Hi All,

Merry Xmas Cheers!!!

I am gonna be buying my first fish soon and i'm going for Melanochromis auratus first, one male and 2 or 3 or more females...what do you guys think??? How many females???

Wow, you're a lot braver than me! I've heard so many stories about Auratus killing everything in sight -- including each other -- that I'm leary of them.

Starting with Auratus will severely restrict who else you can have in the tank with them because they're so nasty.

Hopefully Kim will post on this topic -- she kept them for years and I recall a story she posted where the male had a favorite female in the group. He killed the other females in the tank... and then tore out the throat of his favorite for good measure.

I also believe Aura has kept these as well.

Very agressive fish that the LFS keeps passing along
as easily kept fish.

Good luck however and let us know how things turn out!

I have kept M. auratus for about four years now and because of my experience over this time, I would not recommend them as your first cichlid. With very few exceptions, they are extremely aggressive toward each other, especially when they reach spawning age.

Males will not tolerate other auratus males in their territory and they are very hard on the females as well. You would need at least five females, but more would be much better. The only way I've been able to keep them alive is by having one per tank or to have at least a dozen in an overstocked tank with another species of hardy mbuna. Similar to what Psuedospecialops described, I had one male that spawned with a female and immediately afterwards, tore her throat out and ate the eggs that she was carrying. yikes

They are a good-looking fish, both male and female, and I don't blame you for being interested in them, but I think you will find them to be quite frustrating over time.

Do you have a second choice?

yikes Aura yikes

I got a pair already today and noticed the male being a bit aggressive idunno

I reserved another 2 females so i dont put too many at once cause i didnt want to over load my filtration.

The problem is here in Bahrain you hardly get any cichlids and not many LFS's. I wanted to get Pseudotropheus saulosi/Labidochromis caeruleus but the LFS says we dont know if we gonna get any...so i got sick of looking at my tank empty and purchased these fish. Now its gonna be a HUGE problem catching the pair in my tank's size, but guess i have to do it.

So if i add small Pseudotropheus saulosi/Labidochromis caeruleus with these guys then you telling me they wont stay alive for long?

Geelite, it's so difficult to predict what will happen. The auratus that I keep generally fight and chase amongst themselves and don't mess with the other mbuna, but I have read plenty of stories from others that have auratus that chase everything in the tank.

It may depend on tank size, decorations, stocking numbers, etc. I think it definitely helps to have a crowded tank when it comes to auratus. Unfortunately a "pair" is about as bad as it gets - that male will probably be constantly chasing the other. worry wart!

What size are the two that you just purchased?

Ya know, Geelite, if you're in a place where the LFS doesn't get many fish sometimes you just have to experiment to see what works. You avoid the known mistakes and then try things from there. As you said, an empty tank is no fun!

It's great we have the Internet so you have access to experienced Auratus keepers like Aura and Kim. Aura, I think it may have been your story I was referring to and I apologize for mis-assigning the post from memory.

Good luck -- I'm enjoying learning from this strand!

Geelite, like Pseudo said, sometimes you just have to experiment to see what will work in your particular tank and setup.

I don't want to make you think that you have to take them out right away. If they are young and in a large tank, they might be okay for a while. Just keep an eye on things and if one is beating the other up or keeping it hiding all the time, you might have to step in if you want to save it.

I really love auratus, but they sure make it hard!!

Thanx Aura...they are actually full size.

Eeek ~ full size! I hope they will be okay. ohhh please ohh please

How are they doing so far?

They are ok, happy always swimming and eating algae of the rocks. He was a little aggressive towards her at first but seem ok now, hope it stays that way. I think i'll pick up the other 2 females tomorrow and see what happens worry wart!

I don't know how I missed this thread...

Don, you did a "combo story" of mine and Aura's experiences. My male killed off all the females except for the first one I got for him...Aura's male spawned with one of his girls and then ripped her throat out. (My male did eventually kill his lone female, but not as Hannibal the Cannibal as Aura's was!)

geelite, how big is this tank?

My only advise at this point is to add those other females quick, before he forms some sort of twisted bond with this one that he has...If that happens, all the new introductions will likely be killed if you wait too long. I would go for at least 4 females for this one male!

Aura has had more success keeping them than anyone that I know, but my husband hung onto ours for about 3 years before giving up...It was and still is his favourite fish, but he didn't name him Lucifer for nothing!

Not a good beginner fish at all, and definitely not a money maker for breeding and sales - they are a dime a dozen anywhere you go, so you'll be lucky to get $1 each for them from a LFS, maybe even less.

But I have to say that they are some of the neatest looking fry I've ever seen! Tiny little miniatures of mom, and they come out fighting! Giggly

Kim

Thanx for the info Kim. My tank is 200 Gallons.

With that size tank, I would shoot for about 10 total auratus, hoping for 7 - 8 females and no more than 3 males.

A male would be even easier to control without any other male auratus' in the tank and a lot of females.

Having 2 males may be more of a problem than having 3. With the more aggressive species such as this one, 2 males can be a death sentence for one, but with that much space, you might be okay.

Good luck!

Kim

Thanx for the info Kim. How about if i also add Pseudotropheus saulosi? Any ideas?

In a 200 gallon tank the more the merrier!
Ps.Saulosi is fast and active and should be a good addition,other species that would do well would Labeotropheus and Tropheops or any of the Zebra's which you should be able to get over there!

Cheers,Larry

Thanks Larry, i will look up the fish you mentioned.

Happy New Year Cheers!!!

We gotta see some pics from that tank! That 200 gallon aquarium has to be a beauty!

kimmy Ok people here's my update. I added 2 more Melanochromis auratus females and my male and the first lady went NUTS yikes ...so i decided to take them all back to the LFS, was not easy catching them and had to remove all my rocks :Sad: . So i'm just gonna start over and hope the LFS gets me the fish that i want ohhh please ohh please ...i have a feeling its gonna be a long wait fishy

I have posted pix of my tank under Photos and Videos - "My New Mbuna Tank Pics". No pix of the aquascaping as i'm gonna have to start again and will post it later.