# Options for replacing Julidochromis in a 55 community



## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

I have discovered that my pair of J.marlieri is not a pair of J.marlieri but a pair of marlieri and regani. I am planning on getting rid of them and culling the fry. I would like to replace them with another rock spawner that is under 6". Any thoughts on what would be good to replace them with? My current stocking is 4 L.ornatipinnis and 11 C.leptosoma.


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## orau22 (May 8, 2012)

Calvus?


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Altolamprologus, Paracyprichromis, Julidochromis (ornatus, transcriptus, Gombe), Telmatochromis vittatus/bifrenatus would all work.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

I have some A.comps in another tank, waiting for them to get some size on them before I introduce them into the 55. I have been looking at telmatochromis, I hear they are notorious egg/fry snatchers any truth to this? Also any idea what type of scape they prefer?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I really liked the Julidochromis marlieri 'gombe' that i had for a couple years. Beautiful colors on the fish and mine bred like rabbits so I was able to share them with other hobbyists.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Deeda said:


> I really liked the Julidochromis marlieri 'gombe' that i had for a couple years. Beautiful colors on the fish and mine bred like rabbits so I was able to share them with other hobbyists.


I have found that my 'larger' julies were too aggressive for the tank. The female dominated a good half of the bottom of my tank, a good 10"+ past the rocks. I'm torn between a smaller species of juli, like dickfeldi or transcriptus. The 55 cookie cutter recommends N.buescheri, 12 of them . The article says they are reclusive, but their profile describes them as aggressive and CS:highly aggressive; dave is also selling them for $15 each. Kinda expensive imo, spent a ton on my cyps; im done with expensive fish lol.
I'm a big fan of little fish, was also considering Telmatochromis but it seams like they wouldn't fill the 'rock spawner' niche left by my julies.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The marlieri "Gombe" is a dwarf Julidochromis and would be fine. They are the same size as transcriptus.

Telmatochromis will use the rocks quite a bit, the female may choose to spawn in a shell in the rocks.


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## jtranscriptus (Apr 20, 2004)

I would either wait on your Comps/Calvus to grow up or go with some Julidochromis ornatus. Ornatus is the smallest of the Juli; if you get your hands on the congo yellow they are stunning.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Would it be feasable to keep comps with small julies? Or are they considered 'bite-sized'? To be honest, I was considering dickfeldi. I'm looking for something that will let my L.ornatipinnis use as much as the floor as possible. I know my larger julies would drive them about 10" away from the rocks, which caused some issues as the ornatipinnis like to have a large territory.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

The small Julidochromis would not be eaten as adults, no worries there. J. dickfeldi might work, but the smaller Julidochromis have a better probability of working in a 55 gallon.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I'd stick with Juli Ornatus or Gombe. Juli's are one of my favorite fish.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwcichlidst&1343273107 Does this look legit? Never heard of transcrup gombe


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Without comment on the aquabid offering, gombe used to be sold as transcriptus and sometimes still are.


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## FishFlake (Mar 7, 2010)

My Julidochromis marlieri Burundi have beautiful blue on their fins and breed like rabbits. Never observed any aggression problems. They occupy a large rock pile and a smaller second pile along with several black calvus. There are also cyps and shellies in the tank.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

DJRansome said:


> Without comment on the aquabid offering, gombe used to be sold as transcriptus and sometimes still are.


Please comment  . Do you think they are asking too much? I cannot trust my LFS anymore, unsure which companies are reliable.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

I'm torn between Julidochromis marlieri Gombe and Julidochromis transcriptus Pemba.


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## Darkskies (Mar 17, 2012)

Ptyochromis said:


> I'm torn between Julidochromis marlieri Gombe and Julidochromis transcriptus Pemba.


For what it's worth, I think the Gombe variant of the Marlieri is a much more striking and beautiful fish than the transcriptus


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

What about temperament?


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## Darkskies (Mar 17, 2012)

Ptyochromis said:


> What about temperament?


I'm not sure. I didn't think it would be any different than a transcriptus or ornatus. I thought the main issue with Reganis and Marlieris(normal sized) is that they are large enough to pull out female shelldwelling cichlids in an effort to get at the fry. A 3-3.5" Marlieri gombe probably would not be able to do that?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Well I ordered 6 transcriptus pemba and an L340(for a different tank, if it doesn't work out it will go in the tang tank). Should I let a pair form in a separate tank and move them to the main tank, or let the pair form in the main tank and remove the un-paired individuals?


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## Darkskies (Mar 17, 2012)

Ptyochromis said:


> Well I ordered 6 transcriptus pemba and an L340(for a different tank, if it doesn't work out it will go in the tang tank). Should I let a pair form in a separate tank and move them to the main tank, or let the pair form in the main tank and remove the un-paired individuals?


Hmm..I thought I read somewhere that if you move a pair of julies they're likely to lose their pair bond(not always though?) so maybe it might be best to have them grow and form pairs in the main tank and then remove the un-paired fish? Of course, it's harder to remove un-paired individuals in a bigger tank that is full of rocks and decorations...


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Yes I have heard the same thing. I know other people dispute the fact that moving a pair of julies will cause them to separate. It may be that the pair is moved to a tank with less than optimal rocks and the pair splits; refusing to spawn in inadequate caves. I have also tired to catch fish in a well decorated tank, it is a very time consuming/difficult tank. I also suck at catching fish lol.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

A few years back, I gave my Julie Regani pair a large shell to make a home in. And I was able move the shell many times, in multiple tanks, with no problems. They lived in a Cypraecassis Rufa shell and loved the narrow opening.


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## Hdog (Jul 26, 2012)

i would recommend some neolamprologus cylindricus. they resemble julies but once you establish a pair they dont harm other tankmates. and if you feed color enhancing food, they color up very nicely and their stripes become somewhat purple to light pinkish grey. i definitely like the look of them. but if you have others of the same species and one pairs up, then the others are in serious danger and should be removed.

hope this helps

-harrison


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Well, it's a bit late now lol. I also hear tat cylindricus, like leleupi only pair for spawning and don't tolerate each other. I also hear that they have a habit of pulling shellies out of shells and eating them.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

The J.transcriptus pemba arrived today . They are neat fish, I think I may be seeing pairing behavior but it's too soon to say for sure.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

Picture, please!


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Oh ya! totally forgot. I'll get some tomorrow when the light come back on. I already have one who is aggressively defending his cave, but he is very selective about who he/she(im leaning toward she) drives away. I might go ahead and move out these unpaired ornatipinnis and bring in my breeding pair. There are a bit too many fish in that tank and the unpaired ornatipinnis aren't pairing up like i hoped they would. Maybe another cave tower is in order, it may advocate pairing of the julies and help keep the comps out of the shells. It will also make it nearly impossible to catch un-paired julies woohoo.
But pics will go up in the morning/afternoon.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

As promised


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## Storiwyr (Apr 24, 2012)

Awwww ... they're adorable!


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks, I like them a lot. They don't seem to have the aggression that comes with the larger species but they also haven't been in the tank very long so I have no idea how things will change once they begin pairing off and spawning.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 23, 2012)

I also made a movie lol, its kinda bad, just mute it


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