experience with Altolamprologus compressiceps?

[Midas]

Has anyone had much experience with Altolamprologus compressiceps? I am looking at setting up a L. Tanganyika tank and was just after some info from people with experience in keeping these fish in NZ.

[macka]

Midas I have had A little experience with these fish, but have never kept them yet, My friends have some so I can tell you this thay are slow growing can eat anything up to 2/3 of its size and take about 3 years to mature, males grow to 16cm females grow to 10cm. There alot of different colour varietys so check out www.armkes.com I'll get to craig to post here aswell as he has go them

[TankMate]

Hi there,

This species eats a lot - loves bloodworms (we feed them frozen ones). Apparently, it is an aggressive species, but ours aren't too aggressive and get on well with the others. Tends to grab at the food (like Oscars), especially the females. Males tend to stay on one side - our male one did not like hanging around the female one (breeding pair that didn't end up breeding cause my female died of 'plague').

We love its 'pre-historic' look and is a very good conversation piece. Its mouth can stretch really wide so make sure you don't put in with small fish.

Capable of growing at a fast rate providing you give them ample food without sacrificing ammonia/nitrite levels, so make sure you have a decent, powerful filter/s. Would advise 4000 litres/per hour filtration. Ensure food is high in amino acids and protein for max growth.

In a 550 tank with powerful current, they grow very quick.

[CID in OZ]

Hi Midas

There are only few basics that you need

Good water quality ph around 8.0 kh about 150ppm > 300ppm

10% water changes not too much at once

Feed high protien foods to juveniles for growth (breed American cichlids to provide wrigglers with egg sack the best food you can give them)

Use pellets as staple food with additions of live and frozen foods

Give them more than one choice of a spawning site (rock cave, large barnacle shells, bailor or helmet shell etc)

They will harem spawn so can be kept in a group aswell as a pair

Have micro worm culture as fry starter then go to new hatched brine shrimp and increase the food size as they grow otherwise jaw deformities can occur

I currently have a pair (7cm M 5cm F) of the Gold form breeding in a 24"L x 14"W x 12"H tank running at 7.8ph & 200ppm gh with sand substrate a couple of hollow rock caves filtered by a simple ice cream container filter (filled with 3mm gravel and crushed coral)

Feed them mini pellets with feedings of mozzie wrigglers, frozen brine and mysis shrimps

HTH

8) Chris

[herefishiefishie]

plenty of shells, fav for housing in. use rocks & plants....

try for calvus nice variety,

I used to use guppies as live food, the babies are quickly stalked,

Constant water changes, high ph.

I never used pellets on mine I have seen some dislocated jaws caused by pellets, use live brine shrimp, high quality flake, never fed mine blood worms either,(not a fan of B/W) comps are slow growing best kept with other smaller cichlids.not agro for a cichlid!? Defend themselves well, bend there body to expose sharp fins....

if buying them small get a colony, set up camp & when they do pair up or tell the sexes apart- next summer you can seperate them.

They are a cool species of fish to keep once settled(can take time), love the way they stalk & hover. Glad I kept 1

The 1 problem for me was spare time when breeding my male comp liked the fry to much :roll:

Frenchy 8)