# J. regani (Kipili) in Tang Community



## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

We picked up a young pair of regani (Kipili) and would like to start a Tang community setup if possible. I know these fish do well in species tanks. A community setup would be great though. Will an established multi colony survive in a tank with them long term? Calvus? Any other suggestions? The tank size is a bit flexible. We have a 20 Long and a 30 (36"x12" footprint). They could possibly go into a 40 Breeder, 55, or 125 depending on what else we might stock them with.


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## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

I have a pair of Regani in a 40" long set up with a colony of multis and a calvus and cyps and a single tret no problems at all ,except for having to rehome regani fry on a regular basis,when you say you have a "pair" do you meen two regani or an actual male /female pair ?


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

That's good news. I wasn't sure how much predation there would be with the multis in particular. Your stock list is actually more than I was anticipating. How wide is your tank? I'm guessing you have several different defined territories for the different species?

The regani are a male and female, not proven yet though. I'm hoping they will eventually spawn. I would have preferred a large group to create a spawning pair, but the breeder was only offering these two.


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## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

MY set up is 40" long x 15" wide,two seperate rock piles one at each end seperated by stretch of sand about 8",the multis shell bed is in front of the left rock pile and the regani tend to stay mainly at the other end,got to say they are fantastic parents they do a great job of guarding the young,so much so I had to take ten young to my LFS yesterday ,couldnt keep them all,got £30 for them ,about $45 I think?,hope you get a "pair" the females tend to be quite a bit bigger than the males


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

An update here, followed by a bit of a question -

We have had the tank (standard 40 breeder - 36"x18") running for a couple of months now, and as much as I have read about establishing different territories for tangs, we seem to have some overly friendly Julies. Friendly of course being a negotiable term.

We have created two separate territories as of now. One side of the tank has a nice shell bed (where the multis hang out for the most part), and the other half of the tank has some good rock work - intended for the julies. Well, not so. The julies hang out over the shells as much as the shellies. :roll: As you could imagine, this does create some drama. The multis are always bouncing off of them and showing their desire to own that half of the tank. The julies just take the beating though, and the half of the tank with rockwork sits empty for the most part.

I haven't noticed the julies attacking the shellies more than one might expect, they just seem to like that side of the tank.

We did add a white calvus and a gold head comp recently, but they are just growing out, and two small to make a significant impact on the territory dispute. The calvus likes the shells too, but he mostly just gets chased off.

Any thoughts on resolving this and encouraging the julies to like the other half of the tank?


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## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

How big a gap do you have between the shells and the rocks for the Julies ? Try to provide a distinct gap of open sand this may persuade them to stay at their own end of the tank


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

webbie said:


> How big a gap do you have between the shells and the rocks for the Julies ?


I thought I had included this bit of information 

The gap is probably 12" though. It is a big space in the center of the tank.


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## ssondubs (Nov 16, 2008)

Community setup works best when other species are not competing for the same turf. Keep Cyprichromis to fill the open water portion of your tank, Julie's for the rocks and shell dwellers or sand sitters for the bottom portion of the tank.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Per the Profiles, the regani are big and aggressive. A 72" tank would be ideal if you mix them with other Tangs...or least a 48" tank.

For a 36" tank I was advised to stick with the 3" julidochromis.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

I have not kept many of these but did keep them very well for a very long time in a 60"x18"x18" tang community. Once down to a pair they showed little aggression but all others gave them a wide berth and nothing messed with them, not even breeding N.pulcher.
I would say yep a great cichlid for a big robust community. Dunno about smaller as I have always tried smaller Julie species in those.

Oh there is some dought as to wheather they are just a regani variant or a separate species. They are for sure shorter and more deap bodied than most regani.

All the best James


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

ssondubs said:


> Keep Cyprichromis to fill the open water portion of your tank, Julie's for the rocks and shell dwellers or sand sitters for the bottom portion of the tank.


This seems logical... Any species recommendation? All of the Cyps seem to be pretty decently sized fish. Would _Paracyprichromis nigripinnis_ fit the bill?



24Tropheus said:


> Once down to a pair they showed little aggression but all others gave them a wide berth and nothing messed with them


I'm pretty confident that I have a M/F pair, but they haven't spawned yet... I'm actually wondering if that is what is getting ready to take place. I've read the female gets overly aggressive just before, and she was taking open shots at just about everyone last night. I'm thinking I might rescue the multis and comp/calvus and see if there is any action. That might be a bad idea if I ever want to reintroduce them though?



DJRansome said:


> For a 36" tank I was advised to stick with the 3" julidochromis.


It seems like aggression is going to be an issue for any of the julies... I could understand a smaller fish being less intimidating though. The regani are about 3" (female) and 2" or so (male), and they definitely carry a punch. The confusing thing for me was that they have a nice pile of rocks to occupy, and they don't do so much as swim through it to take a better run at the multis. :roll: Maybe something else to occupy the water column as ssondubs recommended?


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## Grill88 (Mar 4, 2013)

I have a pair in my 29gal currently, and they are breeding and already have fry that are free swimming. I have them in a 29gal with some P. nigripinnis and L. ornatipinnis shell dwellers. I set up my tank very similar to yours, rock pile on one side with a gap in the middle and my shells on the other end. I also have a few plants in there as well. My regani were like yours for the first couple days. They would swim around the tank and harass the shellies. Then one day they both were hidden in the rocks and rarely came out. Every once and awhile the smaller male would come out to guard the rock pile. Anything that came near it was attacked, even the bristlenose pleco. Every once and awhile they switch places, the dad goes in the rocks and the female makes her way around the tank showing everyone who is the boss lol. There is aggression, but nothing too crazy to the point of deaths. I am cleaning out an old 55gal to move them into eventually though. They were labeled at my LFS as J. transcriptus, but after getting them home and in the tank discovered they were not!


