# Tropheus project



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are my future plans for the accomodation of the tropheus...

*AQUA 1 (165x60x50cm)*
17 Tropheus sp red â€œmoliroâ€œ (10 adults + 7 juveniles 3/5 cm)
8 Tropheus moorii â€œnkondeâ€


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

I donÂ´t know what happened to one of the pics. Here is the correction...



Diogo Lopes said:


> Hi,
> 
> Here are my future plans for the accomodation of the tropheus...
> 
> *AQUA 1 (165x60x50cm)*
> 17 Tropheus sp red â€œmoliroâ€œ (10 adults + 7 juveniles 3/5 cm)
> 8 Tropheus moorii â€œnkondeâ€


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

HereÂ´s a video of the Murago and Bemba...






Cheers,
Diogo


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## doc35

Great fish are in your proyects!!! and big Aquariums!, don't forget posting pictures!!!!


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

3 pics of the moliros...




























Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are 3 vÃ­deos and an update on the numbers...

*AQUA 1* (165x60x50cm)
10 Tropheus sp red â€œmoliroâ€œ (10 adults)
7 Tropheus sp black â€œkirizaâ€


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I took some **** from their mothers...



















Tehy are all the same age and the tropheus are much bigger than the erectmodus.

In total they are 30 erectmodus, 9 kirizas and just 4 moliros!

Cheers,
Diogo


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## BurgerKing

Quite the size difference in the fry. Beautiful fish. I love how colorful trophs are, its like each scale holds its own pattern. :thumb: :thumb:


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Just for the record - another red moliro holding...










Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today some big news! The nkonde and the chaitika arrived! Both are WC.
The nkonde are really huge and make my moliros look like ****!!! The chaitika came has SWC (small wild caught) but they have a good size too - almost the same as all my previous adults.

*AQUA 1* (165x60x50cm)
10 Tropheus sp red â€œmoliroâ€œ (10 adults)
7 Tropheus sp black â€œkirizaâ€


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are two pic of the dominate male of the nkonde colony 48 hours after...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## IrkedCitizen

Nice. I really like Chaitika Tropheus. And your Nkonde look really good.


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are two pics of the all aquarium...



















And some others of the fishes...














































And some pics of the upper aquarium were the small kiriza and moliro are allready swimming (unfortunately all the erectmodus that were with them were killed by their older brothers (that are almost the same size as the new tropheus)...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more pics of the nkonde!
The dominant male...




























And the dominant female - check the diference of sizes for the moliro...










Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today some pics of the WC Moorii chaitika blue...























































Cheers,
Diogo


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## KoenEeckhoudt

First thought: 

Second thought: 

Third thought: :x => because I don't have that

Fourth thought: Amazing fish and tanks

And last thought: Very nice picture taking as well :thumb: How's your photo setup? Cam? Lens? Lights?

Keep it up dude...


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Thanks for your feedback!



KoenEeckhoudt said:


> And last thought: Very nice picture taking as well :thumb: How's your photo setup? Cam? Lens? Lights?


The camera is a Canon EOS 20D and the lens is the regular 18-55mm that cames within the kit. The pics were taken in manual mode with flash on.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## KoenEeckhoudt

flash just mounted on the cam? :-?

I get very ugly reflections when doing that... that why I use a ttl cable to power the flash, on top of the aquarium


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



KoenEeckhoudt said:


> flash just mounted on the cam? :-?
> 
> I get very ugly reflections when doing that... that why I use a ttl cable to power the flash, on top of the aquarium


I only use the flash of the camera!!! The reflection can be avoid with a 45Âº angle with the glass.
Ofcourse the better way to do it is with an external flash.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some pics of the juveniles...

Golden kazumba










Red moliro










Kiriza










Murago










Bemba



















And the **** in the kindergarden...

Moliro









The kiriza...










And some erectmodus and the all layout...





































And finaly a vÃ­deo of the WC Chaitika...






Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The news - the arrival of 10 ikolas (adults) and some more **** - 4 kiriza and 7 red moliro!
The total now - 125 tropheus...

â€¢ 27 Tropheus sp red â€œmoliroâ€œ (10 adults + 6 juv 3/5 cm + 11 ****)
â€¢ 32 Tropheus sp black â€œkirizaâ€


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## IrkedCitizen

Nice. I've only got 29. 9 duboisi karilani 4.5-5.5" and 20 moliro 2.5-3".


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The pics and a video of the new ikolas...

































And also a couple of pics of the new ****...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Some more pictures...

