with rocks and I will be hopefully using some marine sand to help with buffering. Here is the setup I am planning. 36x14x18 (std 3' 148 ltrs) 9 Ps saulosi (3m:6f)(wanting 12 @ 3m:9f) 1 Synodontis njassae 1 Bristlenose Filtration : 1 x Fluval 4+ (internal) My main concern is that I would like to increase the m:f ratio with another 3 females to further reduce aggression towards all the females and understand that having 3 males will direct more of their aggression away from them already. I have kept these guys before but only at 1:3 not with multiple males or such a large colony. Basically I want to know if 12 will be to much for the 3'. I am planning to move them to a std 4', where i will once again add more saulosis to 5:20, in the future but not for a while yet. Thanks in advance Trav noddy130AThotmail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mazimbwe Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Hi Noddy, the saulosi are a fantstic species. Just wondering what it is that you wanna achieve with your Ps.saulosi colony? I would think that a Std 3ft'er is too small for this species once they are matured but will be OK as a grow-out or starting tank. However, I think you will have to play it by ear in a tank that small. I have 20 odd saulosi @ 3-4cm growing in a Std 3ft tank, there is one dominant male in the group and nobody is getting bashed...so, depending on the size of the fish you have ATM, you should be OK to increase the numbers in the tank. as a precaution you can increase the numbers of hiding places & add some floating tubes of polly-pipe in case anyone is getting assaulted. 5/20 ratio should make for an active and interesting tank given enough filtration...maybe a 4x2x18 rather than a Std 4 would allow you to have all those males coloured and spawning? HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy Posted November 30, 2004 Author Share Posted November 30, 2004 The main reason I am setting up the species tank is becasue I have always liked the idea of them and it will also eliminate any chance of cross breeding. The colony already has 5-6 bloodlines and once I add my male will obviously increase that again. The main reason I am looking at adding more females is just to reduce the aggression on any individual fish and obviously increase survival rates if someone looses their marbles. The colony (2m:6f) that I am getting already live happily in a std 3' so all i will be adding to it will be another male that i currently have. If anyone gets to much of a hiding I will have to move them into the 4' early as it is already up and running...just got other fish in it that I will have to move. I have a pic of how I setup my last 4' for my africans if anyone is interested but I have no idea how to post it Thanks for the help so far....shouldn't be to many more qns to come Trav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I've seen these guys in a (SA) standard 4ft tank with two males. The males were very active and aggressive, any more males in this 4ft would have been to many. Judging by this i'd say that 3 females in your 3ft would be too many. I agree with Maz as young fish it should be ok but not as the males become hyper dominant. My oppinion is that the more females the better and have only 1 male perhaps in that 3ft. 1 male will have at least 2 females holding at once (at most 4). If you decide to have 2 males set up structures at either end of the tank so the males are as far away from each other as possable and have some pvc with Suction caps attached to the glass close to the surface of the water and have plenty of hiding places for the females. Hope this advice helps . Anthony PS: From my experience it is best to listen to people from forums than from aquarium stores. Fish shops have only ever generally had these fish in bulk, in small tanks and at a young age. Therefore it is better to seek advice from people on these forums who have had experience of breeding/keeping a variety of adult cichlids in larger tanks. PSS: I'm not saying fish shops can't give good advice (after all, alot of people on forums also work at LFS's) but i'm saying it is best to get advice from someone who has had a good deal of experience with cichlids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Hi Noddy, I have young salousi colony with 2 dominant males and one subdominant in a standard 4' tank with only 4 females. The dominant males have 2' each, they are constantly defending their territory and pushing each others boundary's. I don't have enough females as I only have a 1:2 and I am after a better 1:3 or 1:4 ratio but I have not had the opporunity to get some bigger females. I don't think that I would have 5:20 in standard 4' as I don't think those numbers will work for long as you will probably have to many loses. I agree with Maz if you want 5:20 go with the bigger 4x2x18. They are pretty cool little fish and I am in the process of setting up a fish room and I will be spliting my colony (and adding more so I get a 1:3 or 1:4) over 3 2x18x18. I not sure how it will go but I think that it will be fine. HTH PR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 Thanks so far everyone you have helped me immensely. Once they go into the std 4' I will add more females to increase the overall number of fish to 15 (3m:12f or 1:4) with the njassae (maybe 2) and the bristlenose (maybe 2). For the moment I am going to increase the filtration and keep the numbers at 9 Ps. saulosi, 1 njassae & 1 bristle What does everyone think. Trav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lepperfish Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Sounds good but you should go for atleast a 48x18x18 tank.. Im getting that size and only having 2 males and 6 females.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilli Powder Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Question: If you have only two males there will be definite distinction between dominant and subdominant males. If you have more, what will be hierarchy be? Wouldn't you then assume that the aggression to be shared across all subdominant males? This will also lead to less focused aggression? Personally I would put only 1 male or 3 or more males in a colony. Also the method of crowding a tank to overcome aggression will work in this case. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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