Steatocranus mix

[flavit]

I am setting up a 6 foot 125G and am considering the following fish, wondering if anyone feels there may be compatability issues. I currently have in separate tanks, steatocranus irvinei - 1M - 3-4" + 1F and in another tank steatocranus tinanti - 6 pieces all in the 2-3" range. My plan was to put these together in the 125 (6' x 18" footprint) along with a group of congo tetras and some riverine synodontis.
Does anyone see any potential issues with this list, specifically the steatocranus? There will be lots of filtration, lots of rockwork and 2-3 powerheads to get some major flow happening across the length of the tank.
Any thoughts / feedback would be welcome.
Al

 

[tjudy]

Welcome to the forum!

I do not see a problem with the mix. Steatocranus are all territorial, but your tanks is large and the numbers are small... until they breed. However, S. irvinei grows much larger than S. tinanti, and eventually the smaller fish will lose out during confrontations.

 

[flavit]

Ted, any thoughts / experience on the potential for hybridization between the two - is there enough physical difference between the two to minimize it?? I guess that the synos in the tank may also make it irrelevant??

 

[aquaticclarity]

I highly doubt the two Steatocranus would cross breed. There has been talk for a while about S. irvinei being moved to it's own genus as it is so different then the other current Steatocranus spp. The size along makes it a stand out as well as it's much more aggressive nature.

Jeff

 

[Mike Wise]

Wasn't Leptotilapia a name suggested for S. irvinei? I guess at present it is a junior synonym.