Lamprichthys tanganicanus

[retro_gk]

Hi,
Has anyone here kept these fish before? I corresponded with a couple of hobbyists here and got conflicting info...one said they cannot be housed in anything smaller than a 4' long tank, another is breeding them in a 20 gallon long.

I've been trying to get these fish for some time now and just purchased some eggs online (much cheaper than buying the fish themselves). They should be here by the middle of next week. Any info on fry growth rates, cannibalism etc wiil be much appreciated.

thanks

[TyroneGenade]

Like any Tanganyika fish it needs clean water with good O2 content. Size isn't so much a factor but having a big tank does help keep conditions stable and water quality better. Given that these fish reach 15 cm and are very active a big tank would be better for them.

A lot of people insist that the water be hard and alkaline for these lampeyes. The same people normally insist on the same conditions for the cichlids. I used to breed Neolamprologus sp. daffodil in water that would make snails fizz as they dissolved.

For all lampeyes: keep the water clean and well oxygenated!!!

tt

[whuntley]

I have kept them, and found raising a group in a small (40G) tank was a problem.

The harsh alkalinity of the water they prefer makes for an ammonia problem, and their high metabolic rate and heavy eating are supporting factors. I wasn't trying to grow plants in that slush, so it also made for quick ammonia buildup.

I had 8 young about half grown when I missed exactly one water change and they were all dead. YMMV, but I would not consider a tank much under 100G if I wanted to try them again. I would consider a 20 long if it had a continuous or automatic water change system and I had a source of rift-lake water, high in magnesium and calcium. Otherwise, next time, I would acclimate them to much softer water, grow dense plants with them, and hope they can tolerate that.

That's my unfortunate experience.

Wright

[TyroneGenade]

Wright, what was the growth rate? IME, Lacustricola katangae was a slow grower but I suspect with the pace of life in the lake the tanganicanus they may grow faster. In that case maintaining high Mg and Ca would be very NB for proper bone development.

Just a thought that just popped into my head.

Manuran breeds them and should be able to supply better intel than either of us...

[retro_gk]

Thanks guys,
I plan on housing 1M+3F in a 40 gallon for the moment. I am not a big fan of playing with pH and hardness, so they will have to do with the liquid rock that comes out of my tap for now

[whuntley]

They should do well in typically hard LA water. My water in Fremont was softened by adding in some Sierra runoff, so I used a substrate of coral chips to keep GH up there. It is, IMHO, way easier when the local water is closer to what they need, and the Colorado River does qualify, there.

Good luck.

Oh, on growth rate. It was a long time ago, but I seem to recall that they grew fairly fast.

Wright

[retro_gk]

Got the eggs today...a few fry have hatched out already , they are huge!! Very eel like in their swimming style

[Lorraine]

They are slow growers.
Fry and fish are very sensitive to probably the o2 content of the water.
I had a large group of juvies about 5cm long (age 6 months) and just starting to colour up, I had to turn off the filtration for a few hours to fix a leak in my not so perfect plumbing and they all died.

I have more I am raising now but would recommend a lot of air and a backup in case one air source fails.
They also like a lot of current and even tiny fry will swim against it.

They are voracious eaters so I am suprised they didn't grow very fast.

Mine are to be housed in a heavily planted 55g tank when they grow up a little.
I am also eyeing my husbands 150 g trout tank ..he really doesn't take care of it and perhaps if i don't nag about water changes etc the trout will die and can be replaced with these fish.

The fish do not ship well and these are definately best purchased as eggs.