I GOT EM...WOO HOO...I GOT EM...(MONGO DOING THE HAPPY DANCE)...I FINALY GOT MY "HOLY GRAIL" FISH!!!!!

I picked up a WC pair of Lepidiolamprologus kendalli (Nkambae) today. I had to clean out a 75 long for them, but OH MY GOSH...I got a pair of kendalli. The male is almost 6 inches long, and the female is around 4. They are both a little thin, but both are eating pellts...not real well, but they will take them out of the outflow from the filter. I took pics while they were in the bags, as I had to hurry and get ready for work tonight. So they acclimated while I dressed and got all my gear together. I promise I will get some better pics assoon as they settle in. I am just so excited to finaly get this fish. I have tried for about 15 years now to acquire this species. We just dont see them very often in this area, and they are usualy very cost prohibative on a cop's salary. Well thanks for looking.
Wooo hoo!! Wooo hoo!! Wooo hoo!! Wooo hoo!! Wooo hoo!! Wooo hoo!! Wooo hoo!!

male...






female...

Yay, Mongo! Gimme an A! Gimme an A! Gimme an A!

That is fantastic, to finally get something you've waited so long for! I'm happy for you. whoot whoot

Nice i love that fish/s Mongo...Beautiful...congrats Wooo hoo!!

the Clap the Clap the Clap Kirk, I feel sooo happy for you because I KNOW how much you wanted these fish. As you know, they have a very special place in my heart too. These are one of the nicest cichlids I ever kept and I know that sooner or later I will have to keep them again. Cloud 9
Be sure though to have some hiding spaces for the female and more important, make absolutely sure the there is not even the smallest opening when covering the tank. The males are known to chase the females right out of the tank.

Congratulations my friend and best of luck with them. Wooo hoo!!

Did I see Mongo say he's "doing the dance" ????????? Bouncy

Congrats Mongo,,,I don't think I have ever been so excited about getting fish as I see you are here. the Clap
Congrats again my friend,,and make sure you take more pictures when they settle,I have never seen this fish before. And 'WC',,,what part of the lake are they from????

Did it take so long because they are just to hard to find,or did you finally lift up your mattress and pull out some money???? Giggly Nanananaa

I am happy for you too Mongo,(but don't tell to many people,,they'll think I am getting mushy) Cheers!!!

congrats mongo :)
will you be taking any pics of them in the tank??
i got my new fish today Wooo hoo!! from darius

Congrats on the fish Mongo! Cheers!!!

Are they going to have the 75 for themselves? Or can they get any tankmates? I've got a 55 that's empty and wondering if Tangs(NOT ALIENS) are in my future?

Congrats, Mongo!

I am anxiously awaiting pics of these fish once they settle in! Now this should be good!

Way to go, friend! Bouncy

Thanx Aura and GL. I am so stoked about these guys.

Klaus, when and if I ever get these guys to spawn...I will figure out a way to send you some. And thanks for the encouragment, I am just a little bit nervous. They arent eating real well right now. They will take the pellets in and chew them abit, but spit them out. They are eating only every fifth or sixth mouthful. They may be letting the pellets get soft before eating them. I will be bugging you for info as this saga unfolds. Thanx in advance for all your help. Oh and I know this is going to disappoint you a little, but this means no "ALIENS".

APII, yes that loud thudding you heard was the sound of my size 13 boots doing my best rendition of the "River Dance" in my livingroom watching these guys swim around a tank in my house. APII as for why it took so long for me to get some, when you see a list of fish offered from the exporters...you see tons of the usual suspects, but you might only see one or two kendalis offered for sale. So at least in this area they are rarer than sober virgins on prom night. And I wont tell a soul that you have a soft spot...cough...cough (whispered behind my hand) "in your head"...cough.

Yeah as soon as I can get them calmed down a bit. Right now, they dart behind a rock if anyone gets close to the tank. Congrats on your new fish, what did you get?

Thanks DB, right now they have company in the form of five albino nagra flametails and three M. aurora. I dont have anywhere else to put the Malawans right now, so they get to share for a bit. It has been my experience that keeping tangs is very, very different from keeping Malawans. The water requirments are very similar, but the demeaners of the fish from the two lakes is as different as night and day. Tangs for the most part seem to be more laied back in my opinion, while Malawans seem to always be moving in fifth gear. So if you havnt ever kept Tangs, you might want to look into some of the julieochromis or smaller lamprologus species to start out with. Lamp. leloupi is an awsome looking fish that breeds pretty easily and regularly in tanks, as is Neolamp. Brichardi. Good luck in your new mission should you choose to take it on. As for ALIENS, I have actualy gotten the low down on those guys from Klaus recently. To hear him tell it, they arent the PITA to keep that we have all been told.

Kirk, I never gave them any pellets. These guy's are carnivores and need some "real" stuff. If yours are WC, they are used to hunt. Put some small feeder fish in the tank. A friend of mine is a big time guppy line breeder and he gave me the fry that did not meet his "standart" :blink: I also gave them mysis, blood worms and raw shrimp.

Thanx for the info Klaus, I did fianly get the male to take a few pellets tonight. I have been mixing in some thawed krill when i feed the pellets. He finaly took some of the pellets tonight and kept them down. I am hoping to make the krill and blod worms "treats" not the norm. BY the way, they are setteling in nicely and starting to swim out from under the rocks for most of the day. About the only time they hide is when the Mongolings are running around. But even then they are looking out at all the action instead of dashing around the tank. These are probably the most sedate tangs I have ever kept. Very stately in their movements. And I caught a pic or two of the male "flashing" for the female tonight. I did a 75% WC yesterday, and removed the M. Aurora. The dietary needs between the kendali, peacocks and the aurora is just too differant. I will move the peacocks before the kendali get down to any serious spawning. I am looking for a cheap tang to go in the tank at act as dither fish for the kendali. But for right now, the peacocks are fitting the bill nicely, even if it is a "NO NO" to mix continents. Giggly

Great pics, Mongo!

