Mouth brooders?

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Well, I've never seen them on any sale site before, so I figure they'd cost quite a bit.

I don't want to spend too much on something I don't know will work for me

They run $30-$60 a pair typically. Ime they can be hard to get breeding require perfect water conditions

 

[Oohitsae]

Exactly why I don't want to spend the money on them lol

"Hard to breed", "perfect water", and "rare" are words that I don't want to hear lol

Not saying that my water is bad or anything, it stays within normal ranges, but occasionally I go out of town and my nitrates go a bit higher than they should.

Plus I don't have much luck with egg layers to begin with. I've had 1 successful spawn of egg layers in the past year, so if I'm not even sure they'll breed, then I don't want to spend too much money on them. If that makes sense

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Exactly why I don't want to spend the money on them lol

"Hard to breed", "perfect water", and "rare" are words that I don't want to hear lol

Not saying that my water is bad or anything, it stays within normal ranges, but occasionally I go out of town and my nitrates go a bit higher than they should.

Plus I don't have much luck with egg layers to begin with. I've had 1 successful spawn of egg layers in the past year, so if I'm not even sure they'll breed, then I don't want to spend too much money on them. If that makes sense

Yes they are quite cool fish though and if you get them to produce it would be worth it. I find it fascinating that there is only 2 mouth brooding apistos out over 400

 

[Mogurako]

Rare, hard to breed and perfect water are some of my favorite things to hear! That means if I get them to breed I won't be competing with tons of other people to sell the fry.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Rare, hard to breed and perfect water are some of my favorite things to hear! That means if I get them to breed I won't be competing with tons of other people to sell the fry.

Exactly, plus it's keeps you invested in the project

 

[Oohitsae]

While I agree, I'd rather start out with some more common types because I'd hate to lose a bunch of money if my projects fail miserably.

I'm already kicking myself enough for spending $200 on some L183 starlight pleco juvies and having them all dead within a week of purchase.

 

[Mogurako]

I'm already kicking myself enough for spending $200 on some L183 starlight pleco juvies and having them all dead within a week of purchase.

Oh geeze that's a low blow.

 

[Oohitsae]

Yeah, so you understand why I'm hesitant to spend a lot of money right now lol


So I posted this question on my area's aquarium society's Facebook page and someone had some Salouisi (I think I spelled that completely wrong) for sale, $4 for a 1" Juvy or $20 for 6, good deal?

Yellow labs were also mentioned as a good beginner type mouth brooder, which I know I can find locally


Any thoughts on these?

 

[Mogurako]

They honestly get to big for the 29.

 

[Oohitsae]

What if I grew them out in a 29 and then transferred them into a 50 after a couple months?


What about price? They look pretty interesting from the photo's I've seen, and seem to be pretty hardy from the little I've read about them, so something like that would be ideal for me, but if both species would be even too big for a 50 I'll keep my search going

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wouldn't buy anything till you have the tank in front of you. Also you'll want something at 48" long like a 55 gallon. I believe a 50 gallon is only 36"

 

[Mogurako]

I wouldn't buy anything till you have the tank in front of you. Also you'll want something at 48" long like a 55 gallon. I believe a 50 gallon is only 36"

I'd have to agree, they only get 4" but are aggressive and need space. I've learned the hard way a couple of times not to buy fish with out the proper sized tank first.

They aren't mouthbrooders but have you considers Multies or Pelvicachromis taeniatus? They are both very hardy and take great care of their fry requiring you to do very little.