Anything Positive About Kenyis/auratus?

[Nicholaa]

OK, so I am the proud owner of a 55-gallon Mbuna aquarium. I thought I had done a lot of "research" and bought a Cichlid book, etc, but I never encountered negativity towards Kenyi and Auratus Malawi fish until I came to different fish forums and "unfortunately" I now own 3F/1M Kenyi and 1M/1F Auratus (planning on 2 more F Auratus for a total of 8 fish in the tank).

I am not denying that these fish may end up being very aggressive at maturity, but I want to hear *positive* statements about them. Can anyone say that they've kept them in a tank together or with others without having death and destruction?

I am reading that the male Auratus will basically want to destroy everything else in the tank once he finishes "maturing" and I am hoping that because right now the "Daddy" of the tank seems to be my male Kenyi, that he might be "put in his spot" early on and never try to challenge it.

My tank is very friendly right now. I don't notice chasing, nipping, fighting, anything except for the very very slight Daddy tendency of the male Kenyi and that's very easy-going chasing. The fish are all old enough that the males of both species are starting to show their colors (yellow/orange Kenyi and the Auratus is turning darker yellow/black appearing).

I believe one of my F Kenyi is "holding" right now, which I am assuming is her first brood. I have decided for now to let her spit in the tank and have nature take its course. If the fry are eaten, I guess that's nature's way. I'm not sure I'm ready to try to create a "fry factory". I have a lot of hiding spots/plants/caves/etc. so maybe I'll get lucky to have some survive, but I am not banking on it. Maybe when I start to see how the fish are going to mature together, I will set up a 10G breeder tank.

I guess I am just hoping *someone* will be able to give me positive feedback and not only say negative things about the Kenyi and Auratus "killer" instincts. You can't battle instincts, but I'm hoping... crossing fingers... that mine might be "different".

 

[Ferris]

Kenyi can be a mixed bag - yes they are generally aggressive but can certainly be kept in an Mbuna community and i have done so on many occasions. One of my favourite ever fish was a monster male Kenyi that reached just over 7" (they are not supposed to get that big but it seems he didn't realise that ). I had him in one of my typical all male, single example of various species tanks and never had any real problems - he was the tank boss mind you.

Auratus are unfortunately a different matter - i have kept them on several occasions with various different species and only had success once, with a single male kept (ironically) with yellow labs and he never bothered them - probably no threat. The rest all got returned to the LFS at some stage except for a male who picked a fight with a male M.Chipokae i had at the time - perhaps the only species who are worse than Auratus. That particular Auratus unfortunately died from the injuries inflicted by the Chipokae but still certainly no success story. They can seem almost angelic as juveniles but as they near adulthood - things will change drastically.

My advice would be to return the Auratus, you might get lucky but it is unlikely. I hate returning fish but it's probably for the best in this case. M.Johanni might be a good alternative - should be OK with Kenyi and IMO are a much better looking fish than Auratus and nowhere near as aggressive.

I'd stick with the Kenyi if you like them - just make sure any tankmates can hold their own - M.Estherae are another species that tend to work well with them.

 

[hellkef]

its a shame nicholaa is in the us i've just had a batch of F1 johannii of my wild pair

 

[Nicholaa]

The LFS I believe will take fish back at any point (live) for any reason (such as aggression). I think for now at least, I'll keep the tank going and when (maybe if) the Auratus starts to get nasty, I'll then return him. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that by some chance the Kenyi male will have already established his position as "Alpha Male" and that the Auratus will not ever challenge it.

Yes, I'm probably going to be disappointed, but I am limited in my area to where I can buy fish and for some reason the LFS don't seem to stock the "good Cichlids". Maybe their corporate companies need to be told that Kenyis and Auratus are not the Best Cichlids to be selling to their customers.

I do think my one female Kenyi is holding. It's pretty interesting to watch her just not feed while the other 5 go at it. She seems to have a bit of a larger/droopier jaw area too. Part of me wants to start a nursery tank, but I am still too new to really set up things.

Oh, btw: If you're in the UK and I wanted fish from the UK - what's the fastest that packages can be delivered across the ocean? You can't do next day air to/from Europe/USA, can you? I know people buy/sell fish through the mail all the time, it just worries me - not to mention, the cost is so much higher with the packaging required.