Thinking Of Changing From Tropical Community To Mbuna Or Tanganyikan

[kiriyama]

Hmm, I may need to rethink which fish and how many I`m going to be able to get sooner rather than later

I got a quote from a well known Rift website and these are the prices I`ve been quoted:

Neolamprologus leleupi @ £7.50ea x 2 = £15.00
Neolamprologus caudopunctatus @ £10.00ea x 2 = £20.00
Neolamprologus brichardi @ £6.50ea x 1 = £6.50
Neolamprologus brevis @ £3.50ea x 8 = £28.00
Cyprichromis leptosoma Utinta (adults) @ £18.50ea X8 = £148.00
Fish total = £217.50

Plus there would be a delivery charge on top as well. I was hoping to stock in one go and keep the order to one place, easier and less time as I wouldn`t have to scour the countryside.
Without the cost of the cyps the bill would be manageable, but I may have to knock the Cyps off the list for the time being or hope that MA or a local breeder somewhere might have some cheaper

I have sort of guessed which website the pricing is from, The Cyps although tank bred as oppposed to wild are top notch, seen some nice pics. of them, they are also at breeding size so I'd be really tempted to get them as they will have the colour and activity in your tank, (filling the open water column is with all the colour )...
I would be more inclined to cut down on the number of Brevis, 8 is fine to see if some pair up then rehome the rest, I'd be tempted with just a pair or 3 or 4, if your sourcing them from the supplier I think you are most of the stuff comes in from germany and the quality is very good indeed, I'm sure if you spoke to them on the phone they would have a good chance at picking out pairs/groups for you, just my 2 cents, I'm just jealous as I'd love a "project" like this, even had me thinking last night of even MORE tanks
Hope this helps a bit

 

[elisew]

I have sort of guessed which website the pricing is from, The Cyps although tank bred as oppposed to wild are top notch, seen some nice pics. of them, they are also at breeding size so I'd be really tempted to get them as they will have the colour and activity in your tank, (filling the open water column is with all the colour )...
I would be more inclined to cut down on the number of Brevis, 8 is fine to see if some pair up then rehome the rest, I'd be tempted with just a pair or 3 or 4, if your sourcing them from the supplier I think you are most of the stuff comes in from germany and the quality is very good indeed, I'm sure if you spoke to them on the phone they would have a good chance at picking out pairs/groups for you, just my 2 cents, I'm just jealous as I'd love a "project" like this, even had me thinking last night of even MORE tanks
Hope this helps a bit

Yeah I see what you`re saying and agree on the brevis, but those cyps alone cost twice the amount of the other fish, not sure I can justify that to hubby at all even if they are the mutts nuts

I`ll have to see what MA have got in stock, at least I can trade my current stock for part payment there. I`ll have to work out what I can afford once that`s done.

Sods law, someone has just posted in the classifieds for leleupi, crys and synodontis.......too far away from me though

 

[kiriyama]

I have sort of guessed which website the pricing is from, The Cyps although tank bred as oppposed to wild are top notch, seen some nice pics. of them, they are also at breeding size so I'd be really tempted to get them as they will have the colour and activity in your tank, (filling the open water column is with all the colour )...
I would be more inclined to cut down on the number of Brevis, 8 is fine to see if some pair up then rehome the rest, I'd be tempted with just a pair or 3 or 4, if your sourcing them from the supplier I think you are most of the stuff comes in from germany and the quality is very good indeed, I'm sure if you spoke to them on the phone they would have a good chance at picking out pairs/groups for you, just my 2 cents, I'm just jealous as I'd love a "project" like this, even had me thinking last night of even MORE tanks
Hope this helps a bit

Yeah I see what you`re saying and agree on the brevis, but those cyps alone cost twice the amount of the other fish, not sure I can justify that to hubby at all even if they are the mutts nuts

I`ll have to see what MA have got in stock, at least I can trade my current stock for part payment there. I`ll have to work out what I can afford once that`s done.

Sods law, someone has just posted in the classifieds for leleupi, crys and synodontis.......too far away from me though

I'm sure TriMar have cyps, I was going to get Paracyps from them until someone localled offered some, I have noticed lately that the Caudopunctatus have gone up quite a bit in price on a few sites Quick Suggestion ;
1 Leleupi
1 Caudopunctaus
1 Brichardi
1/2/3 Ocellatus
1 Marlieri
Then your cyps on top, the cyps being the main attraction or draw and the others adding diferent colour and behaviour, I'm sure wih your BN plecs in there it will be a cool tank

http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/stores_products.asp?page=2&store=54&cat=98&type=Fish&fish=

 

[elisew]

I'm sure TriMar have cyps, I was going to get Paracyps from them until someone localled offered some, I have noticed lately that the Caudopunctatus have gone up quite a bit in price on a few sites Quick Suggestion ;
1 Leleupi
1 Caudopunctaus
1 Brichardi
1/2/3 Ocellatus
1 Marlieri
Then your cyps on top, the cyps being the main attraction or draw and the others adding diferent colour and behaviour, I'm sure wih your BN plecs in there it will be a cool tank

http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/stores_products.asp?page=2&store=54&cat=98&type=Fish&fish=

Trimar do stock the cyps (Utinta - flourescent) but only have 1 in stock at the mo. They have more of the Cyprichromis leptosoma Mpulungu in stock at the moment which are 8.99 each, but they did say I could start with 4 or 5 and add slowly to the numbers.
They recommend 2f leleupi to start with or eventually 1m 3f.
Apparently the Ocellatus 'Gold' are really nice so definitely a consideration. It`s possible to give Trimar a 'wishlist' apparently and they will usually give you a price for (inc del) and order what you`re after

Soooo, I`ll check to see what MA have in stock at the weekend then look at possibly ordering the rest from Mike or Trimar once the bad weather has cleared IF I can`t source them locally

 

[kiriyama]

I'm sure TriMar have cyps, I was going to get Paracyps from them until someone localled offered some, I have noticed lately that the Caudopunctatus have gone up quite a bit in price on a few sites Quick Suggestion ;
1 Leleupi
1 Caudopunctaus
1 Brichardi
1/2/3 Ocellatus
1 Marlieri
Then your cyps on top, the cyps being the main attraction or draw and the others adding diferent colour and behaviour, I'm sure wih your BN plecs in there it will be a cool tank

http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/stores_products.asp?page=2&store=54&cat=98&type=Fish&fish=

Trimar do stock the cyps (Utinta - flourescent) but only have 1 in stock at the mo. They have more of the Cyprichromis leptosoma Mpulungu in stock at the moment which are 8.99 each, but they did say I could start with 4 or 5 and add slowly to the numbers.
They recommend 2f leleupi to start with or eventually 1m 3f.
Apparently the Ocellatus 'Gold' are really nice so definitely a consideration. It`s possible to give Trimar a 'wishlist' apparently and they will usually give you a price for (inc del) and order what you`re after

Soooo, I`ll check to see what MA have in stock at the weekend then look at possibly ordering the rest from Mike or Trimar once the bad weather has cleared IF I can`t source them locally

Yeah female Leleupi , that would be cool, I only suggested whittling the numbers to allow more cyps as they will be the most active, I think it's the Caudopunctatus that can't stand the sight of each other but in a tank your size I'm sure it should be fine, only really suggested the "Occies" as an alternative to Brevis, again cut down the numbers to allow more Cyps, they are one tough shelly, they wont go looking for trouble but they can handle more than there size easy, if you want a laugh stick your hand in to move a shell once they are settled
I think TriMar get a good wright up, the weather is a bummer though, the shop I am trying to contact is obviously closed due to the weather

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Have you considered getting those 7 Cyprichromis youngsters advertised on Aquarist Classified at £3.50 each (I think) and perhaps arrange to get first dibs on their next batch of fry to up the numbers? Only downsides are you might have two groups of Cyps, schooling with fish their own size, plus I've no idea if the older Cyps could be aggressive to the smaller ones. Might be worth asking if the fry are believed to be from a single pair spawning, or whether spawning takes place in groups, which would mix up their genetics a little.

There are still masses of N. brichardi at Titchfield's MA by the way, must be ~50+ fry and ~10 older ones protecting the youngsters in a reservoir tank from the likes of a young Tropheus and a large catfish...

[video]http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyNfkTz3cvw[/video]

 

[kiriyama]

Have you considered getting those 7 Cyprichromis youngsters advertised on Aquarist Classified at £3.50 each (I think) and perhaps arrange to get first dibs on their next batch of fry to up the numbers? Only downsides are you might have two groups of Cyps, schooling with fish their own size, plus I've no idea if the older Cyps could be aggressive to the smaller ones. Might be worth asking if the fry are believed to be from a single pair spawning, or whether spawning takes place in groups, which would mix up their genetics a little.

There are still masses of N. brichardi at Titchfield's MA by the way, must be ~50+ fry and ~10 older ones protecting the youngsters in a reservoir tank from the likes of a young Tropheus and a large catfish...
[video to be inserted here in bit]

£3.50 a Cyp, SWEET!!!