Ikola:




























Chaitika:





































Murago e bemba:




























Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

And some more...

Nkonde:



















Red moliro:



















Kiriza:




























The all layout (nkonde, red moliro e kiriza):



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## elgenyo

I watched your youtube video and my question is do trophs always chase each other like that or is that an example of male aggression? Does that continue all the time or do they calm down at times?


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



elgenyo said:


> I watched your youtube video and my question is do trophs always chase each other like that or is that an example of male aggression? Does that continue all the time or do they calm down at times?


I donÂ´t know what video did you saw but the tropheus are always chasing each other. ThatÂ´s why is so importante to have a colony in order to reduce or minimize that.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## lou99

elgenyo said:


> I watched your youtube video and my question is do trophs always chase each other like that or is that an example of male aggression? Does that continue all the time or do they calm down at times?


My hyper male chases people all day, every day, for years.


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## frogguy1

very impressive stock!


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## jaybuc

WOW  I think I am in love with these fish now and I have never kept them! What an awesome cichlid :thumb:


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## Demasonian

Diogo - Your tanks, fish, pictures and posts are some of the best on this site. And I never hesitate to open your threads when I see them. Fantastic stuff.

The amount of time and effort that must go into maintaining all of your tanks in show quality is mind-boggling. What do you feed your Trophs? And what's your water change routine like?


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## Diogo Lopes

Demasonian said:


> The amount of time and effort that must go into maintaining all of your tanks in show quality is mind-boggling. What do you feed your Trophs? And what's your water change routine like?


I feed NLS pellets and some other pellets from Sera. The water change normaly is around 15% a week.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## etcbrown

Diogo,

What are you using for filtration? And are you using a UV sterilizer? Your water clarity is outstanding!


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



etcbrown said:


> What are you using for filtration? And are you using a UV sterilizer? Your water clarity is outstanding!


The filtration in the main tank is made by a sump with a bag on the water drop of 200 microns. Also an external filter of 1200 l/h with a 9W UV lamp. The main pump from the sump is 5000 l/h.

Here are 2 vÃ­deos of the tank, now with 8 nkonde yellow, 8 sp black ikola and the 10 red moliros...











And a full layout picture...










I just have this aquarium and another one with the moorii chatika. I sold all the others - murago, golden kazumba, pembas and the kirizas. They were 125 fishes and they were to many...

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some pics that I took today!

The nkonde...














































The ikola...




























The red moliro...



















And them all...










Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

And some more...


















































































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some pics of the small ones - 9 kirizas born on the 18th of November and 11 red moliro (born on the 18th Nov and some other on the 5th of December).





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## nixanbal

Hey Diogo!

These fish are just amazing! I love your Ts. moorii "Nkonde"!

By the way can I ask you when are you stripping the females?


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## 24Tropheus

Interesting question my guess would be Diogo is as anti stripping as me. :wink:


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



24Tropheus said:


> Interesting question my guess would be Diogo is as anti stripping as me. :wink:


You couldnÂ´t be more wrong!!!  
I strip all females betwen the 18th and the 20th day.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## 24Tropheus

Diogo Lopes said:


> I strip all females betwen the 18th and the 20th day.
> 
> Cheers,
> Diogo


Must be practically a full time job stripping that lot.


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I took out the nkonde and had some more chaitika to the colony - they are 20 now.
Now I have 20 moorii "chaitika" blue, 10 red moliro and 8 ikolas...




























































Cheers,
Diogo


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## dobbin4

Fantastic photos, Great colour's 
just love the nkonde & moliro
Great tank setups
Well looked after :thumb: [/list]


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## IrkedCitizen

Nice. I'm glad you kept the Chaitika. They are great looking fish.


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## nixanbal

24Tropheus said:


> Interesting question my guess would be Diogo is as anti stripping as me. :wink:


Oh, I saw the well-formed fry here and that's why I asked. 18th day stripping is what I do as well... Altho some females aren't always agreed :/

Once again - great shots, love to check this thread over and over again!


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## 24Tropheus

nixanbal said:


> Oh, I saw the well-formed fry here and that's why I asked. 18th day stripping is what I do as well... Altho some females aren't always agreed :/
> 
> Once again - great shots, love to check this thread over and over again!


What was I thinking :lol: . I clearly did not see that photo. Photo of early stripped Tropheus.

Weather it is a good idea (long term) or not to strip this early (or at all) we are not going to agree on I guess. :wink:

It sure does produce the most young though.


