# Thinking about Vics...



## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Ho hum. I've recently become bored with my hap/peacock tank and have starting thinking about my options to liven it up again for me. Recently, Victorians have been catching my eye...I've never kept one before in my life though, so I'm not sure about stocking. I have my eye on a couple species that I think are just beautiful from a nearby breeder. I'm not sure what the rules are for mixing different species of Victorians though. The females seem to mostly look very similar, so I assume they would crossbreed very easily? How successful are all-male Victorian tanks, do males colour up properly? The three species I'm contemplating are:

Paralabidochromis chromogynos
Paralabidochromis sp. "Redfin Piebald"
Xystichromis sp. "Dayglow"

At the very least, the Piebald and the Dayglow, as these two are currently available. Is mixing the two a bad idea? Should Victorians be kept in species tanks if one intends to breed? I'm not in it to breed them, but if I have a couple uncommon, beautiful species I certainly would like them to produce some fry. If an all-male tank is easily attainable without many aggression issues though, I could do that as well.

If I were to do only one species, how many males and females would be best? What would be the smallest recommended tank size for a colony of one species?

The tank would be a standard 55gal.

I appreciate any info and insight!


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## RAFF (Apr 27, 2007)

The dayglow and Piebald should be fine. Chromogenys and piebald will cross breed.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Okay, well, they don't have the chromos at the moment anyway, I just saw the picture and fell in love. Maybe I can do a species tank for them when they become available. What tank size would you suggest for the chromos species tank, and how many males/females?

How many males/females of the dayglows and piebalds in the 55gal?


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## RAFF (Apr 27, 2007)

I would go with 1m/3-4f ratio so maybe 2m/6-8f of each. I have 1m/3f dayglows in a 55 annd there is plenty of room for more. I have 1m/2f ppiebalds in a 5ft 120gal tank with 2m/5f nyererei and 2m/1f limax. The piebalds and dayglow males are very aggressive and will challenge each other for territory in a 55 but should be fine.


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