Visited Phoenix this weekend and returned with a new African

[ancientaquarist]

I was shocked at fish prices in Phoenix-they're 2 or 3 x whatb they cost in Tucson. At the best shop in thye city I saw these unknown dwarfs marked
"Rock Kribs." The'd gotten a few pair of adults which spawned and raised
about 30 young. I bought the last three. No scientific names in the shop-the 3 I bought are bright yellow and look like female apistos but the shape is wrong. The parents were extraordinarily dimorphic but these three babies were unsexable. Does anyone know this "rock kribs" moniker and can tell me what they are?? I was also able to get a pair of Etroplus maculatus. Will they thrive in the soft acid water conditions I have created? They hang lout together and are quite good looking. My two Bolivian Rams are huge and very colorful. One has become the tank
bully. Even these 3" are unsexable. Suggestions. No more fish deaths and the big tank is finally slightly acid and soft. Terrible algae problems but most plants going like crazy. The turquioise high-fin discus from Wattley is enormous and the snakeskin isn't growing.
Dwarf Cichlids are a kick but what on GGE is a "rock krib)????

 

[tjudy]

The 'rock krib' is a Lake Victoria species. It need moderately hard adn alkaline water (though not as hard adn alkaline as the other Rift Lake species). The etropolus lake hard water... almost brackish in some cases.

 

[tjnelson44]

Michael, what shop did you go to in Phoenix? If you ever get the chance you should check out The Ocean Floor. Its a great shop and last time I was there they had a huge amount of great African wood.
Trevor

 

[MC1979]

Here are some pictures of Paralabidochromis sp "rock kribensis"

Kenya form - note the difference in male and female forms
Male
http://www.african-cichlid.com/YellowRockKrib.htm

Female
http://www.african-cichlid.com/YellowRockKrib.htm

Uganda form
Male
http://www.african-cichlid.com/BlueRockKrib.htm

Female
http://www.african-cichlid.com/BlueRockKrib.htm

 

[ancientaquarist]

Phoenix LFS and chancy purchases.

Dear All- We went to two shops while in Phoenix-OCEAN FLOOR-which I
found very expensive and there were no Westies or apistos. I bought a
plant. This is a huge store 17,000 sq ft but I found kit boring and the staff not very interested. Then we went to Phoenix Tropical Fish Inc which was the kind of shop I new as a kid. Huge selection-all in excellent condition but no scientific names and outraqgeously expensive. My curviceps cost 2.99@ at DPC in Tucson-they had a tank of parallel young at $7.99@ I paid $8.99@ for the Etroplus and bought several plants-Anubias 'cocffeeifolia" $7.00, The Tropica form of Java fern-$3.00 and a stunted adorable Echinodorus compacta with an adventitious plant-S5.00. The rock kribs were $3.99@ for unsexed juveniles which I am now sure are females. They are a bright lemon yellow with dark brown markings.

Unfortunately the rock kribs turn out to be lacustrine-a group of fishes I'm not much interested in and I know Etroplus like alkaline water with salt-out- of the question. They are in the 150 with apistos and other soft water
cichlids and characins. I was positively terrified by the size of Siamese
Flying Foxes and even worse Siamese algae eaters-there were 12 of the
latter over 8". Many of their fishes, including ones I'd call common were
$20.@ or pairs at $29.95. Their discus were poor in quality and twice what I paid directly from Wattley's.

It is a marvelously equipped store (the books!), equipment, usw. owned by the only knowledgeable person-a young woman under 30. Huge staff
and mobs of people. All the serious aquarists I spoke with said there is nothing similar in Phoenix-this is the best. I enthusiastically recommend them, especially for those of you who raise hard water dwarfs. There had to be 30 tanks of Victorian, Malawi and other lacustrine species. The
was an enormous selection of plants-many quite rare-and five kinds of algae eating shrimps.

It was a pleasure dealing with them but I fear neither the rock kribs nor the Etroplus are going to make it the conditions I have established.