tangerine Zebra

[firedragon92]

hi i have found a breeder selling some tangerine Zebras and am thinking of buying them. ive had a look on the internet for some infomation but have found nothing.

could someone give me some info on them, like a price size temprament, tank mates,etc.

or has the breeder got the wrong name?

cheers

[Woodsy]

Tangerine's are much like Peacocks (Aulonocaras) in most aspects, except that they posess a more stunted head almost like a Hapilochromis. I would liken them to Electric Blues or Yellows in size and temprement. They are a mouthbrooder, and will spawn quite readily in a range of water conditions, though Rift Lake conditions suit them best.
You can see one here:
http://image07.webshots.com/7/3/83/76/88738376mZxhFP_ph.jpg

Great fish, good luck with them :)

[firedragon92]

thanks for the info

i was still wondering if they would go good in a 3 foot tank with a colony of red forest jewels and also ruffly how big they get

cheers

[Woodsy]

Yeah, they'll be fine with Jewels, just make sure there are plenty of breaks in line of sight. Like I was saying, they'll get to about the same size as an Aulonocara - roughly 15cm.

[firedragon92]

thanks heaps

why do there need to be breaks in the line of sight and in a 3 foot tank how jewels and zebras would i be able to have

cheers

[wombat1100]

I think you would be able to keep 6 or so comfortably depending on the amount of filtration you have in your tank, remember the zebras will grow to about15cm so they wont be a small fish, you MUST make sure you have multiple caves/crevices etc for each fish to call their own or you will have trouble with them fighting over areas of the tank, plenty of hidy holes and stuff, rock work etc and you should be fine.
My theory is its always better to under stock a tank than to overstock it!

[firedragon92]

hey thanks for your help
would that be only six zebras in the tank or 6 zebras znd 6 jewels

[wombat1100]

I would think 6 fish in total, like i said , i prefer to understock, other people might say more.

[firedragon92]

thanks mate

i agree with you it is better to understock because you never know what might happen

cheers

[wombat1100]

overstocking will lead to alot of problems with water quality and aggressiveness of the fish , competing for their own territory and partners.
unless your filtration system is above what is normally recommended for the size tank you have or you do more than regular water changes i reckon u would be asking for trouble overstocking the tank. Also if you are intending on breeding in there it will give you room for your colony to grow;)

[firedragon92]

I completely agree with you i might just stick with the one colony of jewels then and they will have room to grow

cheers

[Juls]

If your intending to let any of the fish breed in the tank, then don't put too many fish in the tank. make sure everyone has space, and try to make sure you don't end up with a token aggressive fish. Your jewels will get very territorial and possibly agressive during most of the breeding process.

my Tangerine peacock (I know not quite the same as what your getting) basically owns my entire tank, chasing down fish up to twice his size, and generally being a bully. Second in Command is my Marbled Peacock, then third (and probably a bit of first and second when he feels like it) is my Green terror, (who is about 7 inches so far, yes he's a american not a african)

I havn't fully stocked my tank yet, and my tank is not a breeder
I'm planning to just one one of each type of fish, and in this method
it's better to "theoretically" overstock with plenty of filtration, because it spreads the aggression to the point thats it's a null point. it can be hard to do this in a tiny 3ft tank though, especially with bigger cichlids.

if your going to add a new individual fish, make sure it's smaller and less colourful than your current "tank owner" or you might run into some issues. Possibly to the point even that the new fish gets harrased so much he dies, or never shows his true colours. The most bullied fish I've ever bought where the ones that where the bullys themselves in the tank they came from.

I've found that adding 2 or 3 cichlids at a time to my cichlid tank, spread the aggression and all three are less likely to be bullied as much for the first few weeks. But that isn't always possible, you can't always find 3 fish you want in one trip to the shops.

I've always felt if you intend to breed your fish, then it's good to try to keep only the same or very similar fish together. It's more than possible to do it with other tank mates, it's just easier without. Easier to cater for the conditions they need, food they need. and easier to care.

regards
Juls