Best water flow for breeding tropheus

[ebrahim]

Hello everybody

I have a breeding colony of 12 wc tropheus nkonde. I had them in a 540 letre tank with a 5000 l/h Wave maker. They were breading well except that most of the time I'll get 4 to 6 fry from the females. Currently I have them in a 900 letre tank with a 10000 l/h Wave maker. Is this flow okay? Should I bring it down. What flow would be correct for breeding?

I tank you in advance

Ebrahim

[...]

Hi Ebrahim. Wild female broods would typically be larger than 4-6. It is possible with too much flow that the fertilization process is being disrupted. Some folks here have there wave makers on a timer programmed to turn in 2-3 times a day for 15 minutes or so simply to move solid waste into the filter intakes.
Why don't you try leaving your wave maker off until you have a couple of spawns and see if your fry numbers increase first and take it from there. Be sure to clean any solid waste build up carefully during this trial.
How big are your wild females?

[ebrahim]

Hi danny

I would say the females are roughly 4 to 5 inches.

When I got them I had no wave Maker in the tank and they were quite boring and relaxed in the tank. More like frontosa. I was concerned as I know tropheus are lively fish. When added the wave maker they became lively like I know tropheus should be. I'll try with the timer off.

Thanks for the advice.

[...]

No problem mate. How long have you had the colony? It does take a good while for wilds to settle in to the aquarium habitat, though they usually don't start breeding until they're settled. How have you got your tank decor set up? Perhaps you could upload a video to YouTube and post it on the site so we can check it out and offer other advice if needed??

[ebrahim]

I have them for 2 years now but they are in the new tank for 3 weeks. In terms of decor not alot is going on. Only 2 rocks and crushed coral for substrate. I prefer it like this as it is easier to catch the females when I strip them. I strip after 5 days.

I hope this link works.

http://instagram.com/p/B4rbrQ0H1MQ

[...]

Nice looking group mate, simple easy to maintain layout as well. The flow rate is pretty high from your wave maker. Try my previous suggestion of leaving if off for a few spawns and see if your numbers increase.

Regarding the apparent lack of activity before the wave maker, it could be that the group is quite small in a large'ish tank. Alot of the activity I see with troph groups is jostling within the group. 12 is a very small colony so perhaps you could add fry back when 1.5" or bigger, add more nkonde adults, or another unrelated variant of trophs like duboisi or a species red or black??

[ebrahim]

Thanks Danny. Much appreciated

[mikevxr]

Must admit I don’t use wave makers instead I have my filters near water surface agitating the water surface and spray bar directed across the water surface. I don’t strip females as personally I would struggle to sell fry as they’re not that popular in my area. That said I do raise the odd batch just for my own enjoyment.

[...]

Mike some peeps use wave makers on a timer to come on several times a day for a short while to move solid waste towards their filter intakes, rather than surface agitation for aeration. I believe our site owner Drew uses this strategy to prevent solid waste build up on the substrate and amongst any rocks.

[mikevxr]

Danny, I have heard of people doing this,which is fine. In my case, I’ve just never seen the need as my tanks are all fairly spartan with just a couple of rocks any detris is hovered out during my weekly water changes.