Turtleman's Tropheus

[Super Turtleman]

So I picked up a dozen Chimba Reds from the Oyers (hoping to pick up some more around auction time).  Gonna grow them out and keep them in the 125G with my wife's Duboisi (she picked up 6 more juvies as well).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuK2zdTgr4w

[Steve]

Very nice looking fish Emil

[Stan M.]

Nice!!

[Nick]

Looking good. Watching the Duboisi loose their spots is pretty cool. Such a drastic transformation from one pattern to another.

[Super Turtleman]

I'm wondering if these are big enough to go into the adult tank. They are in the 2" range...maybe a little bigger. Can they go in with the adults (5"+)? I have 18 Chimba Red & 6 Duboisi growing out. There are 9 adult Duboisi in a 125G.

[jamarini]

The red varieties of T. moorii tend to be relatively more aggressive than other T. moorii and definitely more aggressive than T. duboisi variants.  I think you could put the Chimba reds in with the adult T. duboisi colony but I would watch them closely so you can intervene in case the adults attack the Chimba reds.  I would follow the general rule of rearranging the rockwork prior to introducing the Chimba reds and you might just take all the rockwork out of the tank, introduce the Chimba reds and allow the new pecking order to establish itself and then add back the rock and other structure.  It's less likely the defending of territory will be as strong initially and if the

[jamarini]

Sorry, hit the wrong key.  It's less likely you'll see a strong territorial defense in the absence of rock work and structure and if you wait a few days or so before putting the rockwork back in, the Chimba reds will have the opportunity to compete for territory.  I'm not sure at 2" long if they will compete that vigorously but eventually when they reach maturity, they will dominate that tank. 
Just be careful with the introduction and monitor it carefully for a few days and if the T. duboisi are overly aggressive, which I would not expect, you can rescue the Chimba reds before losing any.  Good luck if you try.

[Super Turtleman]

Thanks for the feedback Jim. Might give it a try.

[Super Turtleman]

Been a while since I've updated this. I recently had 5 Chimba Reds holding at once and the Duboisi are constantly holding. Below are some Chimba Red eggs and fry.







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM-BcGTit3c&list=UU-SqJtcWGz6ufP5aVPE9BLQ&feature=share

[Stan M.]

Looking good!