Julidochromis Gombi

[noodles]

hi there,

just seen what I think are some of these in my lfs, they were only about 1 inch long, is this their adult size or are these just juvenilles? I have been thinking about converting my 30in tank from a community to shell dweller/tang tank and these look very nice fish. But there doesnt seem to be much info about these in particular around, only general julie type advice. Any info please let me know, in particular size/care in comparison to my tank size and potential tank mates such as multies/ocellus etc.

cheers!

 

[darrel69]

Hi, plenty of info HERE

 

[noodles]

Hi, plenty of info HERE

cheers mate. anyone actually kept these fellas and can give me their personal view?

 

[darrel69]

No worries ... i dont have any experience with them though soz.

Im sure somebody does though ...

 

[KnuckleHead]

The species your looking at is Julidochromis Transcriptus "Gombi". The "Gombi" designates the region of Lake Tang that they come from. I currently have the same kind but called "Bemba". Very interesting fish to have. They'll max out around 4 inches and become territorial once a male and female bond has been formed. They require extensive rockwork to call home and for spawning. They're interesting to watch as they dart in and out of the rockwork and hover like hummingbirds. They're secretive cave spawners so if you notice what you think is the female disappear for a few days in all likelyhood she guarding her clutch. I didnt notice I had any fry until one day I stuck my nose up to the glass and saw tiny black dots darts scooting around in the crevices. She'll only lay around 5 - 15 eggs at a time and do it every two to three weeks. A 15 us gal tank is perfect for housing a pair. Its not recommended to house with other Julie species since cross breeding can and will occur. Hope this helps at least a little bit.

 

[noodles]

thanks, thats a great help! I definitely think I will do the conversion from community to tangs with a julie pair, and some shellies at some point. just spent half an hour staring at a tank of mixed julie's, shellies and cyps at the lfs. i think i am hooked!

just out of interest are all the julies about the same size when adult?

 

[KnuckleHead]

thanks, thats a great help! I definitely think I will do the conversion from community to tangs with a julie pair, and some shellies at some point. just spent half an hour staring at a tank of mixed julie's, shellies and cyps at the lfs. i think i am hooked!

just out of interest are all the julies about the same size when adult?

There is a variant that gets close to 5 and a half inches. The type escapes my memory at the moment, if I can remember the name I'll come back and edit. The addition of shellies is a nice choice. When doing so just remember to put all of your rockwork on one side of the tank and the shells on the other. 3 shells per fish would be a good number to have. To some shellies 3 isnt enough and they will steal one from a rival. Its quite funny to watch a little 2 inch fish dart across the entire tank with a snail shell dangling from its mouth and a female inside enjoying the ride.

 

[B.D.S]

A couple of (poor!) photo's of my 3 1/2 inch male J.Transcriptus "Gombi" whom i've had for about two years, he and his mate who is about half his size breed about once a month but the fry never get to any real size before they get noticed by my black calvus!

Behaviour wise they are like snipers during mating time, darting out from under their rock with a well placed nip to see off any unwanted attention 'cept it's not too successful as i've said above but thats not down to the lack of effort on the julie's part it's just Calvus' are clever and pull a nifty side on anti-bite trick! The rest of the time they are a quite peaceful and rather inquisitive (actually bloody nosey sometimes!) fish. If you are thinking of keeping Tangs these are a good choice as far as i am concerned.

And i agree with Knucklehead, give the julies rockwork at one end and the shellies some shells at the other it avoids any unnecessary conflicts 'cos if you get it right you'll have baby fish everywhere and breeding time's always fun in a Tanganyikan tank!

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Are these strictly african only tanks?