Lake Victoria Basin, West African, Madagascar & Asian Species • Selling Flamebacks

[Jillian83]

I have a group of 45 Flameback fry that are about a month and a half old, and which I would like to sell at some point. How old will they need to be to color up so I can sell them? They're about half an inch long now. Thanks!

[AlphaWild]

It will depend on who you're selling to, and what they want. A LFS may want mature fish they can resell immediately. Let them tell you what they want. A hobbyist may want young fry they can raise and watch the fish mature. I like to wait until my fry are at an inch or so to sell to a hobbyist, but I often sell smaller than that when I know someone is looking for my fish. I've never sold to a LFS, but I have heard 2" is a common minimum for Africans at some places.

[jayzerus]

1" is the legal minimum to sell from a LFS (at least in New York). In my [limited] experience, it usually takes them close to 1" to really be sure they are going to be healthy and make it through adolescence anyway.

[Fogelhund]

1" is the legal minimum to sell from a LFS (at least in New York). In my [limited] experience, it usually takes them close to 1" to really be sure they are going to be healthy and make it through adolescence anyway.

Legal?

[jayzerus]

I think that's what she said.

[bernie comeau]

They're about half an inch long now.

I wonder when aquarists say 1/2" long if they really mean, litteraly 1/2" long

Newly released mbuna fry are 1/2" long. That speck on my hand:


Here's the same fish on a measuring tape, measured at almost 1/2" ( 7/16" to be exact-----tail starts 1/16" before the 2" mark and the mouth ends at the 2 3/8" mark)):


But I know it's just generally meant that the fish is small . Easy to underestimate the length of a very small fish as it is to overestimate the length of a large fish!

[AlphaWild]

There is a wide range. My chromogynos fry are about half the size of my demasoni fry when spit (or stripped at maturity). But true, i am a terrible estimator, so I often have 1/2" and 1" marks sticky-noted to my fry tanks.

[ratbones86]

Hey here in about 4-5 months ill be setting up a tank for those guys and im gonna need about 12 of them if your willing to ship them to me ill buy some from ya.....

[ratbones86]

Which flamebacks you have? I'm looking for kyoga flamebacks if that's what you have