Adding petros to established colony

[judyok]

I have any established colony of 17 Tropheus Ilangi in a 125.  Can a group of the smaller grower petros be added to that without world war III breaking out and is the tank to small for both groups?

[...]

G'day Judy!
How big are the Ilangi & how big are the petro's you plan to add? How long is your 125?
I don't keep petro's as I only have a 72 gal. Andrew keeps Maswa & Trewavasse in a 6' 180gal. I'm sure he or someone else will chime in with a more specific answer about adding one group to the other.
Welcome to the site. Would love to see pics or a vid of your Ilangi when you get a chance!
Danny

[judyok]

Thanks for the welcome Danny. My tank is a standard 6' 125 gal. and my Ilangi are around 3". I'm just kicking some ideas around about the tank and Petros is one of them. I think I would start with maybe 2" Petros.

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Nice! Welcome as well!

I think that you'd be good to add some while they are young. If and when you do decide to add them I would act like you are getting a whole new colony. Treat them all the same. Clean the tanks filtration the day before they arrive.

-Start acclimating the new petro to the new tank water by match 50/50 tank water they came in to new tank water.
-Use Aeration and maybe some API Stress Coat or Kordon Fish protector in the bucket they are acclimating in to aid is minimizing mucus coat loss because of the stress.
-Siphon the substrate really well and remove 50% water from the tank
-Remove all décor from the tank
-After 30-45 minutes of 50/50 acclimation, net the new Petros into the tank
-Finish the water change as normal with all water treatments and salt used as normal
-Increase aeration in the tank with airstone/ maximum surface agitation
-Don't feed the tank for a good 2-3 days
-Keep lights off on the tank and minimize ambient light in their room is possible

You should be good to go to slowly introduce light feedings after this and keep them light for at least a week if not two.

Hope this helps.

[judyok]

Thank you for the detailed acclimation procedure Andrew. If I do decide to go for it I will follow this.

[Mastiffman/ Duramax7Man7]

Glad to help out!