Tropheus Breeding Size

[Red_Roni_4]

I recently acquired some wild caught tropheus.  They range in size from 1 to 2 inches.  I have seen 2 fish spawning.  Are they really capable of producing fry at this size or are they just practicing?  What size do tropheus usually have to be before they can produce fry?  

Roni

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus Breeding Size

They might be able to but honestly I think they are just "testing the waters"....also males will do this to keep from being attacked by the dominant so it could be one or the other.

As for being wilds at that size.....  where/who did you get them from?

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: Tropheus Breeding Size

Males around 3.5 to 4" will start to try to breed and dominate territory if they are the largest fish in the group.

Females under 3.5" will have a very hard time keeping eggs in their mouth.  Believe it or not Tropheus eggs are about the size of a pea.  The female needs to be about 4" or more to be able to hold eggs to term.

If your males are getting females to hold at under 4" you might want to seperate out the fish so that the females will not be starved during their delvelopment.

Tropheus in aquariums take about 14 months to 24 months to reach 4.5"-6" in size depending on a lot of factors such as tank size, water quality, breeding, diet, and genetics.

GEoff

[myjohnson]

Re: Tropheus Breeding Size

I recently acquired some wild caught tropheus.  They range in size from 1 to 2 inches.  I have seen 2 fish spawning.  Are they really capable of producing fry at this size or are they just practicing?  What size do tropheus usually have to be before they can produce fry?  

Roni

Sorry to change th subject on you Ron, but how did you get WC at 1 to 2 inches? You are sure they are not pound raise?  Are these true WC out the lake?

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: Tropheus Breeding Size

that does sound really weird to be that small.

The most recent wild imports, 99.9% of the fish are over 3.5"

Most are in the 3.75 to 4.25