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

I never had any probs with the trophs by stripping them at that age! The ones in that pic are 18 days on their mum mouth.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## nixanbal

And what about the _Eretmodus_, Diogo? I didn't understand - do you keep them together with the Trophs? I'm thinking of adding some species of the Gobies to my Tropheus tank but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.


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## aharonadi

Wow,
So beautiful =D> 
If I can to ask :
Which this your platform?
And what the size?
And what the name of the vegetable ?
AND what kind of the rocks?
And last question what you feeding the fish?
Can you say me all the name of all you food 
but i buy Trpheus and I want to buy the matching food.
Thanks in advance,
Adi :thumb:  8)


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



nixanbal said:


> And what about the _Eretmodus_, Diogo? I didn't understand - do you keep them together with the Trophs? I'm thinking of adding some species of the Gobies to my Tropheus tank but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.


I used to have erectmodus with the tropheus but I found that they are to territorial when a couple is formed and stressed the tropheus.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi Adi,



aharonadi said:


> Which this your platform?
> And what the size?
> And what the name of the vegetable ?
> AND what kind of the rocks?
> And last question what you feeding the fish?


I really canÂ´t understand what you mean by platform?!?!!
The aquarium is 165x60x50 cm with a sump with 100x30x40 cm
The plants are anubias and valisnerias
The rocks are basalts
And finally IÂ´m giving them NLS (New Life Spectrum) Cichilid Formula mixed with Sera Discus Granulat.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## aharonadi

Ok,
Sorry I mean to the gravel what type it?
And what the size ?
Adi


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



aharonadi said:


> Sorry I mean to the gravel what type it?
> And what the size ?


The gravel is silica sand used in the pools filters.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Meanwile the fights in the aquarium continues. The dominant male of moliro after establish is dominance on their own tried to pull way the male chaitika...














































And the winner is...










Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The fights went on for a while but in the end the moliros got the cup!
Nevertheless the chaitikas are fine but with a little less color...










The moliros are better (hereÂ´s a pic of one of the males - not the dominant)...










The ikolas just pass by!





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today the dominant male of the moliros decided to show himself to the pictures...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more pics of the chaitika...














































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

No news! Just to leave some pics of the 3 dominant males and a full layout...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Some pictures of the chaitikas...














































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Now that the aquarium only have chaitikas some new ones came from Cichlidenstadl and Verduijn (all Wild Caught). The 5 from Verduijn only 3 are alive and all 6 females from Cichlidenstadl are fine.

The only male that came is the bigger fish in the tank and allready trying some dominance...




























The 8 new females are fine but yet with no color...



















The dominant male are allways fight and still is the owner of the left part of the tank...



















And two pics more...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## IrkedCitizen

You removed the Ikola and Moliro from the tank? How many Chaitika do you have in there now then?


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



IrkedCitizen said:


> You removed the Ikola and Moliro from the tank? How many Chaitika do you have in there now then?


Now I only have the chaitika and they are 28 in total. The idea was to have 30 but unfortunately 2 were DOA.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

IÂ´m doing a prevent treatment with Flagyl (metronidazol). HereÂ´s a pic after adding the pills...










In the morning the aquarium was like this...










Two pics with no flash...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## ramsfan

They're great pictures, your fish look fantastic.


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## Neb

amazing pictures and beautiful tank :fish:


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## Mobius1230

Love your fish and tanks! I want to do something like this someday


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## xclub

Your photograps are pure inspiration!


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## Alexcescr

Definitly this is the best post that I have ever seen!

When I am trying to explaine to somebody how beautifull are the tropheus I came here and show them your pictures.

Amazing pictures :thumb:


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Thank you all for your feedback!
No news so I just leave some new pics...























































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Mobius1230

Lovin the chaitika! They look really nice Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I had some more rocks to the aquarium. Here are two pictures...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Nothing new to report during this last week! Here are some photos...
































































Cheers,
Diogo


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## pet_trade_connections

Impressive photos,
the color of your fish are great,

excellent fry I think they're healthy.

great water condition no signs of disease.


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some photos taken without flash...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Mobius1230

Are they breeding good for you?


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## tepei22

Beautiful pics Diogo! Thanks for sharing! opcorn: =D>


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today IÂ´m sharing with you some pics taken during my weekly water change...



















Filling up...










And some pics after...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## IrkedCitizen

In those first pictures is that all the water you change?


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## Diogo Lopes

IrkedCitizen said:


> In those first pictures is that all the water you change?


