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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
Best in Show - Tropheops sp. "Chilumba"
30 May 2010 21:24 #1
by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Regards,
Ken.
Best in Show - Tropheops sp. "Chilumba" was created by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Hi,
I was delighted to win "best in show" recently and thought I'd write up a little background about the winning fish.
The Tropheops sp. is a Mbuna form Lake Malawi. My particular fish is a "Chilumba" which is the area of Lake Malawi where it's commonly found (in the North West) and also differentiates it from other Tropheops varieties. Mbuna is local language for "rock dweller". Mbuna live in large rocky areas throughout the lake. There are many different types of Mbuna with the Pseudotropheus sp. being one of the more popular.
The fish is fully grown at 5" and is male. Females are yellow in colour with faint black markings. The Chilumba is a herbivore and are regarded as extremely aggressive. I've read that they are not suited to a community tank, but I've managed it with a bit of chopping and changing (as I'll explain later).
The origin on this fish is interesting. I originally got a group of 6 what were believed to be Pseudotropheous saulosi at the time. It's not uncommon to purchase juvenile Malawis and then find later that they are not what you thought they were. This is because juvenile Malawis can be very difficult to identify until they start maturing. I realised they weren't Saulosi after a few months, and with the help of another Malawi keeper, managed to identify them as Tropheops sp. "Chilumba".
I have two males and four females. I have bred this fish successfully and some other forum members have juveniles. I will breed them again shortly. There is nothing special to breeding as opposed to any other Mbuna. Once they're healthy and the conditions are right, they'll breed.
I have had very few problems with aggression. The Chilumba males only appear to be "extremely aggressive" towards each other rather than other cichlids. While the male will defend his territory vigorously against other cichlids, they will rarely come to blows. However, when it comes to two male Chilumbas fighting over territory, it's a different story. I keep this fish in a 500l tank with about 60 other fish. When the second male matured, all hell broke loose. I quickly realised that I was likely to lose one of them. Luckily I have a second tank (240l) and was able to move the second male. He's doing very well there. Again, he's dominant, but not overly aggressive towards other cichlids. There are no aggression issues with the females.
Whilst the fish is a herbivore, I don't feed anything special bar New Life Spectrum foods. New Life Spectrum food can be used to feed both pescivores and herbivores. Previous to foods like NLS, it was a bad idea to mix herbivores and pescivores in the one tank as one would lose out in terms of nutrition. As you saw at the show, this guy is doing very nicely the NSL cichlid pellets and community formula.
The conditions for keeping this fish aren't different to any other Malawi Cichlid. They need a good size tank – I would say that 200l is the absolute minimum you should consider for keeping any Mbuna. I use coral sand as a substrate and have plenty of rock in the tank as being an Mbuna, they are a rock dweller. The condition of the water is also important. I do a 40% water change weekly and would rarely miss a week. I live in a hard water area where the pH is around 7.6. However, I still buff the water to around 8.0 with Bicarbonate Soda, Epsom Salts and Sea Salt to ensure that parameters remain stable. I have found that my water from the tap can fluctuate depending on the time of year so it’s always best to buffer it. Malawis also need a lot of filtration and the 500l tank uses a Fluval FX5 external and a Fluval Plus 4 internal. As the tank is heavily stocked I ensure plenty of surface agitation to oxygenate the water.
There you go. It comes from a bit of luck and hopefully some decent husbandry. If you have any questions, please post away!
I was delighted to win "best in show" recently and thought I'd write up a little background about the winning fish.
The Tropheops sp. is a Mbuna form Lake Malawi. My particular fish is a "Chilumba" which is the area of Lake Malawi where it's commonly found (in the North West) and also differentiates it from other Tropheops varieties. Mbuna is local language for "rock dweller". Mbuna live in large rocky areas throughout the lake. There are many different types of Mbuna with the Pseudotropheus sp. being one of the more popular.
