Nimbochromis venustus

[jcunningham0295]

Currently have a breeding group of Nimbochromis venustus in a 100 gallon tank.  Group consists of 2 males there are 8.5+" and three females.  Looking for ideas of tank mates for them.

Thanks,
Josh

[danielratti]

Not much due to there aggression ontop of the possibility of crossbreeding.

[Ron]

Not much due to there aggression ontop of the possibility of crossbreeding.

Is that advice based on personal experience or hearsay?

[gmaschke]

Its been my experience that many of the larger haps are not very aggressive.  However during breeding it may increase but other tank mates shouldn't be too much concern as long as they are completely different shapes, size, color etc....   Haven't kept Venustus myself so not sure on them specifically.  Make sure they can't fit tank mates in their mouth or they will likely be dinner at some point.  And since venustus are large tank footprint and stocking numbers are considerations as to options.

I had a pair of very large Phenos in a tank I bought from a member here.  I was initially concerned with the ratio being 1:1 and with there size the smaller tank mates, some 2", would be in trouble.  The seller assured me there would be no issues and was right.  They were the most peaceful fish I've kept to date.

I know numerous people on here have kept and bred them so I am sure you'll get some good advise specifically to venustus soon.

[Ron]

I've kept N. venustus a couple different times in either 5' or 6' tanks (100 / 120 /150 gallon sizes). I think under 5' you'll have problems.

As mentioned earlier:

... shouldn't be too much concern as long as they are completely different shapes, size, color etc....

So stay away from species with blotch patterns - mainly Nimbochromis sp., but some others such as VC-10, etc, also fall into this category. I'd also stay away from anything dominantly green (ex: C. euchilus "green") or yellow (ex: Exochromis anagenys).

The wonderful thing about venustus is that leaves so many options! Any medium/large haps remaining should most likely work out so long as the tank is big enough and you don't have a 1 in 100 male that just despise any other fish.

A quick laundry list of haps I've kept with venustus:
P. phenochilus
P. electra
S. fryeri
A. chrysti
F. rostratus
C. borleyi
D. compressiceps
various Protomelas sp.
...