Hi Guys

Hi guys

This is my first post to the forum.

I have just started to breed Cichlids and bought a breeding setup on TradeMe for $200

I would like to know if anyone can help me with pseudotropheus socolofi/ Eduard's mbuna. I’m looking for 1 or 2 females.

I’m also looking for 2-4 Adult Albino pseudotropheus socolofi

I live in Auckland - North Shore

Appreciate all the help

It can be hard to get pure nice clean socolofi at times (guess it is like most mbuna) but they are around, I have some nice ones in my display tank I should really get around to putting them in a breeding tank sometime and getting some babies out.. Guess I should add them to the list of fish that I need to get around to breeding a few of.

There are snow white youngsters on trademe, otherwise you might have to try a petshop for adults.

Hi ryanjury

I bought 4 adults on trademe. Pure as they get .................... Two females are currying babies at this stage and I need to strip them the weekend. I'm looking for new blood to add the the four I already have. They are in my community/display 600L tank at present and I'm going to move them to a breeding tank to be on there own.

TA

PM Mel on here.

I gave her 3 of them a while ago, and since then she has bought more adults and is breeding them well!

Sells them cheaply too, and can ship if you buy a number of fish to justify the shipping process.

Are you talking about the snow whites or the standard coloured socolofi Phoenix?

Black Jack awesome to hear you have good pure ones! How many generation of young have you grown out to verify it?

Snow whites, not standards.

Johannes had many of the standard - pretty looking things. I'm sure you showed me some at some stage too.

Sweet, yeah there are a few people breeding the snow whites in Auckland..

I think you are getting confused I may have showed you socolofi because I have some, but Johannes had heaps of cobalt blues (he may well have had the socolofi as well but I know he wanted cobalts) which were also nice fish.. This is where the confusion comes into it as many people consider powder blues to be socolofi but some consider them cobalts and then common names muddle everyone up lead to more hybrids and more people breeding rubbish.. I also have the cobalts but I am stuck with only males and despite there being plenty on trademe I am very dubious of buying mbuna off them as too many people breed them in mixed tanks and produce rubbish so I am waiting for someone I know to breed me some good ones..

This is what I am referring to.

Cobalt http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=787 Metriaclima callainos

Standard socolofi http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=919 (note different shape/colour on fins etc to cobalt)

Albino socolofi http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1786 (which it looks like our "snow whites" on the wholesale list are).

Ah yes. I meant cobalts

Glad one of us knows what I mean :lol:

I have plenty of Snow White fry if you are willing to grow them out your self. Will be cheap

This is what I am referring to.

Cobalt http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=787 Metriaclima callainos

Standard socolofi http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... php?id=919 (note different shape/colour on fins etc to cobalt)

Albino socolofi http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/s ... hp?id=1786 (which it looks like our "snow whites" on the wholesale list are).

I have the standard socolofi. Just found another female at the pet-shop the weekend. I striped the female last weekend and she had 25+ babies. I left the babies inside the tank in the breeding net. Next morning half was dead. I then decided to move them in with the other babies thats a few weeks old. next morning all of them were missing. That is what you get from being a novice at cichlids. The babies use to be in my 600L tank (was thinking they will grow faster) Moved them into a smaller tank over the weekend.

I would be very careful with petshop stock, yes they can get pure stock but most of their zebras will be hybrids some of them may throw relatively true and resemble pure fish but can throw all sorts of rubbish, same with stuff from unknowns on trademe so many are bred in mixed mbuna tanks where all sorts happens.

I would say that the big fish attempted to eat the fish in the net, they suck them through the netting, this mashes them against the net and kills them.. The bigger fish probably add the remaining ones that you transferred.

There is a learning curve when keeping/breeding any new type of fish. Africans seem to be the most forgiving though. There are just a few main things to watch out for when starting out. Diet, aggression (especially when introducing new tank mates) also as you have found out, fry can be vicious to each other if there is any sort of size difference. Ive found its best to keep spawnings that are more than a week or two apart separate. Also if you have to put the breeding net in the main tank try some substrate in the bottom of it so they dont get eaten when the try to sleep.