I love my J. transcriptus because of their movements and
personality!

Good luck on a future spawn!

Great pics Mongo! Glad to hear they are settling in for you!

Good Luck with them!

Wow, these pictures bring back some great memories. Cloud 9 Cloud 9 Cloud 9

Good luck the Clap

A while ago I had a chance to pick up a sexed pair ands I passed on them since I was cutting back and I had some Cylindricus I could not part with but those fish are awesome , I love the pattern they have now I regret not taking them. good luck with them Kirk.

Very nice Mongo,,,glad it is working out for you thus far.

I'd love to see a full tank shot of this set-up. ohhh please ohh please

ASK AND YE SHALL RECIEVE



This one shows the piece of black PVC pipe I bought to give them a place to spawn. It has a screw in piece in the back that will let me clean it when needed. It is six inches across and about 16 inches long. It curves a little and fits really well under the rock work. The male kendali has already set up house in it, now I am just waiting for the "magic" to happen.

And a parting shot of the male...I have already taken about 50 pics of these guys. I am so stoked...STOKED...to finaly have these fish. I know...I know...I am being really "girly" about this, but this is like getting exactly what you asked for Christmas morning.

Very nice!!
what kind of rocks are those??

and psh! 50 is nothing!
i took over 500 pics of my paracyps..

SWEET

I love the natural look!!!!!! Good Job

Multies, that rock came from a site where they used it for erosion control. I have some pieces that weigh in at over 40 or 50 pounds. I like it because it is so neutral in color, and stacks very easliy. It is a type of granite, and there are even a few pieces that have quartz imbedded in the rocks. Here in Texas, you can pick it up when they use it as long as you dont take enough to defeat the purpose it is intended for. SO its free and there are tons of the stuff laying along the roadways. You do have to spend some time cleaning it as it has alot of cracks and crevices.

AP, All of my tanks have that "natural" look. I just think it shows off the fish better. There is nothing wrong with purple plastic plants or multi colored gravel. Its just not my preference. I like BIG rocks and natural looking plastic plants with some driftwood in tanks where it is approprate. I try to do a more "biotope" type set up when I put together a new tank. I do a little research into what the natural area the fish came from originaly. I use rocks and thin plants in my African tanks, and more leafy looking plastic plants with some driftwood in my CA or SA tanks. I know that its just a personal thing, but its what I think looks good.

from your tank pics..
i dont see mrs.kendalli anywhere.
just mr.kendalli..

wheres the mrs??
wont be a party without her and her mate together right?

"M", I dont think she is quite ready for spawning yet. She is spending a lot of time hiding behind some rocks where the male cant get to her. She comes out at feeding time, and is a complete pig. She is getting plump, and I think I saw her breeding tube distended a little tonight...SO...I am keeping my fingers crossed that the deed will be done soon.

Very nice and natural setup my friend Good Job

I also have a few rocks like that in my own tanks. All you need now is nature to do its job and get some algae growth on the rocks.

Is it ok to use screws in the tank water? what about rust?

Gee, its all plactic PVC pipe. There is just and end cap that screws onto the back end. I guess its like a sewer clean out piece. That way once you got all the pipe put together, and you needed to clean it out...you just unscrew the cap and do what ya gotta. But I promise its all plastic. No rust happening in my tanks. Nanananaa

Oky doky Mongo i get it but dont know the name either...lets just call it a plastic thingy screw cap at the end of the other thingy :blink:

Lets just hope there will be some other type of screwing in there though whoot whoot

Very nice pics and full tank shot, Mongo!

I like the set up as well!

Good luck on the future spawn of the fish and don't worry
about feeling "girly;" it's great to see someone excited over
their fish!

Hi Mongo... I know he excitement over finally finding these fish. How big are yours? Mine are still small, but growing pretty fast. I had no problem geting them to take flake food....just put some in with frozen blood worms, brine shrimp and mysis. took about a week. They are beauties and hope to see moer pics.

Doing some catching up on threads I missed and just wanted to say, "Congrats, Mongo!!! I'm tickled pink for you!!!"

You do a lot of great things to help animals and people -- I'm delighted to see someone did something great for you!

Don

Ok that's it, i have fallen in love with these Kendalli fish. I am going to get some for myself. I need info Mongo and CH. How many can i keep? and what's the best tank specs? i mean what length x width x height tank?

Since i have this feeling that there might be more Q&A's about this i started another thread

http://cichlidhaven.net/index.php?showtopic=1909

HI "LadyFair", how have you been? Its been ssssooooooooooo long since I have had a chance to talk to you. I cheated Deb, I bought mine as a pair. My male is about 6 inches long, while the female comes in at about 4 inches. I have gotten them to take the flake a little, and a few pellets during feeding time. I have been feeding them a little freeze dried river shrimp...frozen mysis...frozen krill. I have been trying to ween them off the expensive "live" foods. I think I will be feeding them a few of the green terror juvies. My pair of green terrors are breeding like they are attempting to repopulate their entire native range all at once.

Thanx PB, but I still feel all "girly" about the whole thing. But its all good...I am 6 foot 2 inches and weigh 315 pounds...so giggle behind your hand where I cant see you and you'll be okay.

GL, good luck with you new mission should you choose to accept it. I have been looking for this species for at least 20 years or so. I'll tell ya what, if I can get mine to spawn and raise a few juvies up to size...maybe we can do a trade if you live in the States.

Sure Mongo if i come over to the States.