N. Tretocephalus cichlid

[Ading522]

Hey all.. Has anyone here kept these? What are your experiences with these so called "poor mans Frontosa" ? What tanknates did you keep them in? I saw these at HOT yesterday..and was trying to research some info.. Not much on the web so I am hoping someone here had a time keeping these. Thanks!


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[verbal]

I haven't kept them. They do seem to have a reputation as extremely aggressive.

 

[dogofwar]

They can get to about 6" and are pretty nasty, especially with each other.

I wouldn't try to keep them in anything less than, say, a 75g.

Matt

 

[Ading522]

Thanks guys.. If I do end up getting them I plan to put them with other aggressive African haps or in a tank of their own.. I read one article about them being okay with some neolamprologus species..but wouldn't they be easier targets for aggression? It would be nice to have a colony with only one male.. But the aggression is what I am afraid of..

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[dogofwar]

I wouldn't keep them with aggressive Haps (e.g. venustus). Trets will get out-competed and/or eaten.

I'd keep them in a community of Lake Tang stuff like Neolomp. brichardi or leleupi. N. tetracanthus would also be a good one. They'll kick the crap out of Frontosa.

Trets are a pair-spawning substrate spawners, so a colony will turn into a pair or pairs with oddballs eliminated (like most Tangs)...

Matt

 

[Ading522]

I wouldn't keep them with aggressive Haps (e.g. venustus). Trets will get out-competed and/or eaten.

I'd keep them in a community of Lake Tang stuff like Neolomp. brichardi or leleupi. N. tetracanthus would also be a good one. They'll kick the crap out of Frontosa.

Trets are a pair-spawning substrate spawners, so a colony will turn into a pair or pairs with oddballs eliminated (like most Tangs)...

Matt

I see.. Thanks Matt! You seem to have more info than Google..hehe.. So no one at all keeping these guys currently?

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[dogofwar]

I haven't kept them in years. I'm interested in current experiences with them as well...

Matt

 

[Andrewtfw]

I had one in a 54 corner with some male peacocks and a red top zebra. It was left alone and did not bother anything. I had a lot of lace rock in the tank too.

 

[Ading522]

I had one in a 54 corner with some male peacocks and a red top zebra. It was left alone and did not bother anything. I had a lot of lace rock in the tank too.

thanks! what i would like to know is the experience of keeping more than one.. are they aggressive to their same species? ive read that when they are in spawing mode, they can also kill off tankmates.. id like to keep a group of maybe 3-4 in a tank.. anyone with this experience?

 

[Andrewtfw]

I don't have experience housing more than one. Also, I don't know if the one I had was male or female. That may make a difference in terms of aggression.

 

[Jim Anderson]

I have one (blue strain) right now, beautiful! unless you plan on breading them, you should only keep one in a community tank because if they pair up they will take over the whole tank, can be nasty. Get to be 5 to 6".

 

[dogofwar]

Sure you don't have N. sexfasciatus?

T. tretacephalus don't have a gold variety, to my knowledge...

Matt

I have one (blue strain) right now, beautiful! unless you plan on breading them, you should only keep one in a community tank because if they pair up they will take over the whole tank, can be nasty. Get to be 5 to 6".

 

[AndyNarwhal]

Matt is right. Trets only come in blue. Sexfasciatus come in both blue and gold.

Trets are also very difficult to spawn in captivity and only a handful of people have. Many people who have claimed to spawn Trets actually had the much easier to spawn Sexfasciatus.

You can tell the two apart in that if you start with the stripe connecting the eye Sexfasciatus have 7 stripes going back and including the stripe on the caudal peduncle. Trets only have 6.

My last group of Trets I had I got in 2006 and kept them until 2008. At first I had them in a 120 gallon tank and then moved the group of 4 up to a 300 gallon 4' x 4' x 30" tank. I kept them in a very open water tank with a pile of rocks around the overflow box in the middle. For tank mates I had some Benthochromis tricoti, Opthalmotilapia nasuta, and Tropheus moori. I tried some Cyprichromis in there too but they didn't do well.

The big tank gave them enough room to spread out and they really didn't bother each other but I never had any spawns or even any noticeable spawning activity. They may have all been females for all I know.

When I tore down the big tanks I got rid of the group as I no longer had a suitable home for them.

Andy

 

[Ading522]

Matt is right. Trets only come in blue. Sexfasciatus come in both blue and gold.

Trets are also very difficult to spawn in captivity and only a handful of people have. Many people who have claimed to spawn Trets actually had the much easier to spawn Sexfasciatus.

You can tell the two apart in that if you start with the stripe connecting the eye Sexfasciatus have 7 stripes going back and including the stripe on the caudal peduncle. Trets only have 6.

My last group of Trets I had I got in 2006 and kept them until 2008. At first I had them in a 120 gallon tank and then moved the group of 4 up to a 300 gallon 4' x 4' x 30" tank. I kept them in a very open water tank with a pile of rocks around the overflow box in the middle. For tank mates I had some Benthochromis tricoti, Opthalmotilapia nasuta, and Tropheus moori. I tried some Cyprichromis in there too but they didn't do well.

The big tank gave them enough room to spread out and they really didn't bother each other but I never had any spawns or even any noticeable spawning activity. They may have all been females for all I know.

When I tore down the big tanks I got rid of the group as I no longer had a suitable home for them.

Andy

Thanks! That's a big info for me..maybe I'll just keep one or two for the time being.. In separate tanks.. But I'd like to try a group..maybe one day..when that dream tank will come true.

Do you happen to still keep o.nasuta?

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[mrkillie]

I currently have 4 trets that I got at about 1" and kept them in a 20H for a while with no problems with aggression. There was also a pair of Juli. regani in with them. I moved them into my 150 a few months ago and they are currently about 4 inches. Still, no real problems with aggression. Tankmates now include Ps. demasoni, Ps. saulosi and yellow labs, and a couple Synodontis cats. They are a bit more timid than the demasonis and saulosi, but seem to be fine. No spawning activity noticed yet.

 

[mrkillie]

Did you try looking under Lamprologus tretocephalus? The fish has been around forever, can't imagine there not being any info on the 'net.

 

[Ading522]

Did you try looking under Lamprologus tretocephalus? The fish has been around forever, can't imagine there not being any info on the 'net.

Wow..nice to know you can keep 4 in a 150 with no problems of aggression..do you have bigger fish in there that keep them in check? The info on the net is basically like a demographic profile..not much on care, spawning, suitable tankmates and such..there are a couple with that info buy its not complete and I find some info a little confusing..such as the aggression..some say they should be the dominant in the tank very easily and would kill off fish.and some say they've kept them with Shellie's.. Shouldn't the shellies be more easy bait then for an aggressive cichlid?

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[AndyNarwhal]

Do you happen to still keep o.nasuta?

I don't have any Tanganyikans any more other than some leleupi I am growing out. I have joined the light side and keep mainly SA cichlids and other fish now.

Andy