# minimum group size for tropheus



## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

If I get a group of wild tropheus 3m/5f will it work. Will the group breed? How about 1m/5f? With only one male will the aggression level be much lower? Interested to know if anyone has done this and what a good tank setup is.


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## Fredrik H. (Oct 25, 2002)

The dominant male will constantly go around the group and correct everyone. The larger the group the longer it takes for the dominant male to make his rounds. It's good to have a few more males because then the domianant male in nost cases has to keep busy fightng other males and showing them that his at top so they wont take over. If he is alone with females they could get too much of a beating. Are you going to have them with other similar fishes? If you try a small group of Tropheus its good to have some distraction going on in at the same level as the Tropheus moves. This ca also disturb the dominant male a bit.

I have had 3 duboisi for 8-10 years with no problem. I had 5 moorii for a long time too once. But I have also had groups that started around 20 and got smaller cause the nr.1 male was mean. At the end when there is just 6-7 left it can go really fast in such case. It's very hard to find a solution to it when it starts. Changing interior decoration can work but many times it just works for a short wile. Taking the dominant male out can work but it often only takes a few weeks and you have a new dominant male. I think you should go ahead and try it but the more Tropheus you have the better are your chances.


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## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

So when the group was down to a few fish does it still breed? What kind of dither fish do you recommend? How about some mbuna?


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## Fredrik H. (Oct 25, 2002)

Yes I have had them breed when beeing just 3, but it was in a busy 2 meter long tank. But it is harder since aggression comes with breeding. Also worth to mention here is that the 2 females and one male that Im referring to here had grown up together from the start. To take out 3 or 5 individuals from a group of full grown Tropheus and place them alone would most sertain end in only the dominant male surviving.

Yes most mbuna will do fine. I have 22 Tropheus brichardi "Kipili" with about 20 demsoni at the moment and both groups are breeding very well. I know thats not the numbers you are going for but just to tell you that the Trophs and Mbunas ignore eachother just to the reasonable limit where it works as a little disturbing with small territorial fights but never anything serious like what can occur within the same species.


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## NorthShore (Feb 3, 2006)

Small groups can be managed with success, but I'd strongly advise keeping large groups to gain some experience with them first. For someone new to tropheus, it's almost certainly a recipe for disaster.


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## zcfish (Jan 31, 2009)

thanks guys for the inputs.

I have never kept tropheus before. When I look at what's available on the market you either get wild caught (from vendors or other hobbist) or juvies. I don't seem TR adults very often. With wild caught the benefit is you get the desired ratio right away. With juvies you have to go through the culling process to get a final colony, like 2 years later. So the cost of wild caught is not that much more for a colony of about 4m/12f. For example you can get red rainbows wild for less than $30 but the 1 inch juvies are $15 a piece!

So if a wild caught group has been acclamated for a while is it really that much more difficult to keep than tank raised? I understand a new group from Africa just coming off the plane will be a different story.


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## Fredrik H. (Oct 25, 2002)

Very true. If the group has been going together in a tank for a while you have come a long way allready with the wild caught. But to take 3-5 wild caught out of a group and placing them alone is not a good idea even if the group they came from was working.


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