# julidochromis marlieri



## mushi2293 (Apr 29, 2014)

Is it ok to have a j.marlieri by itself. I always here people keeping these guys in pairs but from what I've read about tger personality is that they are kind of an independent. As long as I'm not trying to breed would it be fine to keep a marlieri by themselves.


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Yes you could keep just one but it is more enjoyable to see the interaction if you have a couple of them.

Do you mean as the sole fish in the tank or with other fish species?


----------



## mushi2293 (Apr 29, 2014)

No with others I'm thinking about putting another tank together I have another 20L I could either make it all juli or a mix of marlieri and Shellie's lol


----------



## mushi2293 (Apr 29, 2014)

I also have another 10gal tank that I could commit just to the occelatus or the brevis I'm not sure just yet lol


----------



## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Which variant location for the Julidochromis marlieri? Depending on the location the fish are from, the sizes can vary from 3" (gombe) to 5" (burundi) adult size.


----------



## webbie (Apr 29, 2012)

myself I would leave the Julie as a single specimen,yes its fun to watch a pair of fish but you cant just stick another Julie in ,you need to add another 4 or 5 wait for a pair to form then return the outcasts,and it may not be the original Julie that finds a soulmate, then if they start to breed ,and my j.regani do on a regular basis, they can be evil so and so,s especially the female, my female regani defends almost half of my 240 ltr when she has young


----------



## rck1984 (Feb 13, 2012)

webbie said:


> myself I would leave the Julie as a single specimen,yes its fun to watch a pair of fish but you cant just stick another Julie in ,you need to add another 4 or 5 wait for a pair to form then return the outcasts,and it may not be the original Julie that finds a soulmate, then if they start to breed ,and my j.regani do on a regular basis, they can be evil so and so,s especially the female, my female regani defends almost half of my 240 ltr when she has young


+1

Julidochromis Marlieri can get a size of 13 cm (!). Putting it in a 20L isn't a good idea. Neither solo or in a pair. 
A J. Marleiri needs at least a 100 liter tank in my opinion. If you're trying to get a pair out of 4 or 5, my recommendation is to get a tank closer to 200(!) liter.

Don't underestimate a Julidochromis Marleiri, especially while breeding. They can be very aggressive against other fish or even against each other. (Female gets bigger than the male btw. Unlike most Tang's)

In a rather small tank like 20L, i would suggest picking up another Julidochromis. A (proven) pair (or solo) Julidochromis Ornatus or Julidochromis Transcriptus are better options for that size of a tank i think. They don't grow as big as a J. Marlieri and they're a little less aggressive as far as i know.


----------



## Mr Mbuna (Nov 16, 2007)

My female is 5.5". She takes no nonsense.


----------



## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

rck1984 said:


> In a rather small tank like 20L, i would suggest picking up another Julidochromis. A (proven) pair (or solo) Julidochromis Ornatus or Julidochromis Transcriptus are better options for that size of a tank i think. They don't grow as big as a J. Marlieri and they're a little less aggressive as far as i know.


To be fair, I'm pretty sure the OP has a 20 gallon long tank, often abbreviated in the US as 20L. The actual dimensions are likely 75cm long x 30 cm deep by 30 cm high, for a 75 liter tank, or so. Otherwise, love all the Tang info and fantastic pictures, as they're one of my next 2 projects for sure!


----------



## rck1984 (Feb 13, 2012)

hose91 said:


> rck1984 said:
> 
> 
> > In a rather small tank like 20L, i would suggest picking up another Julidochromis. A (proven) pair (or solo) Julidochromis Ornatus or Julidochromis Transcriptus are better options for that size of a tank i think. They don't grow as big as a J. Marlieri and they're a little less aggressive as far as i know.
> ...


I know  But a 75 cm tank is still a rather small tank in my opinion. I wouldn't put a Julidochromis Marlieri (pair) in that size of a tank


----------



## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Right, sorry!  Silly English units. I'm an engineer and a grad student, and the conversions are sometimes maddening!


----------



## rck1984 (Feb 13, 2012)

hose91 said:


> Right, sorry! Silly English units. I'm an engineer and a grad student, and the conversions are sometimes maddening!


np  I'm always confused also when it comes to conversions..


----------



## LouIE82 (Nov 6, 2012)

The classic metric vs US conversions, always a good time.

The way I look at it, a 20 long is just barely big enough to house a single julie, and that julie may become king of that tank. If that happens the other fish in that tank won't have the most comfortable lifestyle and you'll have a stressful situation. You mentioned occies, when I had a young marlieri in with my occies (marlieri was same size at the time) he was frequently chasing them away and generally terrorizing the tank. I've since put the julie in another tank and it is second in command, only acting "civilized" with the king of that tank, a very rude gold comp.

If I had a 20 long I would just run with some shellies. They're fairly easy to deal with since they won't outgrow that tank, they're easy to keep happy from an aqua-scape perspective since you just need a lot of shells and a few rocks to break up territories, and in my very honest opinion they have the most interesting behavior. I prefer occies, ever since I got mine they have been my favorite fish. Multies and brevis are awesome too, there are a few options to choose from. Good luck and enjoy.


----------



## speakerman3 (Nov 14, 2009)

Is a 20 long big enough for a pair of J. Transcriptus Bemba or J. Marlieri Gombe? I haven't tried them in anything that small, but maybe someone out there has.


----------