The fish is fully grown at 5" and is male. Females are yellow in colour with faint black markings. The Chilumba is a herbivore and are regarded as extremely aggressive. I've read that they are not suited to a community tank, but I've managed it with a bit of chopping and changing (as I'll explain later).
The origin on this fish is interesting. I originally got a group of 6 what were believed to be Pseudotropheous saulosi at the time. It's not uncommon to purchase juvenile Malawis and then find later that they are not what you thought they were. This is because juvenile Malawis can be very difficult to identify until they start maturing. I realised they weren't Saulosi after a few months, and with the help of another Malawi keeper, managed to identify them as Tropheops sp. "Chilumba".
I have two males and four females. I have bred this fish successfully and some other forum members have juveniles. I will breed them again shortly. There is nothing special to breeding as opposed to any other Mbuna. Once they're healthy and the conditions are right, they'll breed.
I have had very few problems with aggression. The Chilumba males only appear to be "extremely aggressive" towards each other rather than other cichlids. While the male will defend his territory vigorously against other cichlids, they will rarely come to blows. However, when it comes to two male Chilumbas fighting over territory, it's a different story. I keep this fish in a 500l tank with about 60 other fish. When the second male matured, all hell broke loose. I quickly realised that I was likely to lose one of them. Luckily I have a second tank (240l) and was able to move the second male. He's doing very well there. Again, he's dominant, but not overly aggressive towards other cichlids. There are no aggression issues with the females.
Whilst the fish is a herbivore, I don't feed anything special bar New Life Spectrum foods. New Life Spectrum food can be used to feed both pescivores and herbivores. Previous to foods like NLS, it was a bad idea to mix herbivores and pescivores in the one tank as one would lose out in terms of nutrition. As you saw at the show, this guy is doing very nicely the NSL cichlid pellets and community formula.
The conditions for keeping this fish aren't different to any other Malawi Cichlid. They need a good size tank – I would say that 200l is the absolute minimum you should consider for keeping any Mbuna. I use coral sand as a substrate and have plenty of rock in the tank as being an Mbuna, they are a rock dweller. The condition of the water is also important. I do a 40% water change weekly and would rarely miss a week. I live in a hard water area where the pH is around 7.6. However, I still buff the water to around 8.0 with Bicarbonate Soda, Epsom Salts and Sea Salt to ensure that parameters remain stable. I have found that my water from the tap can fluctuate depending on the time of year so it’s always best to buffer it. Malawis also need a lot of filtration and the 500l tank uses a Fluval FX5 external and a Fluval Plus 4 internal. As the tank is heavily stocked I ensure plenty of surface agitation to oxygenate the water.
There you go. It comes from a bit of luck and hopefully some decent husbandry. If you have any questions, please post away!
Regards,
Ken.
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30 May 2010 22:15 #5
by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens)
Replied by Daragh_Owens (Daragh Owens) on topic Re:Best in Show - Tropheops sp. "Chilumba"
Excellent Ken, you have set the standard high.
Johnh, when you have your write up done, I'll add mine.
Johnh, when you have your write up done, I'll add mine.
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02 Jun 2010 23:00 #9
by JohnH (John)
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re:Best in Show - Tropheops sp.
Daragh_Owens wrote:
OK then...
Inspired by Ken’s description of his best in Show fish – and goaded by others (who must remain anonymous) I thought I would give anyone interested a little run-down on a few of the Fish I entered, some of which were fortunate enough to pick up lesser awards.
The Angel Fish which was the scorer of the most points in its class is a Wild Fish which came, I believe, from Belem in South America. It, and its compatriots are incredibly bad tempered creatures – very aggressive toward each other and the other Angels in the tank. It’s a lovely fish for all that though with extremely long fin extensions – something you don’t often see in tank-bred Angels.
The Blue Emperor Tetra - Inpaicthys kerri which came first in the Characins class is a Fish I’ve had for at least two years and is part of a breeding group which I have had neither the time nor inclination to breed properly. They constantly breed in the community tank they’re kept in for which the other inhabitants are extremely grateful.
