NYCichlidForum.com

I just joined a local fish club and they have a mini auction every meeting. It was the first meeting I went to and I had a 29 gallon set up and running at the time but no fish. In the auction there was a bag of 6 Astatotilapia nubilus that were just out of fry stage, no colors, and just markings. I got the whole bag for only $4 too. They have been in the tank for about two weeks now and starting to take a liking to me everytime I feed them. Kinda like a group of puppies at feeding time, all come out of the rockwork and form a pack near the surface waiting for the flakes to hit the water. they eat like pigs too. I feed them 2-3 times a day in small amounts. I have sand bottom lots of rocks and two Jungel Vals (Large) in the tank too...O yea and 1 very tiny BN pleco.

Has anyone ever had these guys before? What should I expect from them? Im hoping that I get at least one male and some females to breed out of them. I reviewed their profile on CF which is a good start but just seeing if anyone else has any info on them or experience. How long does it take them to grow (providing a good varied diet)?

Any info/insight is appreciated..Thanks

Warchild

I've kept. A. burtoni (same genus). They color up and breed very young. Males are very aggressive. almost unmanageable.

although it might be a bit early to tell.. I think I have a least two males so far. The largest of the the group is already about 1.25+" and another is close to that. These guys seem to have a darker pigment in thier skin and the other smaller fish are lighter is color. There has not been any signs of aggression yet.....but Im soon once they discover girls that will all change for the worse and Ill have to take out all but one male from the tank

I just bought a bag of these at the CNY auction on saturday. I didn't know anything about them but nobody wanted them so I got 5 for a dollar. Mine always seem to hang out at the top but they don't look like they're doing it because they're stressed. They seem to eat pretty well and two of the five have that darker pigment that you were talking about. It's amazing how fast that color can go away if they get scared by anything though.

Kribman,

I think I prob got the same strain as you got at the CNYAS auction. Im part of this frish group and in one of our mini auctions at our meetings I bought a bag of these too. I got a 7 for $4. currently I have 2 males and 5 females. I have only had these guys for about two months now. The alpha male has been trying to breed with all the females in the tank (mind kind of fish! hehe). I had at least two of the females "holding" but I think they spit them already..for what reason Im not sure of. As for their coloration, they are a beautiful fish. the male can change colors almost as quickly as an octopus. He can be a dull greyish color, but if a female comes close to him, he immediately, changes to full dress colors (Jet black, woth red tips on his tail). I have enjoyed these guys so far, and there has only been minor aggression between the two males, but that might change to worse if one fo the females holds till term?

yeah I did notice the two males give each other a quick kiss once but that's about all the aggression I saw. How big are yours now? Mine are maybe 1.5 or 2 inches long. It looks like wherever they were before I got them there were some aggressive fish. They all have missing bits of their tails and fins. I'm hoping that they will grow back quickly.

I got them at about .75" or around that. I feed them twice a day with cichlid flakes and twice a week Ill feed them some frozen brine shrimp (they love it!) the males are almost 2+" now and growing rather fast. the females are not far behind though. My fish came to me untouched and are (knocking on wood) still very heathly. you might want to throw in some treatment if they are really beat up, as we know that cuts, scrapes etc can lead to infection. try finding a water conditioner that has aloe vera in it, it will help mend and heal the fins.

my next Vics will be the Rock Krib " wanza Gulf" or the zebra Ob's. I think the vics have some of the best color combos IMHO. keep me posted on your brood Krib

From Haplochromis.org It says they get slightly over three inches.

Any pictures or updates with your experiences?
Warchild, I know you were excited about getting some Victorians.

Unfortunately I had a run-in with Ich and mine didn't make it. Hopefully Warchild had better luck than I did...