new tropheus keeper here

[lee1]

Hi All,

Was looking to pick your brains and consume your knowledge on all things Tropheus.

Story:

I have a 75 gallon standard, running a Fluval 407 (for sometime now) I have just introduced 21 Tropheus Black Kriza 5 days ago. I have roughly 7 at 2" 7 at 1.5" and 7 at 1" I was told they were all from the same batch - so I bought the lot. My general thinking was to end up with 2 males and the rest ladies - this was based on the fact its only a 75 Gallon and I don't have space for another tank. With the exception of two twig catfish they are housed alone.

There seems to be one dominate male, with possibly a second junior alpha male. Aggression seems fine currently - not too bad.

Questions:

Is 14 a good number to end up with in a 75 gallon?
Is flake better or 1mm pellet?
At what size can the fish be vented?
Am I correct in thinking the males are little more orange in colour than the females, who seem to be a brighter yellow colour?
Will the 407 filter be adequate in the future as the fish grow?

Any words of wisdom you want to share outside of the points I detailed above?

Many thanks to any replies.

Lee

[finadic]

Welcome aboard, sounds like your off to a good start with a great quality strain. One of my favorites. With 14 should be about right for that size tank in my opinion, more the better, tighter the better to cut down on aggression. Flake and pellets are good to alternate with maybe presoaking pellets lightly prior to feeding so they don’t swell in fish. Kent Zoe is good, guessing about 2 1/2 - 3 inch for venting. Males are normally brighter in color to attract the females and a 407 should do the trick. Don’t over feed so they don’t bloat and keeping clean water with good water flow along with frequent water changes you should be fine. I prefer Hikari Ultimate water conditioner over the competition. Happy fish 🐟 keeping.