That and all the water from the sump, that full is almost 50 liters. In total I change almost 25% of the water every week.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Funkie Frankie

Very nice work Diogo =D>

As you seem to be the expert at Tropheus may I ask you some questions

I have 4 fish tanks at my place 1) 300 liters, 2) 200 liters 3) 2 30 liters used as hospital and fry tank

in the 300 liter tank I have 2 aulonocara otter point (WC) which have turned out very well as in the past 3 months they have produced 160 fry(which I sell), 2 Sciaenochromis fryeri which too have produced over 50 fry(sell them too) ,2 Copadichromis borleyi and 2 Tropheus Ikola (WC)and 2 Synodontis

I have been reading this page and it has inspired me to look more onto the tropheus spices so we (me and my wife) went and got 6 Tropheus Duboisi

The 200 liter tank we use as grow out tank for the fry so we put the Duboisi in there too, just yesterday the ikola finally mated we counted about 12 eggs after reading up on the topic I fill that I will take your advice and strip on the 18th day too

As the tanks are not quite characterized yet I have been feeding both veggie food and high protein food to all my fish , to be exact I feed them boiled spinach, veggie pellets and spirulina flakes as far as the veggie side, live mosquito larva (frozen at the winter), brine shrimp and Malawi mix (frozen) this has been the diet for the tropheus too for the past 6 months and so far no casualties and their colors are great

I have 1 tetratec ex 1200 on the 300 liters along with a UV lamp 9watts 
1 tetratec ex 1200 and an 2215 on the 200 liter fry tank as at time it may hold over 100 fish 
and 1 2213 on each 30 liter tank

this is my set up at the moment questions are (and thank you for your time)

1)I have heard that tropheus are to be feed only veggies but the owner of the shop told me that he feeds them protein foods too, what is your advice?
2)I am going to make changes in the tanks setups making one lake Malawi and one lake Tanganyika,What is your advice should I get a new tank for the fry to grow and use the 200liters for the trohpeus?
3)I have heard then once a community is formed you can not add any new fish to that tank, at the moment I have 2 ikolas+eggs and 6 duboisi. What is your advice 
4)I have heard the female tropheus will some times eat even when holding.What is your advice?

THANKS


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

I canÂ´t say that IÂ´m an expert on tropheus but hereÂ´s my opinion...



Funkie Frankie said:


> 1)I have heard that tropheus are to be feed only veggies but the owner of the shop told me that he feeds them protein foods too, what is your advice?


I give to my tropheus veggie flakes and Sera Discus flakes (the last one is a high protein one) but i never give them mosquito larvae or any frozen food. I really think that you should stop with those.



Funkie Frankie said:


> 2)I am going to make changes in the tanks setups making one lake Malawi and one lake Tanganyika,What is your advice should I get a new tank for the fry to grow and use the 200liters for the trohpeus?


200 liters for a tropheus colony is short and my advise is to use the 300. Also I think that you should have at least 8 tropheus in each colony.



Funkie Frankie said:


> 3)I have heard then once a community is formed you can not add any new fish to that tank, at the moment I have 2 ikolas+eggs and 6 duboisi. What is your advice


Just change the tank layout and add more fish - if you had a couple more (lets say 6 or 8 more) all the agressivity will be distributed!



Funkie Frankie said:


> 4)I have heard the female tropheus will some times eat even when holding.What is your advice?


ThatÂ´s true. They became a little week but nothing compared with some other mouthbreeders.

And now some news. The red moliro that were already sold stood here for a while and now I decided to keep them. Once the tank as been dismounted I had to put them in the chaitikas tank... ItÂ´s way to crowded and I really need to took out some chaitikas...



















The red moliro are doing just fine and the colors are great...




























Cheers,
Diogo


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## Funkie Frankie

:thumb: Thanks for your time will look into getting a new tank 350 liters but long about 160cm just for them=)

=D>

BTW your tanks make us :drooling:


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## keitang

Hi Diogo, Great tropheus and tanks! Any concerns that, say, the Bemba and Murago will cross breed? Or your combination of tropheus has already taken consideration of this?


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



keitang said:


> Hi Diogo, Great tropheus and tanks! Any concerns that, say, the Bemba and Murago will cross breed? Or your combination of tropheus has already taken consideration of this?


For now IÂ´m just keeping the chaitikas and the red moliro. Nevertheless the bemba and the murago normaly donÂ´t crossbreed once the bemba are an sp black and the murago is a moori.

