Cyprichromis Leptosoma

[Jinkz]

My LFS has a bunch of them in and I'm itching to get some. They're a bit pricey...works out at around 12.25 pounds each fish so wanted to ask a few of you first what you thought.

At the moment my 300ltr has 6 x Neolamprologus Burundi, 2 x Julidochromis Dickfeldi and 2 x Neolamprologus Brevis.

The also have some Meelis in and I am so tempted to get another pair....got a bed of 17 shells now and only the one pair.....

Thoughts???

 

[elisew]

I have 11 cyps in my Tang tank and a few of them are colouring up with both blue and yellow. The blue is a metallic blue on the bodies and the yellow has become pretty bright on the tails, the dorsal fins are a mix of blue and yellow though
After googling andd asking on another forum it appears that they`re 'Utinta' which are apparently quite uncommon unless you go to a specialist hobbyist/breeder.
Have a look at this link for info on the different cyps: http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/other/cyprichromis_paracyprichromis.html

If you have the opportunity to add cyps to your tank then I`d say go for it, they give great movement to the top open areas of a tank and are very entertaining when the hormones kick in

 

[Jinkz]

I have 11 cyps in my Tang tank and a few of them are colouring up with both blue and yellow. The blue is a metallic blue on the bodies and the yellow has become pretty bright on the tails, the dorsal fins are a mix of blue and yellow though
After googling andd asking on another forum it appears that they`re 'Utinta' which are apparently quite uncommon unless you go to a specialist hobbyist/breeder.
Have a look at this link for info on the different cyps: http/www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/other/cyprichromis_paracyprichromis.html

If you have the opportunity to add cyps to your tank then I`d say go for it, they give great movement to the top open areas of a tank and are very entertaining when the hormones kick in

Thanks for the reply and the great info mate, really appreciate it. I should have said earlier I'd been reading a lot about Cyps and really fancied them as I want something to populate the upper areas of the tank and also to give a bit of colour and catch the eye and Cyps seem ideal, if a bit pricey. At the moment funds will only allow for 4, so looking to get 1m and 3 females for starters and hopefully build from there to around 10 in total, so as not to overstock. My water is 7.6ph straight from the tap and I'm thinking of starting to add either bicarb (although not sure on dose levels) or cichlid salts which the LFS have in stock. Seem them in the shop today and although they're all very drab I'm putting that down to stress of not being in an optimum environment, especially as the lfs have them in rather a small tank with nothing more than a bunch of java moss in there for decoration. Mind you a couple of them do have pretty blue dorsals. Will have to ask my mate tomorrow which type of Cyps they are

Talking of specialists, I was supposed to be going down to a specialist breeding centre, the largest in Israel for Tangs and one who exports almost everything they breed but I couldn't make it and won't make it this week either as it's a fair drive away, so I'm thinking that I won't be able to resist the Cyps in the LFS, especially as I have to drive by them every day on the way home

 

[kiriyama]

As above, great addition to the tank.
get as big a group as you can afford, 10-12, mine are spawning a lot now, have over 20 fry, the nice thing is though they bring out confidence in all the shy shell dwellers / rock dwellers etc, so really bring the tank to life....

 

[bullit]

Your ph is fine bud. Also they may look drab because they are young. cheers

 

[elisew]

Thanks for the reply and the great info mate, really appreciate it. I should have said earlier I'd been reading a lot about Cyps and really fancied them as I want something to populate the upper areas of the tank and also to give a bit of colour and catch the eye and Cyps seem ideal, if a bit pricey. At the moment funds will only allow for 4, so looking to get 1m and 3 females for starters and hopefully build from there to around 10 in total, so as not to overstock. My water is 7.6ph straight from the tap and I'm thinking of starting to add either bicarb (although not sure on dose levels) or cichlid salts which the LFS have in stock. Seem them in the shop today and although they're all very drab I'm putting that down to stress of not being in an optimum environment, especially as the lfs have them in rather a small tank with nothing more than a bunch of java moss in there for decoration. Mind you a couple of them do have pretty blue dorsals. Will have to ask my mate tomorrow which type of Cyps they are

Talking of specialists, I was supposed to be going down to a specialist breeding centre, the largest in Israel for Tangs and one who exports almost everything they breed but I couldn't make it and won't make it this week either as it's a fair drive away, so I'm thinking that I won't be able to resist the Cyps in the LFS, especially as I have to drive by them every day on the way home

Regarding the ph....I personally would leave it alone. The Tangs and Malawis are apparently ok in the range of 7.6 - 8.4 according to an african cichlid forum that I use. IF you start to mess around with raising/buffering the ph you have more chance of it faltering and causing the fish to suffer.

As kiriyama says, a higher number of cyps is much better as the larger number helps them to feel more secure and their behaviour will show that. I know they`re not cheap but IF you can get closer to 10-12 then I`d sugegst doing so

I may be wrong and I hope someone will correct me if I am but, sexing the cyps isn`t easy and is something that generally depends on coloration I believe so choosing particular sexes will be very difficult unless they`re colouring up well. Again, the igher the number you can buy then the better the chance of getting a decent number of females

 

[kiriyama]

 

[Jinkz]

As above, great addition to the tank.
get as big a group as you can afford, 10-12, mine are spawning a lot now, have over 20 fry, the nice thing is though they bring out confidence in all the shy shell dwellers / rock dwellers etc, so really bring the tank to life....

Hard sell is working...

Your ph is fine bud. Also they may look drab because they are young. cheers

Okay doke, will leave the PH alone then...no point in trying to fix something that aint broken.

Regarding the ph....I personally would leave it alone. The Tangs and Malawis are apparently ok in the range of 7.6 - 8.4 according to an african cichlid forum that I use. IF you start to mess around with raising/buffering the ph you have more chance of it faltering and causing the fish to suffer.

As kiriyama says, a higher number of cyps is much better as the larger number helps them to feel more secure and their behaviour will show that. I know they`re not cheap but IF you can get closer to 10-12 then I`d sugegst doing so

I may be wrong and I hope someone will correct me if I am but, sexing the cyps isn`t easy and is something that generally depends on coloration I believe so choosing particular sexes will be very difficult unless they`re colouring up well. Again, the igher the number you can buy then the better the chance of getting a decent number of females

Thanks for the info on PH, I'll leave it be. I know I should get more but at that price I can't go out and pay for 10, not at the moment. I'll just have to settle for building the numbers up gradually and hope it doesn't lead to probs or conflicts later.

Aye ok...you sold me