# pairing N. leleupi



## waingroo (Oct 28, 2012)

Hi, I need an advice about pairing N. leleupi...
I have 10 leleupi in a 40 Gal tank and at least three pairs formed... one of them has spawned but eat the eggs when I tried to separate them in other tank.

Question is: Can I choose male and female by my self (the most intense yellow) and separate them in a smaller tank. The dimorphism it seems to be easy, as the female is almost twice smaller. Thanks


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I'm confused...Why are you trying to separate them into another tank?


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## waingroo (Oct 28, 2012)

Hi Floridagirl,
the answer is simple... if there will be more pairs, each pair will set in a separate tank. I just observe that there are 5 big leleupis (males) and 5 smaller (females), witch means 5 pairs. I'm sure about sexing them... the females abdomen look plump and whitish. That's was my luck


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

I see. It's easier to pull out unpaired fish out of a tank. In some species, moving the fish breaks the pair bond, but they can re-pair. I don't think I would keep Leleupi in anything smaller than a 40 gallon. My male was over 6"..and a brute. He picked on the female relentlessly. I had them in a 125 gallon with lots of hiding spots for the female.


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## waingroo (Oct 28, 2012)

As a breeder, I use smallest possible tanks for both breeding and growing the fry, as long the water parameters are stable. Leleupi can spawn in 10 gallon, I ensure you, even angelfish.... or a betta pair can spawn in 1/2 gal. If you know how aquarium fishes are breed in Asia perhaps you will think is unbelievable... but they breed fishes in almost anything can hold a few litters of water. Of course the best place for leleupi to spawn will be Lake Tanganyika.

Not everything you read in books is based on pure experience. I grew up 500 bettas in 50 gal with no problem.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

waingroo said:


> As a breeder, I use smallest possible tanks for both breeding and growing the fry, as long the water parameters are stable. Leleupi can spawn in 10 gallon, I ensure you, even angelfish.... or a betta pair can spawn in 1/2 gal. If you know how aquarium fishes are breed in Asia perhaps you will think is unbelievable... but they breed fishes in almost anything can hold a few litters of water. Of course the best place for leleupi to spawn will be Lake Tanganyika.
> 
> Not everything you read in books is based on pure experience. I grew up 500 bettas in 50 gal with no problem.


Your kind of answering your own question. Can be done, rather than easily done. Why not use a long thin tank and just pop in a tank devider each time a couple pairs? IME N.leleupi do not always form long term pairs. Can be useful to have em in conected tanks when one "pair" stops breeding and falls out.

Or keep em one huge male to a number of females in shells/breeding holes too small for him to get into. Just tip out the young into another tank filled from the main.

I kind of lost interest in breeding this species. Folk keep buying em and trying em in small tang cichlid communities. Not realy a good tang community cichlid.

All the best James


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

James has some valid points. I'm not into breeding for profit, but providing more space/territory for Tangs to see a more natural behavior.


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## waingroo (Oct 28, 2012)

Floridagirl said:


> James has some valid points. I'm not into breeding for profit, but providing more space/territory for Tangs to see a more natural behavior.


He he.. thank's 24Tropheus... I just realy tell you that for me is not the first time when I breed in divided thank. I use this for colisa lalia, characins (cardinal tetra) and others. Is a good idea trying this with leleupis but I already have a few empty tanks.

Floridagirl, you have right too, the bigger the aquarium, the better for the fishes, also easier to maintain the parameters, but sometimes when you have many tanks, many species and a few space... becomes necessary to use the space as well. As long exist 40Gal NanoReef's, will be no problem for leleupi to spawn in 20Gal.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Its kind of a problem line breeding these guys for extra colour. For the life of me I dunno how the Germans did it to get the very orange ones. Every time I force a pair they do not breed well or even one kills the other. I guess its quality vs quantity. If you just want quantity let em pair up as they want. If its quality make sure all the ones in the tank are how you want em to breed or you can bet the "best coloured ones" will pair/breed with the worste. 

All the best James


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## waingroo (Oct 28, 2012)

Hmm... I think the food make wonders in brighter leleupi colors. The food rich in betacarotene can be the trick... like spirulina algae or perhaps better, brine shrimp growth with spirulin. Also the orange ones can just be other variety of leleupi, depending by region... just like tropheus bemba, ikola, duboisi and others (you can search for tropheus map by region) who looks just a bit different. Anyway, for the pigmentar colorors in fishes, food can influience the red, yellow and orange.... not for the iridescent colors, where it seems that light plays an important role.


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## 7mm-08 (Jan 12, 2012)

Of course you need decent genetics, but substrate color makes a *huge* difference with leleupi. The ones I have in tanks with pool filter sand are a very beautiful yellow. Fish from the same brood on a darker substrate are much less vivid and have dark blotches.


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## Floridagirl (Jan 10, 2008)

7mm-08 said:


> Of course you need decent genetics, but substrate color makes a *huge* difference with leleupi. The ones I have in tanks with pool filter sand are a very beautiful yellow. Fish from the same brood on a darker substrate are much less vivid and have dark blotches.


Yes, I found this true also.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I would agree, food and substrate make huge differences in colour. Breeding leleupi in 10 gallon tanks, once paired up isn't a huge problem, but they do have more pair breakups resulting in deaths than most other substrate spawners.. at least in such small tanks. Pairing them up is best done in larger tanks... if the female isn't ready to breed, and the male gets angry, the female will be dead in the 10 gallon. I would pair them up in a 4ft tank, then move the pair over... sure there is a risk the pair "bond" as loose as they are for leleupi could be lost, but it is better than trying to pair them up in the 10.


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## thefishdaddy (Nov 7, 2002)

the easiest way to do it is to just keep the best looking male and remove the other 4 males and breed the fish in a harem just add lots of caves, thats what I have done.


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## Als49 (Jul 11, 2014)

waingroo said:


> If you know how aquarium fishes are breed in Asia perhaps you will think is unbelievable... but they breed fishes in almost anything can hold a few litters of water.


+1. I've been to those farms and were surprised. Many don''t even use filters, only sponge with aerators, but does WC everyday. They don't pamper their fish.

Lol they even keep betta in a small bottle of jams.


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