# Cyprichromis Micros?



## TorontoRaptorsFan (May 20, 2005)

Any raising any Cyprichromis Micro species?

I currently raise both Kiriza and Kilila and think they look amazing!


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

I have kept kigoma for years :fish:

Micro's are my fav. cyps and always have been 

My male :drooling:


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

Nice fish! :drooling:

I've made my choices for the time being, which didn't include any cyp micro sp., but they're right at the top of my wish list. I know of at least one other regular poster on here who's talking about working with micros, so I think it's fair to say there are people lurking who would like to hear of anyone's experiences and to see more pics of different micro varieties.

I tried to do some reading on them in the library here, but as I recall I didn't find that much to help me distinguish them from the cyp leptosoma. I've gotten the sense from reading old threads that they're about the size of jumbo cyps and maybe a little more sensitive to water conditions... but beyond that, I'm not sure what else to expect in terms of behavior and compatibility. (Maybe a little tougher to breed?)

For example, would you consider putting other fish in with them in your 4' breeding colony tanks, TorontoRaptorsFan? If yes, what do you (or others) think would go well with them? If not, is it because their breeding would be disrupted or because the micros themselves can get pushy?

Thanks and glad to hear more people are breeding these guys. :thumb:


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

The issues with Micros are they take FOREVER to mature and look good ! You will wait well over a year... sometimes two for them to take on the coloration pictured above.

They are more senstive to water conditions but not bad. What they are sensitive to are tank mates. Pick really mellow tanks mates. Do not do something stupid like I did and make them dithers for nigriventris. 

A lot tougher to breed.... like I said I have had mine for years. I have had a few spawns but not many. opcorn:


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I also keep micro Kiriza's, this is one of my males.


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## TorontoRaptorsFan (May 20, 2005)

Shelldwellers are perfect tankmates for Cyprichromis Micros.
My two Micro tanks each have a colony of Ocellatus Gold in them.

I know others have tried them with Foai/Furcifer with success. I'll eventually switch one of the Micro species to a larger tank and pair them up with some Cya. Foai Sibwesa.

Very clean water is a must. I usually house mine in bare bottom tanks and have an Eheim canister filter and Eheim powerball powerhead in there. Feeding is easily...I feed them NLS Flake and Freeze dried brine shrimp.

Like Sarah mentioned earlier they do take a lot longer to grow up but the end result is worth it.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I have mine in 210g with C. Furcifer, Paracyps, Xeno papilio, T. Irsacae and a lone gold head comp. The dominant male micro will dive bomb the male furcifers if they are both trying to spawn at the same time (and this is a 29" tall tank). Mine are aprox.. one year old and there are at least 3 males that haven't fully coloured up yet, I think these ones will end up being the black variety. The fact that they still haven't coloured up leads me to believe that the yellow one in my pic is not yet fully coloured either. They have spawned a few times but have spit within a couple of days unless I move them to a seperate tank. I have managed to get 3 fry so far and I have a holding female in the main tank and one that I managed to move to a seperate tank this weekend. I also tried to move one during the week but she spit the eggs. I tried to tumble them but as of this morning, there was one left out of the seven that has not become rotten. Mine so far behave exactly like utinta cyps, not to aggresive and not to timid.


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

So, I admit I can't help but find these fish more than a little tempting :drooling: , but... 1) they cost lots of $; and 2) I don't want to force a setup that won't work as well as it could.

I have a 55 ready for fish and the main plan for the tank is to center it on the E. Kilesa I considered but ultimately didn't add to the community mix in my 120. I was planning to add some Paracyps as a peaceful complement to a smallish group of Enants (6-8 ), which is still the most likely outcome at this point. :thumb:

But before going in that direction, I'm going to ask those of you with some experience here whether micros might be a good alternative to the paracyps. If the micros are closer in behavior to the utinta cyps, my main concern would be how much they would dive bomb their tankmates, and assuming they did a certain amount of this, do you think it would it be too stressful for the Kilesa? Or, if you think it would work, how many micros would you add?

Thanks, and keep the photos coming! opcorn:


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Hard to say as I've never tried it but, the micro's do act like my utinta's and are definately more agressive that my paracyps. Having said that, there is only the one dominant male that dive bombs the furcifers, but if I took him out would another become more aggresive? My micro's pay no attention to the small xeno papilios in the tank though. Even with the dive bombing, there is no fighting or injury, just showing off. My concern would be the size of the tank.


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

I've bred them in a 30 gallon... I know another breeder that breeds the micros in small tanks as well. No I wouldn't recommend this... but :lol: :wink:

55 is fine...

I would compare the aggresion to paracyps... maybe one step up.


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## StingrayKurt (Oct 30, 2007)

Can these guys be kept with para. nigripinnis in a 55 gallon? I would think they shouldnt have a problem because they populate two different areas in the aquarium, but they do have similar body shapes.


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

:lol: Thanks, Sarah... I appreciate the tacit approval... I won't tell anyone. :lol: Now I'll see if a) I can actually afford them; and b) if the breeder I've been in touch with agrees. As I imagine some of you must know, this particular individual isn't so inclined to sell delicate fish to you if it appears you might not be ready to keep them! (A quality that I actually think is pretty great--but it was funny to me to have to pass the interview!) 8)

If I can manage it, I might go with Kigoma over Kiriza--partly as I have a black background--but I wonder how many I would do well to manage in here. Anyone have minimum/maximum numbers to suggest?