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Interesting. Mine were fully 4" before breeding. other regani on the other hand bred for me at about 21/2". Prob just a slow pair on the Kipili side as yep they can breed far smaller than they will get.
Yep not any or less aggressive just a 4-5" fish needs lots more space (breeding terriory about 18"x18" or more) and bigger tank mates in general.
Hate to say it but think Grill88 very lucky not to have others killed in a 29g by breeding J.regani Kipili.
You sure they are not just a yellow ornatus Grill88? For sure those can work long term in a 29g community only maxing at about 3".

All the best James


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## Grill88 (Mar 4, 2013)

24Tropheus said:


> Interesting. Mine were fully 4" before breeding. other regani on the other hand bred for me at about 21/2". Prob just a slow pair on the Kipili side as yep they can breed far smaller than they will get.
> Yep not any or less aggressive just a 4-5" fish needs lots more space (breeding terriory about 18"x18" or more) and bigger tank mates in general.
> Hate to say it but think Grill88 very lucky not to have others killed in a 29g by breeding J.regani Kipili.
> You sure they are not just a yellow ornatus Grill88? For sure those can work long term in a 29g community only maxing at about 3".
> ...


Yeah, I'm pretty positive they are regani and not ornatus. I posted a thread on here awhile back when I got them. I think it was titled "J. regani or J. transcriptus?". I agree I am lucky, I didn't expect them to breed so fast. My female is 2.5-3 inches and the male is maybe 1.5 inches at the most. In fact, when I randomly picked them at the LFS I didn't really know for sure if I had a male and female. They pretty much formed a pair instantly. When I found out on here they were regani, that is when I started to clean up an old 55gal. Haven't got it set up for them yet though. I have another thread with baby pictures on here, I'm too lazy to go back and link them lol


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

24Tropheus said:


> a 4-5" fish needs lots more space (breeding terriory about 18"x18" or more) and bigger tank mates in general.


If I kept the regani in a species tank, what would you consider to be comfortable? Will they need the entire 40 breeder?

It still doesn't make sense to me that they have claimed a shell bed over a pile of rocks... Maybe I'll have to trade them off for a smaller species. I really like the looks of these though. F1's with some great color :roll:


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Breeding pair should be happy in a 29g. Just others are kind of in danger in a tank that small esp when the Kipili realy get going at full size.
40g is kind of hard to say one way or the other long term. For sure I would try mixing em with other cichlids in a tank that size esp when small but only if ready to change things if I got aggression probs later. 55g prob better long term or even as I did a 60"x18"x18".
Thing is with many cichlids its kind of an art not a science.
I kind of go for conservative side on advice but tend to try adventurous mixes myself but sometimes regret it.
Sometimes the adventurous mixes work, sometimes not.

All the best James


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

24Tropheus said:


> Breeding pair should be happy in a 29g.


I see a lot of people recommend 29's for various breeding projects... Do you think the 6" of height adds that much over a 20 Long? Those are much more convenient in our fish room.



24Tropheus said:


> 40g is kind of hard to say one way or the other long term. For sure I would try mixing em with other cichlids in a tank that size esp when small but only if ready to change things if I got aggression probs later.
> 
> Thing is with many cichlids its kind of an art not a science.
> 
> ...


I'm right there with you for the most part concerning adventurous mixes. I expected this to be an adventurous mix when I started out, and I'm making that preparation to relocate now. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't neglecting some special tang voodoo that would help the fish to coexist. It's logical that a 5" fish may pick on a 1.5" fish in a 36" tank, but I didn't expect to see as much strife with the younger fish.

You win some and you lose some!

Now I guess the option is 
1.) Leave the regani in the 40B to populate and move the shellies and calvus to a 20L
2.) Move the regani to the 20L and add some cyps or something else to the shellies and lone calvus and comp in the 40B

Of course I like option 2 as I would rather have a smaller species tank and a bigger community.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

I like option 2. Not only better for you but prob better for your fish. :thumb:


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

24Tropheus said:


> I like option 2. Not only better for you but prob better for your fish. :thumb:


Cool - Just to be clear, you like the 20L long term for the regani?



jcabage said:


> 2.) Move the regani to the 20L and add some cyps or *something else *to the shellies and lone calvus and comp in the 40B


What do you like for the something else in the 40B?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Arg but then Julie pairs often brake when moved. Best option would be to keep those in the 40g and get another similar tank. Hate to say it but thats kind of why many of us end up with so many tanks. :wink:

Sorry to change my mind on you. Its kind of hard fitting stuff in again once an adventurous mix goes pearshaped.

All tne best James


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## jcabage (May 29, 2012)

I was worried about that as well lol. My only thought was that they haven't actually "paired" yet. No breeding or anything, they are just a male and female that are tolerating each other at this point.

We do have other 40 Breeders, but I'm not sure we've got room to dedicate another to tangs. Too many Malawi fry!

Did the idea of adding some paracyps to help divide the territories have any weight at all?


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Adding a breeding cave can sometimes stop Julies claiming big territories. Kind of the more secure they feel the less they beet up on other cichlids. Paracyps not realy one way or the other. If attacked they generaly just die but happily generaly just ignored by real rockdwellers. Kind of just hang out under a high up overhang looking pretty and trying to stay out of trouble.

All the best James


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