Another repost (originally 2/26/10):
I have three Nimbochromis venustus in my 180 gallon tank - two males and one female.
I've raised the large male from about 1.5" for about 6 years. He sports a lot of color all the time, but despite his age, is only about 8" long. I believe that this is because he was a bit stunted early on in a crowded 55, then in a 110 until a few months back. Growing up, he was a small fish in the background and even up until we set up the 180, he competed (violently) against a 8" bumblebee and a 8"+ N. livingstoni. He is undoubtedly the king of the tank and my favorite fish that I own currently. :smile:
My other male is almost the size of the big guy, but thinner and much younger. I believe that he will take over the tank in time as he will eventually outgrow the boss. The female is about 6.5" or so long, perhaps 2-3 years old. (Below - male top left, female bottom right)
As these fish are the largest haps in the tank, noone messes with them. I had the larger male and the female in the 110 for the last year and there was never interest on his part in spawning (probably related to the cramped space and other large fish). I began to believe that he was too old to do his thing.
I was wrong.
About 2 weeks ago, I watched them spawn over a large flat stone (approx 16" x 8") on his side of the tank. Spawning lasted at least an hour and for that hour, believe me, everyone else stayed clear of that side. :smile:
Last night, I pulled the female (after much water splashed on the floor and much cursing by both me and Maria for a solid 20 minutes) and dropped her in an empty 10 gallon. She immediately spit about 10 fry, which quickly swam back into her mouth. After seeing that they were totally free swimming (and very active), I decided to strip the female and return her to her tank.
While it would have been cool to watch her guard the fry and take them into her mouth, I did not want to risk them getting eaten by a new mother. Also, I wanted to get her back into the tank ASAP so she wouldn't lose her spot in the hierarchy.
Anyway, I couldn't get them all in one picture, but I believe there's somewhere in the range of 40+ of the little guys.
I love their little checkered pattern. :smile:
