Would a Pundamilia be compatable with a tropheus duboisi?

[Tttay89]

Trying to find good tank mates for my tropheus that are not likely going to make him start biting, I come across a pundamilia, some articles say the pundamilia is peaceful, some say peaceful but terrotorial if breeding, some say aggressive and obviously the fish shop said it would be "fine". ..
Any info on this fish will be appreciated or any other tank mate ideas that will go well with him
Any info you need let me know
Thanks

 

[Barry Tetra]

what size is your tank?

 

[Tttay89]

I know this tank probably isn't big enough but it is 120 litres, and around 34" long

 

[Barry Tetra]

I know this tank probably isn't big enough but it is 120 litres, and around 34" long

I think it would be 'fine' but maybe cause stress in the future or fight to the death, what about his own kind? how many of them?

 

[Tttay89]

I do only have one tropheus and a Julidochromis aswell. I also have some albino bristlenose.
You mean as they nature and get larger they'll likely fight

 

[Tttay89]

Would a Pundamilia be better than a rainbow shark to put with the tropheus. I loved the rainbow shark I once had but can imagine 2 aggressive fish being bad news

 

[Colin_T]

How hard is the water?
Tropheus come from Lake Tanganyika, which has a GH above 350ppm (350-450ppm) and pH above 8.0. This is not suitable for bristlenose or rainbow sharks. If your water isn't hard enough, the Tropheus suffer. If it's hard enough for the Tropheus, then the other fishes suffer.

Tropheus are vegetarian and bloat up and die if they get meat food in their diet. The Pundamilia is a predator that eats small fish, shrimp and other organisms. Trying to feed a Tropheus a vegetarian diet while preventing it eating meat based foods is hard.

Besides the above, the Pundamilia should be ok if you can feed it separately so the Tropheus doesn't eat its food.

There is a number of Rainbowfish can be kept with Tropheus and are fine on a vegetarian and insect based diet. There is more info on rainbowfish at the following link.

Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae

A website dedicated to Rainbowfishes of Australia and New Guinea

rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au

 

[Tttay89]

My water hardness is 14dgh
Ph is only 7.6 however which I've always known to be a problem... I have algea wafers that I stick to the glass, cichlid pellets vegetable flakes for the tropheus... Could the pundamilia live from these choice of foods?
I was mainly thinking behaviour wise

 

[Colin_T]

Behaviour wise it should be ok, but food wise it will be an issue. And the GH and pH is too low for Tropheus to live long term.

 

[Tttay89]

Ohh, I thought anything over 200ppm was fine for a tropheus but I'm just going from one source.(attached) Would it be dangerous to alternate food maybe 2 days vege.. 1 day standard flakes, crisps etc but as low protien as possible.. I Wouldnt try live food with tropheus

 

[Colin_T]

GH has to be at least 300ppm for Tropheus species, as well as most other Lake Tanganyikan fishes.

Fishes from Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria can be kept in water with a lower GH but even they need 250ppm+.

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Freeze dried bloodworms and Tubifex can be fed to Tropheus a couple of times a week but never give them frozen or live bloodworms or Tubifex, otherwise the Tropheus bloat up and die.

Tropheus are vegetarian and have a long digestive tract. If they get meat foods, it rots in their intestine and they get sick. Plant matter and small insects/ insect larvae, copepods and other foods with a high fibre content are best for them.

Most fish flakes should be fine but try to avoid flake foods that contain grains (wheat flour, etc). Fish can't digest grains and some companies use them as fillers to add weight and bind the other ingredients together.

You can try keeping the 2 species but the

Pundamilia sp. could end up stunted or malnourished due to lack of protein. Most people that keep Tropheus have them in a single species tank so they can cater to their needs.​