# New to PetroChromis



## frschul (Mar 10, 2004)

Hi
I am new to the PETROCHROMIS WORLD.....
I use to raise and breed all type of Neolamps, Julies, Alto Lamps A lot of rare stuff. I have 92 tanks ...
I have bred almost all of the wild fish that I could get my hands on. The only exception is the Blue
Sexfasciatus.... I built a plywood vat with a pool liner ... 8 feet long 32 inches wide and 32 inches high.... All I could do was to get a male and a female to pair off..... the rest of the group was confined to one fourth of the 8 foot tank. 
Anyway I have become bored with them and now I am looking to get into PETROCHROMIS.....
Can I work with my two largest tanks (125 gallons 6 feet ALL GLASS tank).
what type of Petrochromis could I start with that look really great..... 
What type of filtration...... and how many Petros in a 125..... ?????
If the 125 won't work ... I was looking at a 240 gallon long ..... 
any help appreciated...... :-? :-? :-? 
Thanks
Frank


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## NorthShore (Feb 3, 2006)

Hi Frank, saw your pm earlier but was not able to answer. I'll try here. 

Most people who have had success with petros kept larger groups in large aquaria, with 8 feet being the miminum tank length.

and then there's our very own Apexpredator who keeps his packed into a 6 foot 125. :lol:

They are herbivores, so I would stay away from meaty foods for the most part. They have huge appetites and so they will need lots of filtration. I used 3mm pellets and had some success with keeping their weight on, but I didn't really keep any of the larger variants.

I wish info could be more consistent with respect to success, but like tropheus and other cichlids, different people have managed to do well with petros in a variety of tank sizes with different sized groups. Even aggression amongst different variants is somewhat inconsistently reported by hobbyists.

It would certainly appear that large groups in as big a tank possible is the best way to success.

I think what you decide on will more than likely be dictated by availability, moreso than which you would like, but that depends on where you live and how money you're prepared to spend on them.

One word of caution: they could very well be themost aggressive tang you've kept. They put a hurt on their tankmates very quickly and dom males don't think twice about killing others, '

My experience with petros is very limited. Best to wait for some of the guys who have kept the bruisers, like apex, petroarthur and others.


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## vepeta (Feb 27, 2005)

I keep Three small colonies in a 125 and have been doing so for around a year with all three. 9 Tewvasea (3yrs), 8 Kasumbe Rainbows (1 yr), and 11 Famula Nay lazac (sp) (3 YEARS). Most people would think this is too small and I would agree with them. But, they all breed. I have a atleast 7 fry of each colony in my tank right now as I type this now.

My equipment, routines, and the different species within the genus are the keys to success.

Equipment- Ph probe monitor, Temp probe and controller, Tunze 6100 controllable turbelle powerhead with controller,Tunze 6045 nano powerhead, fx5 fluval, (big) ehiem classic, filstar 4, aquaclear (big), VHO 6FT lights x2. See a trend here? I treat this tank, eqiupment wise, similar to a high end Salt water tank.

The Ph probe is used to watch a couple of things. Making sure the parameter is correct to lake specifications. When the Ph starts to drop I know it is time to change water due to too much waste (acidic) in the water (these are dirty animals).

Temp probe- stable temp enviroment.

Tunze 6100 controllable powerstream w/ controller- This unit causes current changes in the tank. Two different currents repeat and are contollable in the power of the pulse and time length of the pulse. I change timing and power as much as possible. My aggression went down and my breeding went up, thanks to this unit. A must have as far as I am concerned and are not inexpensive. The Pets spend most of the day swinning in the water column, save the famulas.

Tunze 6045 is for constant flow.

Gotta go to work finish post later


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 11, 2006)

Nice to see that others are starting to catch on to the "flow" theory.

:thumb:


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## frschul (Mar 10, 2004)

vepeta said:


> I keep Three small colonies in a 125 and have been doing so for around a year with all three. 9 Tewvasea (3yrs), 8 Kasumbe Rainbows (1 yr), and 11 Famula Nay lazac (sp) (3 YEARS).


So vepeta,
Are you saying that I can keep about 25 -- 30 of the above type Petros in a 125....
Will these Petros cross breed ?????? 
What would be the min (amount of Petros) & what would be the max(amount of Petros) of the
above 3 groups in a 125 ????


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## vepeta (Feb 27, 2005)

frschul said:


> vepeta said:
> 
> 
> > I keep Three small colonies in a 125 and have been doing so for around a year with all three. 9 Tewvasea (3yrs), 8 Kasumbe Rainbows (1 yr), and 11 Famula Nay lazac (sp) (3 YEARS).
> ...


They will not cross breed. Different shapes and colors.

I believe with Petros and trophs overcrowd and over filter. So, You can keep them but be ready for alot of work, alot of expensive equipment and attention to detail. I cannot stress how bad a tank like mine can go without proper attention. I work at a sw and koi store so I can always get someone to take care of my tank if I am away for a week or so.

I would suggest a group of 15 Trews and 15 Famulas to start in a 125. Famulas are the best species to have with other species, they are smaller and seem to ignore the other pets and the other pets seem to ignore them. In a month or two my plan is to add a new 125 or bigger and a buy a new colony. Then add one of the existing colonies to the new tank with the new colony. But, at the same time I am getting great results with what I have.


