# Finally wild kilesa!!!!!



## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

I've been looking for wild kilesa for a few years now. I seem to always miss out if I did see some for sale. I saw these guys and bought them right away 2m/3f. They just came in this morning and are really skinny, so hopefully they make it. The big male is nice a fat at least. I hope they color up soon.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Congrats  I love mine... good luck with them!


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Longstocking said:


> Congrats  I love mine... good luck with them!


Thanks *** had some before and they are one of my fav. tangs. Heres some pics of my old F1's
Do you have any pics of yours??


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Here is a pic of mine colored down...


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

looks great. how many do you have, what male to female ratio.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

1 male 5 females.


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

thats a good ratio. My f1's I had 9 males and 3 females. talk about getting unlucky :thumb:


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

If you ever make it out to Salt Lake City we have Kilesa and melanogenys coming out of our ears around here... I know of at least 3 breeders and most of the shops have them for pretty cheap... What we don't have are tru red fin comps like your avatar... You bring a bunch of those and it would probably pay for the trip!


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## Mr Mbuna (Nov 16, 2007)

I'm after these but they are rare (esp wild) and very expensive. Have an order in though, just have to wait now.
On another related point, melanogenys and kilesa, are they different variants of the same species (as they look so similar) or separate species? I see that Ad has them listed separately in his back to nature book, but they look almost the same to me.


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

BioG said:


> If you ever make it out to Salt Lake City we have Kilesa and melanogenys coming out of our ears around here... I know of at least 3 breeders and most of the shops have them for pretty cheap... What we don't have are tru red fin comps like your avatar... You bring a bunch of those and it would probably pay for the trip!


Ya we have tons of f1s but its crazy hard to find wild one around in the states. Wish I still had those fire fins. I made so much money of there fry. I sold them for $20 each and had hundreds of them sold before they were even big enough you ship.


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

They are definitely separate. If I remember correctly kilesa are suspected to have some ochrogenys in their blood at some point.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

One of my favourite fish, congrats. I had a chance to get some f1's reccently but I didn't have the tank space. One day. Be sure to post some pics when they settle down.


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## Mr Mbuna (Nov 16, 2007)

OK so I now have the chance to get some of these (wilds as well) but they are not cheap. What ratio would you suggest? I was thinking 2m 3/4f (can't afford any more!). Also, what tankmates do you guys have with them? I was going for Kitumba cyps but from what I've read on here they could be a problem so I'm maybe going for Utintas instead. Any other suggestions?
They are going in to a 71x22x22" tank.


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Mr Mbuna said:


> OK so I now have the chance to get some of these (wilds as well) but they are not cheap. What ratio would you suggest? I was thinking 2m 3/4f (can't afford any more!). Also, what tankmates do you guys have with them? I was going for Kitumba cyps but from what I've read on here they could be a problem so I'm maybe going for Utintas instead. Any other suggestions?
> They are going in to a 71x22x22" tank.


Ratio is fine, I mean the more females is always better, but I had a very heavy male group back in the day and never had a problem. They were also leaving with 12 kitumba cyps, a few gold occies, 4 xeno ornatipinnis, and a pair of comps. The tank was 7' by13" by 20".
The ones I have now are in a standard 90G with 7 katoto Trophs. so far everything is fine.


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

The importer/breeder I got mine from keeps them with paracyps, which is what he recommended. I've got mine in too small a space with cyp micros, which he also thought could work especially if everyone was grown out together. All in all they've done pretty well over a year's time, though with everyone now mature, one male micro is definitely the boss of the tank, and he drives the kilesa around when he's feeling feisty. Planning to move to a 72" tank soon, so I hope to find out more then. I could be wrong, but my sense is that it would take a big tank (like yours) for the kilesa to have a chance to breed if the cyps also were (including the non-jumbo Utintas).

Unfortunately, I have about 6-7 males and only one female--how's that for a ratio?!--so I may never get to find out. (I'd love to get some more females (F1s welcome) from somewhere affordable.) They're awesome fish! :thumb:


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Just noticed one of my wild females holding. The f1 will be up for sale as soon as they hit 1.5inch. I'll keep you informed.


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## Jolly cichlids (Jun 19, 2009)

don't count on these getting to 1.5 that quick, they are slower growers than calvus. Now thats slow but congrats on the spawn :thumb:


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## Mr Mbuna (Nov 16, 2007)

I have to buy pairs it seems so it will be 2 pairs and hopefully an extra female. Have changed the order to TB utintas instead of wild kits. They will be with some young furcifers and a pair of altos.


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I have cyps utinta with my E kilesa in a 90 and it works out well with both groups spawning.
I find the E kilesa fry grow quite quickly. I have two kilesa fry that are 7 months old and the male is 3 inches and starting to nest build and show colour already.


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## Furcifer158 (Feb 16, 2008)

Jolly cichlids said:


> don't count on these getting to 1.5 that quick, they are slower growers than calvus. Now thats slow but congrats on the spawn :thumb:


I have raised them before, they hit 1.5 inch in 6 months. pretty fast compared to most tangs. My xeno cherry princess took almost a year to hit that.


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## Loni (Feb 3, 2010)

I have never kept these beauties, and would like to know more about them.
a) Is the female rich in color as the male?
b) Are they aggressive fish (planing to keep them with my occies)
c) Are they easy to breed?
Thanks,
L


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

@Loni: They're nice, aren't they? Unfortunately, they require space and low-key tankmates to do well. But as far as I'm concerned, they're worth a tank designed for them. Others more experienced can say more, especially on point (c), but...

a) no, the females are silver, with no appreciable color. (I'll stay tuned, Furcifer158, to see if you end up with some...)
b) they're not aggressive at all, and are easily bullied. OTOH, the males constantly display in competition with each other (and with great color), and they are very active as a group.

Unless you have a really large tank, I've never seen anyone recommend these guys with shellies, as they will compete for floor space. Each male ideally will have about a 16" diameter circle to himself, which he will mark out with small piles of sand. He'll try to entice females into his area while keeping other males away. This activity is enough to convince some of us to more or less dedicate a tank to them. Outside of mostly open-water dwelling fish (like cyps and paracyps), it's not that easy to find good neighbors for them--rock piles and shells tend to get in the way, and despite all their displaying, they're wimpy with other species.

Maybe someone else has had luck over time keeping them with other fish...


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