I had them together for a while with no probs.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## keitang

Diogo Lopes said:


> Hi,
> 
> For now IÂ´m just keeping the chaitikas and the red moliro. Nevertheless the bemba and the murago normaly donÂ´t crossbreed once the bemba are an sp black and the murago is a moori.
> I had them together for a while with no probs.
> 
> Cheers,
> Diogo


Thanks for your advice, Diogo!


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today just a couple o photos of the king of the aquarium...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

With 48 fishes in the aquarium I had to put another canister - I decided for the Eheim 2260.
Now I have 8800 l/h of filtration.





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## uzman

Congrats again! Very nice fishes and pics :thumb:


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today IÂ´m introducing the new inhabitants of my system. 5 red moliro now a month old...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## peterp63

I see you are very successful at breeding malaysian trumpet snails. Congrats on the fry and the snails!!


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

This past weekend I sold some chaitikas and more 22 red moliro enter the system!

Here are the 3 new big males...
































































Now I have 33 red moliro and 22 chaitikas. Still this week 9 red moliro and 6 chaitikas will go.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Some more photos...
































































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today some photos of the chaitikas...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The little guys keep growing...




























Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I put a circulation pump - the new Sun Sun with a double head that has a flow of 12000 l/h. The tropheus seams to like it!




























Cheers,
Diogo


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## frank1rizzo

NICE!


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

A new colony have arrived - 18 moorii red rainbow "kasanga"! They came from Airfish and all are SW (Small Wild).

Here are some pics...
































































Check the size compared with a adult female red moliro.










Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Some more pics now that more than 2 hours have passed since they are here...





































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Funkie Frankie

thank for sharing Diogo

opcorn:


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I make a big water change and the fish loved it. They imediately show their colours...




























Form the 18 that came last week I had one death. All others but 2 are already eating well.

Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Some more photos of the red rainbow but now without the flash...









































































Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

And some with flash...





































And some of the all aquarium (I changed the Sun-Sun pump - itÂ´s now behind the rocks)...



















Cheers,
Diogo


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## malawi_luver

Hello Diogo,

I love what you're doing but is there any possibility that we can get a video or your setup and everything? It would be great.

Thanks,
Garrett.


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## Peacock88

Hey awesome tank Diogo, probably the best I've seen. You've inspired me to get tropheus as soon as I can. I know Tropheus are extremely expensive (esp. WC), so I'm wondering...

What do you do for a living??? :x :lol:

Anyway, awesome tank =D>


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



malawi_luver said:


> I love what you're doing but is there any possibility that we can get a video or your setup and everything? It would be great.


Right now I donÂ´t have a video camera! HereÂ´s the setup of this tank:

*Dimensions*
Main Tank- 175x50x60 cm / Upper tank â€" 50x50x30 cm

*Filters:*
Sump â€" 100x30x40 cm (with filter bag 200 microns)
Eheim 2260 (2400 l/h) and Boyu (1400 l/h)

Return pump - Iwaki (5000 l/h)
Circulation Pump - Sun Sun 12000 l/h

*Heaters:*
2x300W Jagger

*Lights:*
T5 - 4x80W

And today some pictures of the little red moliros now with almost 3 cm...




























Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

10 more red rainbow arrived today from Verduijn...




























Also bought some anubias and valisnÃ©rias.










Cheers,
Diogo


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## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are 2 photos of the red moliro males still in great shape. They will come out in the beginnig of July.



















One of the biggest red rainbow (with almost 7 cm). The dominant that already defies the moliro males.










And a really small one with an amazing color.




























Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## frank1rizzo

Nice as always!

:thumb:


----------



## JBB

Hi diego

I have ikola and red moliro mixed in a 450ltr aquarium. Howevea i am finding it very difficult to get the fish to colour up like yours.

Any advice, what are your water parameters and water change routines?

Thanks Jon


----------



## Diogo Lopes

JBB said:


> I have ikola and red moliro mixed in a 450ltr aquarium. Howevea i am finding it very difficult to get the fish to colour up like yours.
> 
> Any advice, what are your water parameters and water change routines?


O would say that the colors will only came up once you put one specie in each tank. Apart from taht the usual - a lot of water movement, big water changes (up to 40% every week) and a very water quality.

Meanwile yesterday I received more 40 kasangas! 10 with 3/4 cm and the other 30 are very small...



















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more photos of the small kasangas. The bigger ones, now completely established in the main tank...




























And the smaller ones, now with 1 cm...




























Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

A few days from leaving the red moliro gave another mouth full...



















Meanwhile, here are some more photos of the kasanga...





































And some from all of them...




























Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Just got a Off-camera Shoe Cord from Canon that allows me to put the flash above the tank. Still on the first part of the experience and a lot to learn but the reults are fine...























































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

And some more...









































































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## myjohnson

nice fishes.

But they look really dark to me.


----------



## Diogo Lopes

myjohnson said:


> But they look really dark to me.


Just the photo (IÂ´m trying some new techniques...)

With less more then 15 days and close to the 2 cm, the smaller kasangas are all alive and well...










The older brothers are really nice and the color improvement is big...




























And the older ones growing...














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I had another external filter - a DIY one - now I have 23300 liters/hour circulating. 7800 are efective filtration and the other just water circulation.



















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Trawler

Some stunning fish you have there 

Did you have them shipped to you from Verduijn ?


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



Trawler said:


> Did you have them shipped to you from Verduijn ?


They came from Verduijn, Airfish and Cichlidenstadl.

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## xdc19841018

beautiful cichlid


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The 30 kasangas that were in the maternity went to the sump and the future mamas went to the maternity...




























IÂ´ll strip them tomorrow.

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The moliros have done it again...




























HereÂ´s a photo of the all layout with some changes in the valisnerias position










Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Some more pictures...














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Yesterday I bought a new video camera! Here are the first two videos...











Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some new videos. The fish eating...






And another red moliro holding...






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Petrochromislover

those are cool videos of your tropheus diego do you have any eretmodus pictures or videos that you can post


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



Petrochromislover said:


> those are cool videos of your tropheus diego do you have any eretmodus pictures or videos that you can post


Hi have no erectmodus!

Here is a new video of the small kasangas growing in the sump...






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are two more videos. One from the kasangas and the other of the all tank:











Meanwhile I made an experience. I turn out the light for half an hour - the resukt was this one:






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

After my vacantions and 3 weeks later the aquarium is ok - I have 10 red moliro adults and 8 ****. Plus I have 20 red rainbow kasanga with sizes from 5 to cm.

Tomorrow IÂ´ll receive 9 RR WC. HereÂ´s a video of the tank as it is:






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The WC RR kasanga arrived and I must say that IÂ´m pleased with them!
Here are some pictures and videos:















































The fishes have between 11 and 13 cm!

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## uzman

Very nice fish Diego :thumb: .


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some pictures of all the other WC kasangas.
The 2nd male:










And the females:























































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more pictures - this time some group photos:




























Checkout the size diference for the ones that were already here:










Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The red moliro finaly came out and the 25 red rainbow are already with more color - both the smallest and the adults:





































And 2 vÃ­deos...











Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Petrochromislover

once again very nice pictures =D>


----------



## Afishionado

Amazing fish Diogo, really very nice. Good job with them!

Your videos cut out on me every few seconds though - seems my high-speed cable internet isn't receiving the data quickly enough to keep pace with the video. Not sure if others are having this issue... is there a 'quality' setting of some type you have set to maximum? With pics (and videos I suppose) your viewers cannot really see any difference between 'excellent' and 'good' digital media on most computer monitors, so most people will see your material much more quickly without any visible loss of quality if you tone down the quality settings...

Just to give you an example, a 'good balance' quality 800x600 pic from my camera is about 80Kb of data, and is for all intents and purposes indistinguishable in quality on your average computer monitor from the same 800x600 pic in 'excellent' mode, which is around 350 Kb of data.

Not meaning to be a sour puss - I would just love to see those videos uninterrupted!

Cheers!


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Your right about the high resolution of my pics but you canÂ´t forget that are some Foruns around the world (and IÂ´m in a few) that can see the photos a lot bigger than Cichlid-forum. The pics are all the same on all.

About the video you just need to wait a couple of moments in pause to be able to see it all at once.

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Afishionado

Ok, I was referring to the image quality setting, not the resolution. In the example I gave above (the 80 Kb vs 350Kb file) - it's the same pic, and same resolution (800 x 600), and on a computer monitor they look the same; one just loads a lot faster.

Anyhow, your pics, your call. Given that you are posting lots at a time I just figured more people would look at them if they loaded faster.

One way or the other, you have terrific tanks and fish! Thanks for sharing them with us.


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more pics that I took today...














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are two videos that I made today...











Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Afishionado

Looking good, as usual. :thumb:

(PS: the pics load faster now and videos play smoothly without lag - thanks for that :thumb: )


----------



## josefh

Hey Diego ,

First i must say i love your tanks&fish , they are amazing. =D>

can you please elaborate how you created the DYI external filter?