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## vepeta (Feb 27, 2005)

eklikewhoa said:


> Nice to see that others are starting to catch on to the "flow" theory.
> 
> :thumb:


Here I thought I was the only one with with controllable current in a Petro tank.


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 11, 2006)

Well I have been in and out of petros and now only keep singletons in with my Tropheus.

I ran 2 Tunze 6060's in the past but they were bulky but now I am running 2x Vortech Mp40ws and the fish love it!


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## frschul (Mar 10, 2004)

Thanks to all for the advice...

This is a problem that was just presented to me...
6 Wild Petrochromis Longolas.... The male is 7.0 inches and the 5 females range in size
(4(3.75 - 4.25) and 1( 5 inch)...
Would there be a problem if I put them in a 125 gallon tank , until I can find some more
Petros to add to this collection.... or could I use some type of Lake Malawi fish in to divert the aggression... I would add a ton of PVC tubing of multiple diameters.... where the large male
could not get into ...... ????
I have 55 gallon tanks (48 X 13 X 20) as well ... being new to Petros would this be a big problem to start off with these Longols....


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 11, 2006)

Great choice!

I think you will be fine with that amount of fish but add tons of flow to help spread aggression.


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## frschul (Mar 10, 2004)

Ok,
I have had bred over 21+ types of tangs (Neo/Alto/Comp) and many color types.... I have had great success with under ground filters, even with fronts... Large gravel (from home depot(1/4+ size 50 pounds for $4.50)) and then covered with the regular gravel from the pet shops. I seldom had problems with gravel movement ... 2 tanks out of 90 twice a month...
Anyway I would like to use underground filters ( I also used one sponge filter in the tank).... Would this set up be a problem with the raising and breeding of Petros. 
I would use stronger power heads on the under gravel filters (2) lift tubes, to cut down on the aggression of the 6 new Petros mentioned above.
possibly : 
A: AQUACLEAR 50 POWER HEAD: (270 GPH) or
B: AQUACLEAR 70 POWER HEAD: (400 GPH)

In addition I would use an Aquaclear 110

Would the combination of the Aquaclear 110 and (the choice of 2 Aquaclear 50s or 2 Aquaclear 70 ) be enough water flow in my 6 foot 125 gallon tank ?

I plan on creating a lot of caves with rocks and or PVC tubes glued together....

any pro/con feedback appreciated....
once again thanks to all
I am trying to minimize a lot of rookie mistakes
like I said once again thanks
Frank


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## vepeta (Feb 27, 2005)

frschul said:


> Ok,
> I have had bred over 21+ types of tangs (Neo/Alto/Comp) and many color types.... I have had great success with under ground filters, even with fronts... Large gravel (from home depot(1/4+ size 50 pounds for $4.50)) and then covered with the regular gravel from the pet shops. I seldom had problems with gravel movement ... 2 tanks out of 90 twice a month...
> Anyway I would like to use underground filters ( I also used one sponge filter in the tank).... Would this set up be a problem with the raising and breeding of Petros.
> I would use stronger power heads on the under gravel filters (2) lift tubes, to cut down on the aggression of the 6 new Petros mentioned above.
> ...


Not enough fish, flow, and filtration.

Do not mistaken the high nutrient water lamps can live in with what Petros need. They need crystal clear, parameter wise. I change 40-50% of the water every week. Forget the lamp approach when you take on Petros

Longolas are not for a beginner. Period

No on the 55. One decides to kill, dead fish spikes samll amount of water quickly, and all fish will suffer.

A single male is a bad idea what if he dies or is killed by a female? adding a male later is very tricky and not recomended

Do not mistake return flow from a filter or sump as real flow. They are not. the flow from a filter fluctuates depending on cleanliness.

Those Power heads are not the way to go. My powerheads generate around 3000 gph, yes three thousand. My fry scrape algea off the intake of my 6100 (1000 to 3000 gph) so there is never too much flow with these guys.

As far as substrate is concerned go with fine sand as they "eat" some sand with the food they take off the bottom and it keeps their tract clean.

it would take a minimuim of 3 aquaclear 110 to filter a 125 petro tank.

Remember Over crowd and over filter.


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## frschul (Mar 10, 2004)

Thanks for the constructive advice from this forum and a few other people....
I will pass on the 6 Wild Petrochromis Longolas... 
I will try Trews & some Petros from the Famula family...
I purchased 5 50 pound bags (total of 250 pounds) of White play sand 
from Home Depot ($36.00) and a FLUVAL FX5 CANISTER FILTER (950 GPH) . 
I also plan on purchasing a FILSTAR XP3 CANISTER FILTER (350 GPH).
Hopefully based on the comments this will be enough for the 125....
Possibly adding a couple of sponge filters ??????
Once again Thanks
Frank
:fish:


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

I think that was a good choice...

Going from lamps to petros is a large leap. Not that the lamps you have bred aren't hard .... just that they hard in a different way.

Use those territory building skills to your advantage. If you can spawn the lamps I know you have spawned... you should be quite good at this.

Make sure there is one large rock on one end and a large maze of rocks on the other.

Filtration is the key.... make sure you have plenty of it. If you can add more, then add more.

Start with TR first... I know you probably don't like this idea but you will have a much easier time. Lamps aren't a demanding fish. These are. Try and pay them lots of attention.

Last but not least... I suggest to all petro. keepers to check out as many sites as you can on petros.


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