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

http/www.aquarist-classifieds.co.uk/php/detail100_132218.php

 

[elisew]

I`ve just phoned the number on the advert Goat (huge thanks) and I`ve arranged to go and pick up 8 of the 13 she has next weekend. She`s happy to hold them for me which is good because she said they are quite small at the moment and it`ll give them time to grow a little bit

So hopefully, providing arrangements go smoothly I`ll have 8 Leptosoma Blue Flash (Mpulunga) for my tank

I`ll be looking to get the Ocellatus as they actually look like cute little things and all the better if they can hold their own......as long as they don`t do too much damage to my tingers

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Great news!

I'm presuming a lot here, but given that Cyps are open water, you can keep whatever rock formation you choose at the weekend until such times as you may need to add seperate batches of shell/rock dwelling fish?

 

[elisew]

Great news!

I'm presuming a lot here, but given that Cyps are open water, you can keep whatever rock formation you choose at the weekend until such times as you may need to add seperate batches of shell/rock dwelling fish?

I`m hoping to get the rock set up at the weekend as I`ll have to rely on Liam being home to help, plus I don`t know what MA wll have when I take my current stock over there. It would just be easier for me to get it all done and out of the way I think

I`m planning on setting the rock up into 3 seperate areas and as the Cyps are small I doubt they`ll be short of room

Those brichardi are lovely but I`m only going to have 1 to avoid as much aggression as possible. If I could I would have whole tank full of them though

 

[kiriyama]

Glad you're going for Occies now, how much have you been swayed since you started this thread ?
How many are you getting ? Also, looking forward to seeing the Cyps
You were talking about budget, I just worked out for tyhe abandoned project was £214.50 plus courier , ouch, new project is currently sitting at £173.85 for stock and I don't even have a tank for them
Glad to see your tank progressing somewhat quicker, awesome your getting TANGS!!!

 

[elisew]

Glad you're going for Occies now, how much have you been swayed since you started this thread ?
How many are you getting ? Also, looking forward to seeing the Cyps
You were talking about budget, I just worked out for tyhe abandoned project was £214.50 plus courier , ouch, new project is currently sitting at £173.85 for stock and I don't even have a tank for them
Glad to see your tank progressing somewhat quicker, awesome your getting TANGS!!!

Yeah it`s great
I feel like I`m beginning to make some headway towards it all now, I just hope everything goes ok with getting the leptosoma I like the look of the Ocellatus and I may end up getting those along with the Leleupi and the Brichardi from Trimar but it all depends on whether I can get them all from MA at the weekend

So you`ve sacked the first project and have decided on another one? Is the second one a definite or will you dither like I have?

 

[kiriyama]

Glad you're going for Occies now, how much have you been swayed since you started this thread ?
How many are you getting ? Also, looking forward to seeing the Cyps
You were talking about budget, I just worked out for tyhe abandoned project was £214.50 plus courier , ouch, new project is currently sitting at £173.85 for stock and I don't even have a tank for them
Glad to see your tank progressing somewhat quicker, awesome your getting TANGS!!!

Yeah it`s great
I feel like I`m beginning to make some headway towards it all now, I just hope everything goes ok with getting the leptosoma I like the look of the Ocellatus and I may end up getting those along with the Leleupi and the Brichardi from Trimar but it all depends on whether I can get them all from MA at the weekend

So you`ve sacked the first project and have decided on another one? Is the second one a definite or will you dither like I have?

Just to confuse you , your Occies come in Gold, Blue , Pearl, there's also a sort of black one which is called Meleagris, it's a different fish though

The scrapped project was a 36"x15"x15" tank hood and stand £150.00, 3d background £180.00 (yeah not a typo!), paracyprichromis nigripinnis and xeno bathyphilus as well as my dwarf sumbu £214.50
New project is as big a tank as the floor will hold (aiming at 5') , robbing filter and heater from the fishbox then adding a tetratec ex1200 (still to buy) using old ocean rocks I already have, stock is £173.85 or £149.85, still to trade the sumbu fry also...... january is not coming quick enough

 

[elisew]

Just to confuse you , your Occies come in Gold, Blue , Pearl, there's also a sort of black one which is called Meleagris, it's a different fish though

The scrapped project was a 36"x15"x15" tank hood and stand £150.00, 3d background £180.00 (yeah not a typo!), paracyprichromis nigripinnis and xeno bathyphilus as well as my dwarf sumbu £214.50
New project is as big a tank as the floor will hold (aiming at 5') , robbing filter and heater from the fishbox then adding a tetratec ex1200 (still to buy) using old ocean rocks I already have, stock is £173.85 or £149.85, still to trade the sumbu fry also...... january is not coming quick enough

Cheers for that....not!

When I spoke to the guy at Tri-mar earlier he said the Golds are really lovely so yeah, I`m happy with choosing them. Not even going to google any others because I`ll end up getting more and more confused (it doesn`t take much...blonde!)

Bigger tank huh? That option has got to be the better one then but I can tell that you`re as patient as I am