Tinanti at last!

[BoBzz]

Well I just picked up the pair of Steatocranus Tinanti that I have been ordering for the last month or so FINALLY!!! Unfortunatley one didnt survive shipping :cry: I feel kinda bad with him being alone in a 20G long with a heavy current(Pond pump) to simulate the rapids and tons of rocks. I plan to add some branching diftwood later on. What if any other fish occupy the rapids of West Africa I thought i heard that the Distichodus Species do but im not 100% sure?!?!

 

[Fogelhund]

Just a word of caution. Most often the stores sell Distochodus sexfasciatus. This is a fish that grows to 24". Probably not what you want.

 

[Randall]

Congo Rapids Fishes

Dear BoBzz,

Given the size of your tank, you may be limited with what you can put in it. Some of the rheophilic inhabitants of the lower Congo River rapids get pretty large. Members of the following genera are found in the rapids between Kinshasa and Matadi.

Campylomormyrus, Mormyrus, Alestes, Bryconaethiops, Labeo, Bagrus, Chrysichthys, Notoglanidium, Gymnallabes, Atopochilus, Chiloglanis, Lamprologus, Nanochromis, Steatocranus, Teleogramma and Mastacembelus.

Some Distichodus species are found in the central Congo basin drainage in the Stanley Pool, but are not rheophilic, as far as I know. Most are avid plant eaters.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[BoBzz]

Thanks for the tip Fogelhund :wink: I like D. Affinis better anyway I heard the sexfaciatus get uglier with age as well?!?
Randall man what would I do without you? :lol: I guess im in for another night of hard research! I plan to upgrade his tank size but its the only thing I had laying around at this point probably a 40G when I get some cash.

 

[BoBzz]

HOLY CRAP I have been researching nonstop on fishbase since I posted my last post and I am so lost it isnt even funny 8O What exactly would fit in here? I found eel species that inhabit lower congo rapids and then I found species from the congo basin and I just dont know!?!?! I wanna be as biotopic as possible so I need some direction here before I lose what little is left of my sanity! :!:

 

[Sam]

Gibbiceps

Steatocranus gibbiceps and casuarius get along fine with my tinanti. A pair of either would likely be fine in the 20 with your tinanti. At my office, I have a 20 with two pairs of tinanti, one of which recently bred.

 

[BoBzz]

Well I speant 2 long nights researching all the different species and had a whole post ready(including a list of all the species I had found) and then accdentally hit the back button 8O :evil: 8O and lost all of it I could not believe it! I almost passed out! I went through over 100 species easy and now its gone! What I do know is that want to include some of the congo rapids eels and some sort of charcin or smaller Labeo schooling species along with an additional pair of S. Tinanti. Does this sound feasible? Thanks In advance

 

[Randall]

Congo Rapids Biotope Setup

Dear Bobzz,

Sorry to hear that you lost your last post. I hate it when that happens.

Look, given a 20 to 40-gallon Congo rapids biotope setup, may I make a suggestion, please?

You already have a Steatocranus species, so why not add either a Nanochromis species or a Teleogramma species, set up tons of rocks and caves on opposite sides of the tank with a wall of planted Anubias spp. in the middle, and balance aggression with a shoal of Alestes species. Distichodus species are only mildly adapted for the rapids and grow, for the most part, to be huge. It might be a good idea to save the eely and elephant nosey thingys for the 100-plus-gallon aquarium in your future.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[BoBzz]

Hmm, I wanted to add more S. Tinanti inorder to get a pair then remove the rest but would love to have some Telogramma sp. Im tracking the Alestes sp. down as we speak so thats a go. Why no eels? All of the rapids eels I found stay under 8 inches or is there something im missing? I dont wanna get any if they arent going to be comfortable. Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Sam]

No Teleogramma

tinanti are quite peaceful when not breeding, so i would worry about them being intimidated or seriously injured by a Lamprologus or Teleogramma. however, they seem evenly matched with the other Steatocranus that I keep them with (casuarius, gibbiceps). A pair of tinanti would work well in a forty with a pair of another steatocranus species and some tetras, but I would be worried about the safety of your fish if Teleogramma were kept in a tank that size.

 

[BoBzz]

I found a guy selling Lamprologus Mocquardi for $5 apiece. I dont know if thats a good price but i have never heard of them before so im guessing they arent very common. Would these be a good second species for my tank? Anyone have any experience with them? Can I assume they are as aggressive as L. Congoenisis and L. Werneri?

 

[Sam]

L. mocquardi

Very rare indeed, one of the four Lamprologus that i know of that inhabit the Congo river system. (L.congoensis, L. werneri, L. mocquardi, and the blind cave Lamprologus lethops). I would assume them all to be similar in care except for L. lethops. Probably too agressive for your tinanti. But in my 125 gallon, which contains a pair of L. congoensis, my oldest pair of tinanti bred again, at about the same time that their children, at my office, bred again. Its seems to me the only things needed to breed tinanti are passable water parameters, a compatible pair, and lots of caves.

 

[Sam]

Tanganyikan

But, some sources say that it's a Tanganyikan cichlid.