# My new colony ... Petrochromis Famula "Nyanza Lac"



## BrownBullhead (May 15, 2005)

Hello, Cichlid-Forum:

I acquired my first colony of Petrochromis on 2008-12-09. I got 20 Ã- Petrochromis Famula "Nyanza Lac". I had the choice of 15 Ã- Petrochromis Trewavasae (unknown collection point) or these Famula. I traded in 34 Ã- F2 Tropheus Duboisi Karilani, 9 F1 Tropheus Moorii Nkonde Red Sunspot, and a modest sum of cash to acquire these guys. I wanted to clear out those Tropheus and try something different anyway, so there we go. Petrochromis are especially uncommon in this area, so I decided to jump on this while I had the chance!

I believe they're F1. They are about 4" average size, with some a bit smaller. If I was to go on "colours", I believe I have about a 1:1.5 (8:12) ratio of Male:Female; I have not vented them. I have treated prophylactic using Metronidazole to prevent any possibility for "bloat" to occur (fish moved from original keeper to LFS, then from LFS to me, all in the space of 4 days). So far, so good. I haven't taken pictures as of yet, but I will add to this thread when I do. Petrochromis keepers are few and far between in my area, so I need to use the resources of this forum as much as I can. I believe they are the only colony of their species (collection point) in Manitoba; they were originally imported by one of the LFS in Summer 2007.

*I have one female holding as of 2009-01-07, so hopefully this is a sign of things to come!*

Please click the thumbnails to launch the full size JPEG images in a new browser window. Please disable pop-up blocking for PhotoBucket.com.


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## mobas4-life (Aug 11, 2008)

very nice!!!!
im supposed to trade for 6 f1 proven breeders of them.
what is the aggression levels in your tank?


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## Frontlover (Jun 2, 2003)

Very nice fish


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## BrownBullhead (May 15, 2005)

mobas4-life: To be honest, I have two males (one at each end) who defend one Texas Holey Rock each, but overall, aggression is less than that I've ever seen in any of my Tropheus groups over the years.


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## mobas4-life (Aug 11, 2008)

thats good to hear brown.
i also have 9 wc orange kasumbe,4 wc ikola msalaba,and 1 wc moshi.i think i finally got their numbers right,because the aggression is minimal in a 110 gal 6 footer.
nonstop action!!! :thumb:


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## BrownBullhead (May 15, 2005)

mobas4-life: I think the fact my Famula are a large group, not wild stock, and one of the smaller Petro species, helps my cause as far as aggression goes.

You sound like you have a nice variety in your setup! Thank you for your positive comments.


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## mobas4-life (Aug 11, 2008)

thanks brown.
petros are my favorite fish.the action is just unbelievable and i could sit and watch them for 
hours.
i always heard that f1s are less aggressive and the numbers you have in the tank must also help.i also heard that if you have a lot of water movement from a massive powerhead will help dramatically to.i have two 1200gph powerheads in my 110 long.


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## GEOST (Sep 26, 2007)

Very nice fish! I love petros good luck with them.


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## nixanbal (Dec 27, 2005)

Great fish! But this set-up is killing me!


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## vepeta (Feb 27, 2005)

my male is my favorite, he outshines my trews and rainbow kasumbes


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## vepeta (Feb 27, 2005)

mobas4-life said:


> very nice!!!!
> im supposed to trade for 6 f1 proven breeders of them.
> what is the aggression levels in your tank?


I have had a pair for two years. That in itself tells you that this is not a crazy aggressive Petro. They breed regularly but I only get 3 fry a clutch, so after two years I have 14 total. I feel that has to do with the constant bullying she gets from him. Now that his offspring are big enough to take up some of his time I hope she is able to keep more alive.


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## geoff_tropheus (Feb 13, 2003)

Just one more tire, and he'll have enough for his 4x4 to be outfitted for muddin. Then get all the ladies.. :lol:


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## geoff_tropheus (Feb 13, 2003)

Really nice Petros!!


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## BrownBullhead (May 15, 2005)

I have about 30+ juveniles from the "Nyanza Lac" colony growing out in a separate aquarium, and two or three females are holding again. I made the mistake of stripping too early on several occasions so I am going to let these girls go at least two more weeks before I strip 'em. 15+ of these juveniles are in the 1"+ size and are now about 60 days of age. I think I will bring the required five for BAP (Breeders Award Program) at an upcoming local aquarium society club meeting / auction.

I have lost 4 of the 20 adults ... one was a jumper from when I had no lids on the aquarium, and three others from skirmishes within the colony. The dried jumper was too tough to identify the gender, but the other three appeared to be males.

I went through this with a group of Tropheus Duboisi a couple of years back where the colony thinned its numbers by killing off "excess" males one-by-one. That being said, the resulting tropheus colony was very prolific. I think sometimes, after you move a group of fish, you need to allow the group to re-adjust its dynamic, which sometimes means adjusting their hierarchy? :|

The aquascaping has been modified heavily, and all of the flowerpots are removed, although the rockwork is still quite sparse. I need to work to fix that situation. Well, that's enough of an update for now. I won't post any more pictures until I can do something about the rockwork situation.

_And to those who were concerned, the tires are long gone.  Those were a hiding spot for some Synodontis Lucipinnis, who have also vacated the premises._


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## bossfish (Jun 1, 2005)

Brownbullhead,

I think we have the same taste in fish. I've had a colony of the Nkonde sunspot tropheus for several years now. A couple of months ago I picked up 20 Petro famula 'Nyaza lac". What are the chances. I didn't notice the white band in any of your pics. At what size does it go away or is it just not showing up in the pics.


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## BrownBullhead (May 15, 2005)

bossfish: I am not sure what you're talking about re: white band. I didn't mention any white band in this post ... or, are you asking about one of my Tropheus-related posts?


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## bossfish (Jun 1, 2005)

My Petrochromis famula "Nyaza lac" have a faint white band similar to the band on a Kaiser tropheus in it's shape and size. They are still juviniles under 2 1/2 inches. I assume it is the males that are showing the band because they show it more strongly when fighting, the "females?" or subdominant individuals are mostly a brown color. I picked them up from an online seller I had never dealt with before and they may not be what they were sold to me as. The pics that were sent to me showed all kinds of blues and greens that apear to be the result of photoshop. I guess I'll have to grow them out and post some pics for identification. They look very similar to yours execpt for the white band. I was hoping that maybe it was a juvinile coloration. Other than knowing what they are I am enjoying them and they are doing very well. Sorry for any confusion.


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## BrownBullhead (May 15, 2005)

*bossfish*: My females have "barring" that could possibly be described as being white, under the appropriate lighting. Not a "band" as you are describing, but 9 to 11 vertical stripes starting above the gill, and ending at the tail flank. Could you add some pictures of yours to this thread for comparative purposes?


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## Lawsman (Mar 11, 2010)

I have 7 Nyzana Lac with 30 Tropheus Muzi's in a 170 "L" shaped tank. No problems. Saw some Muzi Fry yesterday and think I will see some Petro Fry very soom by viewing their behavior.


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## myjohnson (Dec 28, 2007)

Wow, that would be cool!

Where did you get the petro n. lac from?


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