----------



## kramer30

This is a unbelievable thread, well done! =D> =D>

Benny


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

No news, just a couple of pics...





































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## josefh

Amazing as always!!!!!


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The red rainbows finaly spaw - hereÂ´s a video:






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## boston_cichlid

Hi Diego,

I seen the amazing work youve done with these tropheus,good job. My question is ,from your experience which is the top 3 best looking (rare) tropheus out there to order. Besides the reg. Im looking foward to order something diffrent. What would you recommend ?


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



boston_cichlid said:


> My question is ,from your experience which is the top 3 best looking (rare) tropheus out there to order. Besides the reg. Im looking foward to order something diffrent. What would you recommend ?


Sorry for the late answer!
I must say that the ones that I like the most are definately the RR. Apart from these ones the nkonde and the chaitika are my favorites.

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## boston_cichlid

Nice,Thanks Diogo.


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The red rainbow spawn two more times. HereÂ´s another video and another good and happy moment! But firts 2 pictures...



















I always thought that this tropheus was a male. Wrong...! She was the one that spawn today...






Now I have 3 females holding!

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## mcorbeil

Wow fantastic fish! Looks like you got the money shot in that last video too! You must be very patient, or lucky! 
opcorn: :fish: :fish:


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

HereÂ´s a video of the firts strip of one red rainbow female:






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

I have a new camera (EOS 1000D) and here are some pictures:





































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Alexcescr

Hi Diogo! Those videos are amazing!

How is going the females with de mouth full of eggs? Do you now how many are they holding?


----------



## uzman

Congrats! Very nice images. The new camera has increased the quality really.


----------



## cholly2

Hey awesome pics!! R U a photographer? If not u better quit your day job , and get on it. ) Chas


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Thank you all for the feedback! IÂ´m not a photographer and IÂ´m not planning to be one!!! The machine does wonders...

Here is a video of the small kasangas now with 10 days (they are 10):






Also two videos of the adults:











Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

amazing fishes =) congratulations!


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The kids are growing fast...




























And some pictures of the adults...














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## MSUDawgs56

Unbelievable !! Awesome Tropheus and Pics!! Congrads


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The little ones are now a month old. Here are some pics:




























Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## smidey

i never get sick of seeing your fish diogo :thumb:


----------



## PepoLD

great updates, as always !

do you ever have trouble with them eating your plants? i never use natural ones because of that :/


----------



## Weesque09

Wow, really nice pictures

I remember some of these shots on the various tropheus forums when you first posted them.

What type of flash are you using for these shots?


----------



## PepoLD

update update! almost a month since last one hehe )

this thread got me into tropheus... haha  i never had any till i saw diogo's pics


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

A month passed and as you can see in another topic that I have I sold the red rainbow and bought 60 nkonde yellow. Today was fishing day to take out some of the nkonde and put in 12 duboisi maswa. In this aquarium I only have those 12 along with 12 nkonde yellow

Here are some photos and videos:
The aquarium with no decor after introducing 25 kg of sand and the duboisi...















After with the new layout and clean...



















The duboisi...




























The all family...















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

yay! finally  I loved the video


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more photos of the nkonde and a new video...

































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## TheFishFactory

Hi Diogo

may I ask where you get your Trophs from? I am in Spain and I struggle to get anything other than Dubs or Ikola.

thanks


----------



## PepoLD

Amazing pics, gotta love your tanks


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



TheFishFactory said:


> may I ask where you get your Trophs from? I am in Spain and I struggle to get anything other than Dubs or Ikola.


My fishes came from Verdjuin and Cichlidenstadl and Airfish. All with the help of a local Dealer.

Here are some more photos and a video.























































































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I took some photos of the duboisi. Here they are:





































And some also with the nkonde:





































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

amazing again 

Diogo what are the name of those rocks? i've been trying to find them but i have no clue of what I'm searching for hehe


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



PepoLD said:


> Diogo what are the name of those rocks? i've been trying to find them but i have no clue of what I'm searching for hehe


The rocks are local and the name is Basalto.

Meanwhile today I put 12 ikolas with the duboisi and the nkonde. They imediately start fighting and I took some photos. The first one, I must say that itÃ‚Â´s one of my favorits ever! The name is - "IÃ‚Â´m gonna eat you!"










And some more:



























































































And the vÃƒÂ­deos:
















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The trophs are doing fine and growing. 
Here are a couple of pics of the duboisi...




























Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

Gotta love the juvenile and the adult dub 
Ikolas are my favorites on your tank tbh! have they breed yet?


