# Xenotilapia flavipinnis



## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

Hello,
I am wondering if anybody here has kept xenotilapia flavipinnis and what their experience was like. I am thinking about buying some and trying to breed them. Are they difficult to breed? I have not been able to find much information on them. Thanks!
Dan


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Do you have specific questions? 

Xenos are a beautiful fish that require open sand with little competition from other species. They spook easily and are horrific jumpers, so make sure the tank has a tight-fitting lid. Xenos like to school, so start with at least six. I also strongly recommend at least a 36" long tank. They aren't the easiest to breed; mine only bred when I was on vacation... I guess they liked the privacy!


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

haha thanks. I am just looking for a species that I could start breeding, and i haven't heard much about these xeno's. They look really nice and seem to have unique attributes which is appealing. I would like to have a species that would breed on a more regular basis, however. Any other species suggestions?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I want someone else to chime in here, because I don't think my group of xenos was typical as far as the breeding went. I know others have had better luck with them.

Most of the fish available will breed well in captivity, so to make suggestions, I'm going to need a little more to go on. :wink:

- What size tank do you want to have?
- Are you interested in just the behavior or in raising fry for trade/sale?
- Will you raise fry in a separate tank? 
- Are you willing to keep a species-only tank for breeding?


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

Hi triscuit, here is some more info on my set up. 
- I have a 55 gallon tank
- I am interested in both breeding behavior as well as raising the fry to sell. I used to breed sunshine peacocks and sell the fry to the fish store, which allowed me to constantly upgrade my tanks and equipment. I am hoping to be able to do that again so I can upgrade my size/number of aquariums.
- I do have a spare 29 gallon tank and stand, so I am debating on what to do with it. I could either try to form a breeding pair in the main tank and transfer to the 29 gallon when holding, or I could decorate the 29 gallon tank with either that pair or with that pair and other potential breeding fish as well. 
- I am willing to keep a separate species only tank. Ideally, I would like this to be a nice looking tank as well, not just bland.

I was about to take pictures so I could add my tank to the website, but my battery just died. I will charge it and add pictures later today though.

Thank you!


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Nice :thumb: You have lots of options.

I'd suggest keeping the 29 gallon for growing out fry and set up the 55 as a breeding community tank. If you aquascape properly, you'll be able to catch holding females without ripping it apart. Many breeding tanks are nearly bare because if this issue. But, I like having well decorated tanks so I try to balance raising fry with aesthetics.

For your 55, think of the three territory types available: sand, open water, and rocks.

For the sand, you can do a shell dweller or a sand sifter. If you want easy breeding, then go for a colonial shelly like multifaciatus or similis. Fry are raised in the tank with the parents guarding the shell bed. Get at least 5 shells per adult to start with.

For rocks, I suggest Julidochromis transcriptus (or ornatus). They will tolerate their fry until they are about an inch long, which makes catching them and growing them out alot easier. Larger julies tend to be more aggressive and can kill shellies. The julies will likely snack on some shelly fry, but your colony will still grow fast enough.

For open water, you can pick a school of non-jumbo Cyprichromis or Paracyprichromis. Their fry won't survive in the tank, so holding mothers can be stripped to save fry. Removing holding females from their school can be stressful for them, but many hobbyists prefer that to stripping.

Stocking list for 3 easy breeding Tang cichlids:

6 L. multifaciatus
6 J. transcriptus (remove the extras when a pair forms)
12 Cyprichromis leptosoma or 10 Paracyprichromis spp.

Also, look through the species profiles and see what you like. With a 55, you've got more options than I can list. If you see a fish you like, we can build a tank around it (other than frontosa or tropheus in this tank size).


