daffodil brichardis - help

D

doug j

Fish First
Oct 1, 2008
12
0
0
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
I have a nice pair of daffodil brichardis that spawn regularly. I have been treating them as though they were regular neolamprologus brichardi as the juveniles (about 1 inch) do not eat the eggs or new fry. (I see in the latest issue of TFH that their genus name is not, in fact, neolamprologus). My problem comes when the juveys get a bit bigger. A couple times now I have found larger juveys with their tails bitten clean off and I have observed the adult male (I think) seriously harrassing the largest of the juveniles. Is this to be expected with this species? I had hoped to have a couple adult pairs. They are in a 55 gal tank with lots of rock and anubius for cover. Thanks for any help you can give me.:help:
 
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I haven't kept this fish personally, but from what I gather on the net it's considered to be very similar to N. Brichardi in behavior. It's actually a Neolamprologus Pulcher, and if you google that name you'll get some more info on your fish.
 
I've had several pairs each of N. pulcher and N. brichardi over the years. My experience has nearly always been that the juveniles are "ran off" and no longer allowed to help between 2" and 2 1/2" when the breeders have a breeding tank by themselves. The one exception was with a pair of brichardi in a 55 gallon with 2 Tropheus duboisi, a lemon cichlid (N. leleupi) and 4 Telmatochromis bifrenatus. One of the juveniles from the first spawn was nearly as big as the parents and still helping protect the later broods. I'd take the juveniles out and trade them in at your LFS before their tails get nipped. A 55 gallon is probably a little small to house two breeding pairs comfortably and peacefully.

WYite
 
Hello Doug, cool deal on the family harem N. Pulcher and they are basically the same as N. Brichardi but with alot more yellow coloration, for the magic of a harem to work is that you have to have a intruder in the mist so that they have something to defend against if there isn't any intruders they will focus on the next best thing which is an elder juvie offspring, i am assuming you have only the daff's in this tank with their offspring, if so to avoid the brutality that comes along with cichlid behavior and fry survival you may want to add some target fish, with my 120gal i have frontosa's and brichardi's my adult brichardi's chase off the frontosa's with great attitude, and for a 4 inch fish to chase off a 7inch fish with ease is sorta comical in all, now i am not saying go out and buy frontosa i am saying you may have to add target fish that can withstand the aggression of daff's, this could be a group of 3 N. Lelupi or a pair of Julidochromis sp. or even synodontis or a combo of one species from all three, but as long as the parents and elder juvie daff's they will focus on them as a threat and they will unify as a whole and defend the colony, to off set the options you could go with a fivesome of aust. rainbowfish as target species as well they are fast and mostly occupy the top water section seldom do they come down to the bottom when they know a predator could be lurking, happy hunting my friend..

Also take a look at my avatar this is a photo i took a few months ago clearly the frontosa dwarf's my brichardi male which chases him away when too close to the nest. this photo was shot when they were cruising near the top of my tank, which is an everyone zone..
 
I agree with pitbull. I've had Brichardi and Daffodils for the last couple decades. I have a colony of Daffodils in a 55 currently. Target or dither fish are a must if the parents are to be kept from turning on the juvies. In my 55 I have a couple 20 year old yoyo loaches that fit the bill nicely. Finding target/dither for members of the Brichardi complex can be hit or miss. A particularly savage pair can kill everything you try to introduce. I would try some small to medium loaches as they can generally hold their own against the pair, and are usually fast enough to get away when needed. Plenty of hiding places helps too. Like pitbull said, some fast-moving top dwelling schoolers like danios or aussies can work.

Mark
 
you guys are awesome!! Finally some super-knowledgeable help. Thanks so much.
I actually have lelupi breeding in another tank and so may throw in a few. I'm a little worried that my pair are "particularly savage". Maybe some giant danios would be good and a couple yoyo loaches also seems like a great idea. Thanks again.
 
yeah i agree they should be fine the giant danio's are super fast and the yoyo's can take a beating and give one back with their spike tooth.. cool deal..
 
Thanks again guys. I added six giant danios and it was carnage at first. They tried to school with the daffodils for the first day and the scales really flew for a while. Since then they have lived near the top of the tank. Aggression between the daffodils has been greatly reduced and I even have a second pair producing really small batches at the other end of the 55. I decided against the yo-yos as I was worried because they are bottom-dwellers and I wanted to preserve the entire bottom for the daffodils. Everything seems fine in there now.
 
cool deal buddy glad it worked out for you, now raise those baby daff's and do some trading at your local pet stores for your reward my friend.. thanks for the update..
 
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