# xenotilapia nigrolabiata "red princess"



## Bodenhimer (May 1, 2011)

These seem interesting a pretty. What do these eat and does anybody have photos or any good info on these. THanks again.


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## Bodenhimer (May 1, 2011)

i thought more people like these? hm :-?


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## Guest (May 15, 2011)

my friend keeps these.. they are very fragile and die easily.. i think that goes for most xenos thou this is the same species known as cherry princess or cherry red princess right?


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## Bodenhimer (May 1, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... iwaYQHs7L8
I think they look cool !! Do they eat vegie diet or protein based??


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## Guest (May 16, 2011)

my friend feeds his the same mix that he feeds all his tangs... spirunlina flakes, brine shrimp flakes, cichlid mix flakes, color flakes mixed together.. i was gonna get some but i got enatiopus melynogenus namanasi and xeno papillo tembwe duex instead


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Those are very cool. I have a pair of xenotilapia flavipinnis - not as colorful, but very interesting. They are sand-sifters as you can see in the video. They scoop up mouthfuls of sand and sift out small organisms like micro-crustaceans, etc. Look them up in the profiles section. Mine have adapted well to high quality flake, and they keep the bottom of the tank clean, sifting out any bits that were missed by the others.


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## Guest (May 16, 2011)

unfortunately all the pics of the xenos were lost from the server awhile ago and theres like no pics for most of the sandsifters. ill google it thou


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## Bodenhimer (May 1, 2011)

So they are veggie and protein eaters? I wonder how hard they would be to keep?
Anyways they are pretty expensive!


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## Guest (May 17, 2011)

thats jus the mix that my friend and i give everything except herbivores they get the straight veggie flakes and spirulina flakes.. spirulina flakes have fish meal in them.. and a lil bit of veggies is good for most fish.. i think the veggie flakes are all or most veggies


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Hey guys -

I was able to find a pic of the Xenotilapia flavipinnis I was talking about before. They are the two in the lower right and upper left corners. The other one is one of the juvie A. compressiceps in the tank with them. Xenotilapia are great fish - they get along quite well with all tank mates and are extremely interesting behavior wise.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Sorry it's a bit out of focus - they don't sit still for very long!


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## bearded lab (Apr 28, 2010)

It looks like there is some purple around the face, is that really there? Pretty fish.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

Yes it is - hints of purple in the face and runnig all the way down the length of their bodies. What doesn't really show up is the sky blue highlight stripe running under the yellow on the dorsal fin. I have another one not in the photo whose dorsal fin has a flame orange colored stripe instead of yellow. Under indirect lighting, they are really pretty in a subtle way. Another thing about all of the Xenotilapia types that is really cool is how they use their pectoral fins to "hop" along the bottom of the tank - almost like some kind of goby!


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## bearded lab (Apr 28, 2010)

Yeah, they are neat. How big a territory (such as an inch by inch dimension) do you think a small group (say six) would need? I know it's hard to say definatively, I'm just trying to get a general feel for how much space they need; I know with sand dwellers it can be quite a lot, but have heard that xeno's are one of the smallest varieties. Thanks!


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

I'm not really sure yet. I've got a trio of them in a 30" x 12" tank right now, but they are still juvies and haven't really claimed a territory yet. Right now they just roam the whole tank, but they get along well with everybody. Eventually they are going to go into a standard 55 with a colony of L. multifasciatus and some A. compressiceps. I hope that will be big enough! Considering how mild mannered they are I'm sure it will be.


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## nmcichlid-aholic (Mar 23, 2011)

In the only article in the "Library" section regarding Xenotilapia, the author states that her group of 4 were housed in a 40 breeder and the male excavated a small pit underneath the sponge filter where spawning took place. Sponge filters are usually only a few inches round, right?


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## Bodenhimer (May 1, 2011)

red princesses definetly on top of my list!!!!!!!! Ty guys


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