In Class F – Labyrinths My lovely Betta Rubra scored most points, it’s a real gem of a Fish which mostly hides in the Java Fern but he really showed his true colours on Show day. He is the one remaining specimen of two pairs I bought in England a couple of years ago – I really hope I can get some more.
The Orange-Finned Danio, a comparatively new import from Southern Asia which scored most points in Class K – Danios (Danio Kyathit) is a superb new variety of that old and much-loved Danio – the Zebra.
The last Class winner my Fish achieved was in the T-Livebearers section and is a male Rainbow Goodied (Characodon lateralis) again, not a commonly-seen livebearer but a most interesting fish, they only have a few young (for their size) but the fry are incredibly large but they really need to avoid the attentions of the parents and other adults, and even sub-adults who really are the most ferocious of fish – something you tend not to think of with Livebearers!
That’s it for me – over to the other Class winners for their comments on their fish.
John
Excellent Ken, you have set the standard high.
Johnh, when you have your write up done, I'll add mine.
OK then...
Inspired by Ken’s description of his best in Show fish – and goaded by others (who must remain anonymous) I thought I would give anyone interested a little run-down on a few of the Fish I entered, some of which were fortunate enough to pick up lesser awards.
The Angel Fish which was the scorer of the most points in its class is a Wild Fish which came, I believe, from Belem in South America. It, and its compatriots are incredibly bad tempered creatures – very aggressive toward each other and the other Angels in the tank. It’s a lovely fish for all that though with extremely long fin extensions – something you don’t often see in tank-bred Angels.
The Blue Emperor Tetra - Inpaicthys kerri which came first in the Characins class is a Fish I’ve had for at least two years and is part of a breeding group which I have had neither the time nor inclination to breed properly. They constantly breed in the community tank they’re kept in for which the other inhabitants are extremely grateful.
In Class F – Labyrinths My lovely Betta Rubra scored most points, it’s a real gem of a Fish which mostly hides in the Java Fern but he really showed his true colours on Show day. He is the one remaining specimen of two pairs I bought in England a couple of years ago – I really hope I can get some more.
The Orange-Finned Danio, a comparatively new import from Southern Asia which scored most points in Class K – Danios (Danio Kyathit) is a superb new variety of that old and much-loved Danio – the Zebra.
The last Class winner my Fish achieved was in the T-Livebearers section and is a male Rainbow Goodied (Characodon lateralis) again, not a commonly-seen livebearer but a most interesting fish, they only have a few young (for their size) but the fry are incredibly large but they really need to avoid the attentions of the parents and other adults, and even sub-adults who really are the most ferocious of fish – something you tend not to think of with Livebearers!
That’s it for me – over to the other Class winners for their comments on their fish.
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
03 Jun 2010 12:05 #12
by JohnH (John)
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re:Best in Show - Tropheops sp. "Chilumba"
Right,
I've taken a few snaps (not really, I purloined these from the excellent ones Darragh submitted to the Forum after the Show)
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/fish_show_2010/
So here is the Betta Rubra:
and the Danio Kyathit:
lastly the Rainbow Goodied (Lateralis)
Unfortunately his picture of the Wild Angel shows him as he was almost all day - pointing into the far corner of the tank - totally unlike him, at home he totally dominates his tank but was obviously sulking that weekend!
John
I've taken a few snaps (not really, I purloined these from the excellent ones Darragh submitted to the Forum after the Show)
www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/fish_show_2010/
So here is the Betta Rubra:
and the Danio Kyathit:
lastly the Rainbow Goodied (Lateralis)
Unfortunately his picture of the Wild Angel shows him as he was almost all day - pointing into the far corner of the tank - totally unlike him, at home he totally dominates his tank but was obviously sulking that weekend!
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
Please Log in to join the conversation.
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