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



PepoLD said:


> Ikolas are my favorites on your tank tbh! have they breed yet?


Ikolas are gone!!! I switch them to more duboisi! This time 6 adults...




























The big male is about 15 cm...



















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

awww.. bring back the Ikolas! haha they are amazing x)

that huge Dub looks great!


----------



## ashilli48

Diogo Lopes said:


> Cheers,
> Diogo


What are these plants the fish are gathered around in the foreground? I have some a guy gave me and I love them, but don't know what they are...thanks,


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



ashilli48 said:


> Diogo Lopes said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Cheers,
> Diogo
> 
> 
> 
> What are these plants the fish are gathered around in the foreground? I have some a guy gave me and I love them, but don't know what they are...thanks,
Click to expand...

They are cryptocoryne wendtii green.

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

I had to take out the big male, and after starting a bloat crisis, today, halfway throught the treatment I was surprised by this...






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Pali

:thumb:

Congrats

Atleast there is something good going on in a bad situation


----------



## PepoLD

too bad.. </3 bloat, but yeah, loved your video =)
gonna miss that huge dub


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The bloat is gone! Here are some pictures of the nkonde taken right after the lights on (time were their colors are brighter).














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

nice nkondes  
are you getting ikolas again anytime? i miss those pics haha 
I just got some tropheus in the LFS he said it was a "yellow fin tropheus" so.. yeah
looks like a regular moori to me, maybe because is too small hehe


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are two videos that I just made:











Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## karydas

Nice videos. Keep up the good work.


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some photos that I took today...























































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## emre

Hey Diogo, my book is out  Thanks for your lovely photos btw


----------



## mod58

those are some very nice photos wish i could get mine to hold still for a photo. lol 
and very nice of you to share them with us. thank you


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are two videos of my Tropheusroom. The first one of my newest colony of mpulungus:











Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I had a big surprise - one of the mpulungu with a mouth full. The fishes came last thursday...!










Here is a full tank shot and a vÃƒÂ­deo - the fishes are really well:















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today the 12 duboisi juveniles came out and I had 9 adults. Here are the pictures...














































And a vÃƒÂ­deo...






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

amazing updates as always


----------



## smidey

man those mpulungu are the business! 8)


----------



## upthecreek

Hi Diogo Lopes,

This is among the finest photography of fish in an aquarium I have ever seen.

Just outstanding work and beautiful tanks. :thumb:


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Thank you all for the amazing feedback!
The mpulungu done it again and I have the second female holding in just 2 weeks:



















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

Amazing pics! 

when are you getting Ikolas back? 
haha im setting up a 720g someday this year of Ikolas and Duboisis just because i loved your old setup hehe


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

The first mpulungu are born. They are just 8.
Here are some more pics of the adults and finally I manage to get some good ones of the dominant male...














































And some pictures of the male number 2...



















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some more photos:














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today some pictures with no flash:














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

And some more...














































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

:thumb:


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here is a new video made more closed in order to see the colors of the mpulungu...






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## bearded lab

They seem pretty peaceful, are they always like that? Your "tropheus project" is amazing!


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



bearded lab said:


> They seem pretty peaceful, are they always like that? Your "tropheus project" is amazing!


They are peaceful but the dominant male do make his effors to control everybody!
Meanwile I have another female holding:




























And some more photos of the others:























































Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today I got another spaw. One of the smallest femalles and offcourse the dominant male. But check out the 2nd male that tries to get in...






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Petrochromislover

very nice pictures and videos diogo as always. You have very coloful and healthy trophs, keep it up :thumb:


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Today the 4th female spaw.










And the result:










Meanwhile 20 days passed since the first spaw and I took the kids out from 2 of the females.



















And the result:



















Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Petrochromislover

congrats :dancing: thats alot of fry, how big is the average spawn from them.


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,



Petrochromislover said:


> congrats :dancing: thats alot of fry, how big is the average spawn from them.


This spawn are from two females but one had 12 **** and the other one just 4. The average are 12 (from a 9/10 cm female) - this two females are youngsters so the 12 spawn is a very good one.

Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are photos of the small mpulungu...




























Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## Diogo Lopes

Hi,

Here are some photos (taken without flash) and a video of the lufubu real:




























































And a video of the duboisi.






Cheers,
Diogo


----------



## PepoLD

update us? long time since last one!


----------



## Diogo Lopes

PepoLD said:


> update us? long time since last one!


The update are the ilangis - http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=222227

Cheers,
Diogo


----------