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

Well, here's the problem...
I already have fish in it. I recently upgraded from a 40 gallon breeder to a 55 gallon. Since I already have fish in my 55, I am running into compatibility issues. 
I am hoping to buy some new fish soon. I could either add fish to my 55 gallon and put the fry in my 29 if they decide to breed, or I could just buy new fish and put them directly in my 29.
Here is my current fish list:
1 altolamprologus calvus (black)
2 lamprologus caudopunctatus
8 lamprologus brevis m'toto 
1 labidochromis caeruleus
1 aulonocara stuartgranti maleri (chipoka) sunshine peacock

I know having the electric yellow and the sunshine peacock mixed with tanganyikan's is a sin, but I feel obligated to keep them. I bred the peacock's parents and raised him from fry. He is now 4.5". I then bought the electric yellow as a 1" juvie and raised him up to 4" now.

I have been thinking about getting some altolamprologus compressiceps, and have been searching hard for cyps and paracyps, but can not find any I can afford.

Any other ideas? Thanks!


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

Here are some pictures of the setup so far:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What happened to the 40G? I'd definitely separate the malawi from the tangs. I have a couple of malawi in my tang tank (by accident, and I have not been able to catch them yet) and they wreak havoc. They actually chased a shellie right out of the tank (found him on the floor) even though it was covered and his shells were six feet away on the other side of the tank.


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

ok i think i may be on to something here. 
If I get rid of my electric yellow and sunshine peacock, would it be possible to house ~12 cyps with compressiceps? Would it be possible for the cyps to breed with the compressiceps in the same tank, then remove the holding female to the 29 gallon tank and raise the fry in there? Does anybody have any recommendations for variant of cyprichromis? Money is my biggest factor so I can't get a variant that costs $40 per fish...


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Find a local breeder or hobby club: most of us will sell cyps for closer to $5 ea. What ever you find, make sure it's a non-jumbo type cyp.

Then, for your tank:

First, get rid of the malawis.

Next, decide which Altolamprologus you want to keep: don't mix calvus and comps! You'll need to move the Alto fry to a dedicated tank once they are free swimming... and young Cyprichromis will eat alto fry. You'll need to watch the size factor if growing out cyps and altos in the same 29 gallon. But, once the cyps are big enough to eat alto fry, they're likely big enough to get put back in the 55 gallon.

(this is how we all end up with MTS- multiple tank syndrome!)

So, yes, you can breed your brevis, cyps, and altos in your 55 gallon.


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## jtranscriptus (Apr 20, 2004)

I bought 6 wild Xeno flavipinnis 'crocodile island' from Blue Chip Aquatics, who is a online retailer linked to this site, and they have bred multiple times for me. I have six of them, two pairs, in with 5 Paracyprichromis in a 40 Long. I have had mutliple batches of fry, but the tank it is disarray when both pairs breed because there is no room for the other fish. When they are not breeding they are an ideal community tank fish. Their behavior is second to none; it is almost marine goby like, the way they sift through the sand.

I'm just moved into a new house and have a 125 up and cycling. I'm going to be moving the xenos and paracyps into a bigger home. I plan to keep just the 6 xenos, and increase my paracyp numbers to 15-18. These fish are the perfect compliment to each other if you want a peaceful tank with a lot of breeding. I was considering putting in a trio of Altos to keep the populations down, but I can not make up my mind on which variant.

I recommend xenos to anyone in the hobby, but make sure you build your tank around them.


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

jtranscriptus:
would you be able to send pictures of your xenotilapia flavipinnis crocodile island?
Also, would I be able to keep them with the brevis in the tank? They both inhabit the sand, and I have a lot of rockwork. So, sand is prime real estate in my aquarium.

triscuit:
I've heard from several people not to get the jumbo variety of cyps. Why is that? Is it a tank size issue?

Thanks everybody for the help and suggestions. I am looking forward to searching for some cyps that will be suitable for my aquarium. If anybody is in the quad cities, IA area and is looking to sell, let me know! Thanks again


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## djcappozzo (Jul 15, 2005)

Has anybody tried keeping paracyps with cyps? Not sure if it is one or the other, or if they get along well.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Yep. they can be kept together and do not cross breed (well, I haven't read of it happening). I'mm not particularly impressed with my own results of mixing cyps and paracyps, in that my paracyps seem to get lost in the crowd.


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