# Accidental breeding: Brichardi & Leleupi



## TangiNut (Mar 10, 2010)

Holy cowfish! Has anyone ever heard of N. Brichardi breeding with N. Leleupi? Couldn't believe my eyes, but I just found about a hundred Brichardi-like fry in my neglected 55. (Actually only the 2 larger fry look like Brichardi, the others only look about 4 days old.) This is remarkable because there are only 4 fish in the tank, and they are 4 different species. There is only the Leleupi, the Brichardi, a blind blue cichlid, and a peppermint pleco. (It's also remarkable because they only get fed about twice a week, and the light is left on 24/7.)


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## Xavi (Apr 24, 2007)

Species that are close can & will interbreed. A lot of people including myself will tell you that you should get rid of the fry because you don't want hybrids mixing with pure breed fish.

Also, you should consider another hobby if you are not able to take care of your fish. Feeding only twice a week & keeping your light on continuously is just wrong.

Do you do any maintenance?


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## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

Have to agree with Xavi - the fish should not be subject to that - 24hr of light and occassional feeding is kind of tough on the fish - give the fish away or find a kid who wants the whole set up and had time to take care of the fish - thinking the fry should be eliminated - guess you could leave them in there but risky.


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## sneakypete (Mar 7, 2008)

Nice to see you like to make animals suffer. What's your problem? Are you so lazy that a) you can't spend 10 seconds a day to feed and or turn off a light, or b) take the fish in to a store where they might be treated with an iota of respect?

I kind of wish someone could lock you in a room, feed you twice a week and make you live in your own feces.

pete


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## HeavycomestheAx (Sep 19, 2009)

Fish food is cheap! Timers are cheap! Flush the fry and sell the tank! :x

Sorry for the cruelty but you opened yourself up to this one. Make amends and correct the situation, at least for the fish.


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

TangiNut said:


> Holy cowfish! Has anyone ever heard of N. Brichardi breeding with N. Leleupi? Couldn't believe my eyes, but I just found about a hundred Brichardi-like fry in my neglected 55. (Actually only the 2 larger fry look like Brichardi, the others only look about 4 days old.) This is remarkable because there are only 4 fish in the tank, and they are 4 different species. There is only the Leleupi, the Brichardi, a blind blue cichlid, and a peppermint pleco. (It's also remarkable because they only get fed about twice a week, and the light is left on 24/7.)


I commend your transparency in being totally honest about your tank. I would like to apologize for the harsh words. Despite what has happened most of us on this forum treat new members and old members alike with dignity and respect.

Having said that you should definitely re-evaluate your current fish keeping situation. If you are unable to provide a set-up where the fish can thrive and not just survive you would be best advised to give away, sell, etc the fish and the tank.

If these responses have somehow shown you the error of the situation and you decide to continue in the hobby then you have come to the right place for great advice, experience and feedback. The passionate, however innappropriate response you received should be indicative of how much we ALL love fish and seek to see them kept in the most optimum environment outside of the wild they came from.


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## firenzena (Nov 29, 2009)

All emotive self indulgence aside-
A peppermint plec can't be that cheap to buy so if for nothing more than economic astuteness, I would fully endorse Ashilli48's comments and the way they were conveyed.

I look back to early fishkeeping days at some of the things I have done through ignorance, enthusiasm, and Naivety that in retrospect were detrimental to fish I was keeping, and think how valuable 'productive' comments on forums such as this have been to me.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Ashilli, Well put!



ashilli48 said:


> I commend your transparency in being totally honest about your tank. I would like to apologize for the harsh words. Despite what has happened most of us on this forum treat new members and old members alike with dignity and respect.
> 
> Having said that you should definitely re-evaluate your current fish keeping situation. If you are unable to provide a set-up where the fish can thrive and not just survive you would be best advised to give away, sell, etc the fish and the tank.
> 
> If these responses have somehow shown you the error of the situation and you decide to continue in the hobby then you have come to the right place for great advice, experience and feedback. The passionate, however innappropriate response you received should be indicative of how much we ALL love fish and seek to see them kept in the most optimum environment outside of the wild they came from.


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## StingrayKurt (Oct 30, 2007)

I agree Go Florida residents!!!! 
I have never heard of anyone breeding those two together, I know alot of people are against the hybridizing of species but I feel it would be an interesting cross. I feel why all of you that are concerned that hybridizing can ruin a true strain and quality of a fish but as long as its handled with care and not labeled as a true brichardi etc. I dont see what the problem is. 
I also agree that it is cruel to feed your fish only twice a week for I feed mine at least twice a day, but I dont think its right for you to judge him for cruelty when your telling him to flush living things down a toilet. Say a stray nasty looking mutt jumps over your fence and makes dog love to your champion line top show french bulldog, when she delivers the mixed little pups do you just throw em off the side of the skyway bridge into the bay? I would hope not! Listen I know they are just fish and most consider dogs have more human values than fish but what it all comes down to is animal cruelty. They are all living things and I cant stand when people say to flush a potentially great looking hybrid down the toilet. If you have a problem with people crossing species suggest to them that they keep/raise their fry and dont sell them to pet stores or local distributors. Its not their fault that their parents happen to be two different species. 
Thats all I have to say, I hope I didn't offend anyone.