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

:lol: hmmmmmmm I wonder if we are talking about the same breeder. That is really funny that he does that if it is :lol: I do the same thing sometimes on certain fish  Most people just don't know it :lol:

Just do the normal 12 and you should be good.

I have my micros in with the Parcyp. brieni. They do great together and both breed.


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## StingrayKurt (Oct 30, 2007)

thats great! thanks longstocking!


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Just wanted to say, when I said my concern would be the tank size, I was thinking about the kilesa. I'm sure the cyps will be fine. Anymore cyp micro pics out there?


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

On the Kilesa, I agree that the footprint is less than ideal and may affect the dynamics depending on the m/f ratio I end up with... I'm hoping for 2m/4-6f, with each male having one side of the tank to call his own. The breeder I was talking to keeps his with paracyps, with some vertical rocks up against the back walls, and when we spoke he didn't seem concerned about the tank size (despite the fact that he had lots of questions for me, and was not anxious to sell me fish I might kill!)

I am hoping, though, that if I go with micros over paracyps in here they wouldn't contribute more to any crowding the Kilesa might already feel from the tank dimensions. I initially stayed away from the Kilesa because I didn't have a 6' tank....

I'd really like to see photos of the Kilila and the Bulu Point micros... both of those varieties sure look nice from what I can tell. opcorn:


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## Longstocking (Aug 26, 2003)

Enants once full grown might need more space... but at the size you are getting them you shouldn't have any issues for a few years.


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## TorontoRaptorsFan (May 20, 2005)

I have a colony of Cyp. Micro Kilila but they're still growing out. I recently saw a video taped by Greenhacker at Reserve Stock Cichlid's HQ and the male Kilila looked incredible!

Zebra7 posted a picture of his Cyprichromis Kilila male
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... highlight=


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## Tshethar (Jul 20, 2009)

That is a nice pic; I hadn't found it in the old threads but I did see it on the SICichlids page. Looks like your colony will be worth the wait!

I bought fish from Reserve Stock over the summer, and when I was looking on their site Doug had some Kilila for sale, and I remember how striking the photo was that he had posted. At the time I wasn't thinking at all about micros, but I was struck by their beauty nonetheless. Naturally it would be nice not to have to decide based only on one or two pictures, but... well, let's just say that variety sure photographs well.

Meanwhile, inching closer to choosing micros over paracyps... better start saving my pennies! :lol:


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## markw (Feb 20, 2004)

Hey Paul, The male looks really nice. He'll change back and forth during breeding from the yellow/black/blue to sometimes solid black. Looks like he's almost full grown. He's probably 2 years now right? The 3 dominant males I have will actually "take turns" changing colours. Often 2 males will try and compete for a female and go solid black instantly, but once they back off they switch back to the yellow/black. Even a few of the larger females display some beautiful colours.
Good Luck with the fry.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Hey Mark. Good to hear from you. They are only just over a year old now and that male is about 3 1/2" in length. I do have 3 other males that show no yellow, they are dark blue with black blotches but when they start to display they turn black or very dark blue. Would you believe, I think I ended up with 4 males 14 females? Do you have any other micros ?


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

I was thinking of doing some micros again, how big are your setups for them? I was also thinking of doing Cardiopharynx, that's one I haven't done yet.


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## TorontoRaptorsFan (May 20, 2005)

Darkside,

My Cyp. Micros (Kilila and Kiriza) are in 75 gallon tanks. I'm looking at moving one of them into a 125 gallon tank with some Foai Sibwesa.

The other 75 gallon tank houses some Cyprichromis Kitumbas. The dominant male Kitumba is a gorgeous marmalade/blue color and is constantly flashing the females. I keep this tank in my office! They're sharing a tank with some Nasuta Mabilibili.


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## markw (Feb 20, 2004)

noddy said:


> Hey Mark. Good to hear from you. They are only just over a year old now and that male is about 3 1/2" in length. I do have 3 other males that show no yellow, they are dark blue with black blotches but when they start to display they turn black or very dark blue. Would you believe, I think I ended up with 4 males 14 females? Do you have any other micros ?


Thats it for the micros...just those and cyp. kekese,cyp. kigoma, pavo chaitika, cyp. black bee, cyp.kitumba. I'm running out of room!!!


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## TorontoRaptorsFan (May 20, 2005)

Everyday I marvel at the transformation of my Cyprichromis Kiriza and Cyprichromis Kilila.

I'm starting to think that Micros look the best out of all the Cyprichromis species. I have a colony of Cyprichromis Kitumba that look really nice as well. If you look at my past posts you'll see that the Kitumba have always been my favorite fish but my opinion may soon change! The dominant Kilila and Kiriza males in my opinion look far better than any Cyprichromis I have ever seen.

They certainly take longer to grow out versus Leptosoma and Jumbo species but the effort is well worth it! They're also rarer to find so seeing a tank of them is always exciting to see.


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