# My very first Tropheus



## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Hi 
Planing to start my first tropheus for breeding

My aquarium size '135*55*60 Cm" around 480 liters
My tape water ph 8.4 to 9 
My tape water tds 135 
I had ro system if needed ph 7.2 tps 12

Iam not expert but i had some knowledge i breed -discus - mbuna- beta and some other species
So.
I buy some silica sand and internal filters planing to add few limestone rocks .. i have sump but don't wanna use it

How many Tropheus should i get to start my own colony ?

Should i buy Juvenile or adult once?!

What Species should i keep " less aggressive " duboisi -bemba-yellow band" those what i can find !

I don't have access to high quality dry food What i should feed them i found . ?!

Thx and sorry for my English.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Think in terms of 20 fish. Feed them 70% algae/seaweed (spirulina and nori are examples) and 30% aquatic protein (shrimp is an example). You cannot order high quality dry fish food online?

I would buy juveniles and all at once.

Sounds like you may not be able to get any other species than duboisi? Why not them?


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## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Thx for your reply 
I can order online food for fish but it's not that easy around here

Local fish store sell over priced food or unknown source fish food 
So i will just stay with what u advice ❤ thx brother


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Just so you know, we have to order the high quality food online here and most everywhere as well. Well worth the price. Agree local fish stores sell foods produced by organizations with big marketing budgets as opposed to high quality ingredients.

I don't buy fish from the local fish store either, online vendors are less expensive and better quality by far.


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## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Thx again my brother i think iam going to keep it fresh for now fresh "freshwater " algae i used for fishing in nile river and dry sea weed with some shrimp 
I will try to order some stuff


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You probably need to grind the shrimp and maybe the algae and bind it with gelatin. There are home-made fish food recipes in the Cichlid-forum Library and you will customize the algae/protein for your tropheus.


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## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Thank you again iam taking alot


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

I beg to differ. I've been keeping and breeding _Tropheus_ for more than 20 years, and my recommendations would be the following.

(1) In a 50" tank, aim for 12-15 _Tropheus_. It is best to buy a group of juveniles and raise them together. You will probably lose a few if this is your first time around with this genus, so if you start with 16-18 young fishes you should be all set once they grow up.

(2) You do not need to supplement vegetable-based foods with shrimp or anything else: _Tropheus_ do just fine with a 100% vegetable diet both in the wild and in captivity. My _Tropheus_ get spirulina flakes (~50% of their diet), NLS AlgaeMax pellets (~10% of their diet), and fresh, raw vegetables- lettuce leaves, spinach, _etc._ (~40% of their diet). Young _Tropheus_ have to learn to eat things like lettuce leaves, but once they do that, it will become an important part of their diet. This will be particularly advantageous for you if your access to commercial vegetable-based foods is limited.

(3) Start with a relatively mellow _Tropheus_ population. _T. duboisi_ are a popular choice for _Tropheus_ neophytes because they are the least aggressive _Tropheus_ species. The disadvantage of _duboisi_ is that they don't take to raw vegetables as much as other _Tropheus_ species, although my experience here is limited to _duboisi_ populations from the eastern side of the lake, not _T. duboisi_ Bemba.

Another good choice would be _T. sp. 'black'_ Bemba, a population from the same locale, but a completely different species.. _T. sp. 'black'_ Bemba are relatively mellow, don't get very large, breed easily with minimal fry predation, and are very pretty. Here is an old pic of my first _T. sp. 'black'_ Bemba colony, taken in early 2000; you can see many fry growing up in the same tank as their parents.

Good luck! :thumb:


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## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Thx sir 
So friend of mine try sell those for me 
11 idk what they are and the only 11 and one of them is like 10 cm others are much smaller 
And they are not cheap 
I think iam going to wait ... Until I find like 20 same size


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

Difficult to tell from the pics what those _Tropheus_ are; they could be any of several possibilities. I think you are right to wait for a group of smaller ones if that is an option. Good luck!


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## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Thanks for u help


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## Mohmedelsayd (Sep 7, 2020)

Another guy trying to sell 15 of those he id them as tropheus bemba
Should i buy them ?! Or wait !


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

Mohmedelsayd said:


> Another guy trying to sell 15 of those he id them as tropheus bemba
> Should i buy them ?! Or wait !


_Tropheus sp. 'black'_ Bemba is a black fish with a wide orange band in the mid-body. The fish in the photo looks like a juvenile just transitioning into adult coloration (or a fish that is scared at being out of water). If you've seen these fishes in person (or pics of them in an aquarium) and are happy with their coloration, as well as their identification as _T. sp. 'black'_ Bemba, I wouldn't hesitate to buy them. As I mentioned earlier in this post, I think _T. sp. 'black'_ Bemba would be a great choice for your first _Tropheus_. However, there are lots of _T. sp. 'black'_ Bemba in the hobby that have lost their intense coloration due to inbreeding. That said, the fish in the pic looks to have good orange color coming in. Good luck!


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