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## tranced (Jan 11, 2006)

a problem i can see arising is that no matter how carefully you might keep your hybrids away from the general public, if the hybrid fish keeper were to die suddenly, their next of kin would probably want to sell off their fish and probably will have no idea what a hybrid is... and so hybrids get distributed unknowingly.

just advertise them as feeders with your local cichlid club you will probably make a few new friends this way and a lucky fish somewhere gets a tasty exotic hybrid treat.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I had an accidental breeding of leleupi and brichardi almost twenty five years ago. They didn't breed together, they just bred in the same tank, at the same time... and somehow one of the brichardi eggs was pollunated by the leleupi spawning with his female at the other side of the tank.

It was an interesting fish, but one of the more aggressive Neolamps I've kept... and that is saying a lot.


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## ashilli48 (May 14, 2006)

tranced said:


> a problem i can see arising is that no matter how carefully you might keep your hybrids away from the general public, if the hybrid fish keeper were to die suddenly, their next of kin would probably want to sell off their fish and probably will have no idea what a hybrid is... and so hybrids get distributed unknowingly.
> 
> just advertise them as feeders with your local cichlid club you will probably make a few new friends this way and a lucky fish somewhere gets a tasty exotic hybrid treat.


I can agree with that. A good friend of mine's mother died a few years back and she was an avid fish keeper. Her husband was clueless to what he had on his hands and eager to remove some painful reminders. So, he told the late wife's favorite LFS to come on down and haul it all off!

Maybe we should advise keepers of hybrids to label their tanks "Freaks, please do not sell or distribute to the general public" :lol: (that was a joke by the way)


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Please keep the foul language to a minimum this is a family site. Some posts have been edited due to foul language being copied or used.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

LOL!!! :lol: I literally have a tank with nothing but a few hybrids I thought were interesting... It's labeled "Freak Tank"!


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## imamonstertruck (Jun 15, 2008)

opcorn:


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## TangiNut (Mar 10, 2010)

Wow did I get everyone's fish tail in a knot or what? But seriously, I appreciated the comments, except for the name-calling that was removed. Yes I do tank maintenance. Would breeding between 2 different species occur if conditions were so deplorable? And, repeat, this was not a planned breeding. These fish have been in the tank together at least 6 years. I also have 35-hex full of Julidochromis Transcriptus, darn things keep spitting out more.

I have been thinking about taking both tanks down, due to being located at a house I'm not currently living in...hence the sparse feeding. And I'll bet you way more fish have been killed by overfeeding than underfeeding. Anyways, there's nothing like a tankload of babies to re-spark one's interest. Yep, the babies are still thriving, I have no desire to flush them just because they are half-breeds. Nor would I try to market them as anything other than what they are--Brichardi/Leleupi mix. Just was unaware they could happen!


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## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

aww.. a Leleupi! I've been trying to get one for months for my showtank! so hard to find them in Mexico.

If you are willing to mail to Mx ill pay the delivery and take care of him, same goes for the others!


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## mrs.som (Nov 14, 2009)

Just a comment here, not aimed at anyone in particular but based on an erroneous theory I've heard mentioned several times on this forum, i.e. "They are breeding that must mean their conditions are good right?"
Humans have sex and make babies all the time in the slums, that must mean they enjoy their surroundings and are healthy, right?

Just a thought....


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## bearded lab (Apr 28, 2010)

They wouldn't be breeding if they were dying, would they? Maybe so, but nevertheless, it is good to see you are doing something about it, TangiNut, and congrats on the breeding.


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## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

Tanginut - any chance you can post pic of the hybrid ? or the tank for that matter ? I am curious to see what they look like.


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## bearded lab (Apr 28, 2010)

Me too, for that matter!


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## sunnee1 (May 21, 2010)

WoW! Beong fairly new to cichlids and tangs - I thought something was up with my leleupi and brichardi! They are REALLY good friends and well, now I am sure I will take out my brichardi. I am not liking the idea of my leleupi having the entire 85 gal tank-it seems so understocked, but I love the leleupi so I am sorta stuck. I actually do have a L, faciatis (not a cichlid) a pleco and 2 J, regani in there so the ;e;eupi really won't be all alone


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## drthsideous (Apr 12, 2010)

this might be a little off topic, but I primarily kept reptiles and amphibians for a long time. As far as snake breeding goes, there are a lot of hybrids in that hobby that command top dollar, and are highly sought after as prize specimens, the coolest looking snake I ever owned was a columbian x argentine boa hybrid. The breeding is all done very meticulously to get just the right colors and patters and size....etc. I just think it's interesting how it's completely the opposite for fish. I wouldn't mind trying to cross some species of cichlids to get more docile temperments while still maintaining certain color or pattern characteristics. Obvioulsy I would never try to pass them off as something they weren't. Than again that's how killer bee's were created also.
Jeff


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think it's different for African cichlids specifically. Part of what is unique about them, especially Malawi, is how they evolved in the lake to have separate species. People want to preserve that. Mixing them all up again seems like going backwards, LOL.

I'm not looking for pretty fish but a slice of the lake. Well, pretty fish are good, but a large part of the cool factor is a brilliant fish like Demasoni naturally occurs in the lake.


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## cjbtech (Dec 5, 2008)

after reading everyones comments I have to say that the only thing that concerns me is the light being on 24-7. That is very hard on your fish.
My Frontosas only get fed 2-3 times a week. They don't need anymore than that. In the wild fish like demasoni graze all day just to feed, like cows. 
Your average carnivore has to work, I'm certain, for hours to catch a single meal.
Soo I realy doubt that 2 feedings a week has had much of an effect. That being said keeping fish should be enjoyable for the keeper & should not be a nightmare for the kept.


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