# choosing right sand dweller - help needed



## ivan_bg (Jan 23, 2015)

Hi, some help and suggestions needed.
Soon I'll be forming new aquariums setups - two aquariums of approximately 500 liters each.
The idea is to form peaceful community aquariums where all species can cohabitate and spawn. It is not necessary that all fry can survive, but I would like to avoid catching and separating fish, nursing fry in additional aquarium etc. Because of this, I would stick to mouth-brooders - cyprichromis, paracyprichromis, and xenotilapia (or enantiopus, eventually, if someone has other idea or solution - but some sand-dweller generally).
What I'm looking for is suggestions for xenotilapia (or some other sand-dweller) varieties. What varieties are more resistant than other? Which can raise their brood more probably than the others (I read somewhere that x. bathyphilus eat each other's fry - is it true)? Which can better cohabitate with (para)cyprichromis?
Cheers,
Ivan
P.S. Sorry for my English, hope it understandable enough


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## ivan_bg (Jan 23, 2015)

Or to try to simplify the question. Are (para)cyprichromis fry safe, for example, with xenotilapia bathyphilus? They will not eat them?
And second, is there a way to catch and raise xenotilapia bathyphilus fry in separate tank without squeezing the holding female? With my (para)cyprichromis I used to wait for female to release the fry naturally.
Thanks,
Ivan


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A couple of facts. I don't think the fact that a fish is a mouth brooder means it will not eat its own fry or the fry of other fish. I do not think paracyp fry would be safe with adults in the tank.

Also you do not need to squeeze mouth brooding females to collect fry. You can isolate the holding female in a fry tank, and then remove her after she spits out the babies naturally. Or you can strip the mother by gently opening her mouth so the babies can escape.

If you don't really want fry at all a colony of Altolamprologus calvus with a colony of multifasciatus will leave together peacefully with no need to remove fry. The calvus fry will likely be eaten, and the multifasciatus will likely produce so many fry that some will survive.

Or you could do a species tank with brichardi and they will raise fry without eating them once you have a dominant pair.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Paracyp fry are tiny. I would expect most other fish will eat them. In my experience, the adult Paracyps eat them.


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## ivan_bg (Jan 23, 2015)

Thanks for the answers, guys!
My experience with cyp. leptosoma and paracyp. nigripinnis is quite positive regarding raising fry. No one is casing (nor eating) fry and they grow nicely, enlarging initial shoals of these species.
This is stable and peaceful situation for more than a year, when I gave away my breeding couples of neolamprologus buescheri and alto. sp. "compressiceps shell".
Now I want to make larger tanks and reconsider the idea that some fish for the bottom level would be nice to introduce. But not to disturb growing shoals of parcyp. and leptosoma.
I never kept sand dwelling cichlids, but they are usually referred as perfect tank mates for (para)cyprichromis. That's why I want to learn something more on them.
So far, I had many Tanganyika species, but finally decided to try to establish some peaceful communities (as much as possible) with carnivores. I just want to know if it is possible with sand cichlids. If not, maybe the solution is to introduce some small shell dwelling cichlids, such as neolamp. kungweensis or similis.
Cheers!
Ivan


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I have kept Kilesa and Melanogenys with both cyps and paracyps and I'm currently keeping Xeno Papilio with them.
I had issues with jumbo blue orchid cyps dive bombing melanogenys but I don't have that issue with the cyps I have now and Papilios.
I can't answer in regards to the danger to fry because like I said earlier, I have never had any luck leaving fry in the main tank.
P,S, my tank is a 6' 210g.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

My shellies have always roamed throughout the tank, even with the cyps. And like noddy, my cyps and shellies ate their own fry and the fry of others.


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## ivan_bg (Jan 23, 2015)

I honesty wouldn't know what is causing problems, and so different experiences. Here are some photos of my kigoma "jumbo dwarf" and nigripinnis shoals. Please don't judge on huge number of fishes on Nigripinnis photo, it is just temporarily, before giving some fish away. And photos are of horrible quality, they are just a screenshots from movies I couldn't upload as mp4, but the fry is visible.


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