Minimum tank size for Neolamprologus brichardi

[Roly0287]

   Hello everyone !!! I’m itching to set up a tank for a small colony of Neo. brichardi and due to space constraints I can’t go with a really large tank. What would be the smallest acceptable size for let’s say 5 or 6 fish ?? Thank you for your guidance !!!

[Tony s]

It all depends. If you want just a breeding pair you could do that in a 40g tank. That’s minimum, they get up to 6 inches. If you wanted a group or community, with, say, Julidochromis, you’d need at least a 75g. The other things to think about… 1. If you get a group they have a reputation of being nasty to each other when adults. So much so, that usually the pair is the only brichardi left. 2. They are easy breeders when paired, so you would need places for the fry.

You could get multifaciatus in a much smaller tank, and worry less about the aggression. But the blue faced kipili look amazing 

[Roly0287]

I might have to go back to shell dwellers. Had them over 10 years ago and they were pretty neat but the brichardi are so elegant !!! Julidochromis are growing on me too. I also want to do a tank with Kribensis.

On 4/20/2024 at 11:00 PM, Tony s said:

It all depends. If you want just a breeding pair you could do that in a 40g tank. That’s minimum, they get up to 6 inches. If you wanted a group or community, with, say, Julidochromis, you’d need at least a 75g. The other things to think about… 1. If you get a group they have a reputation of being nasty to each other when adults. So much so, that usually the pair is the only brichardi left. 2. They are easy breeders when paired, so you would need places for the fry.

You could get multifaciatus in a much smaller tank, and worry less about the aggression. But the blue faced kipili look amazing 

 

Edited April 21 by Roly0287

[Tony s]

Got other choices. Leleupi or splendors only get 4”  brevis gets to 3. Gold ocellatus would be interesting. Would want steel gloves for those. 
 

kribensis or Julidochromis have interesting subspecies. 

[mynameisnobody]

Brichardi are known as the brichardi death squad because a pair will form and they systematically murder everything else in the tank. I have a 75 gallon filled with daffodil and it they were all spawned from a pair. 

[Roly0287]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:53 PM, mynameisnobody said:

Brichardi are known as the brichardi death squad because a pair will form and they systematically murder everything else in the tank. I have a 75 gallon filled with daffodil and it they were all spawned from a pair. 

Definitely don’t want that. I’m leaning more towards the Julidochromis. Went to my LFS today and one of the girls showed me her colony of Julidochromis that she’s got growing there. She said that she’s willing to sell me a few if I set up a tank for them so here I go. 

[mynameisnobody]

Sounds good, be sure to have a ton of rock work from them to call home. If you more than a pair, I’d make very specific rock work territories. Super cool species and do your research because some stay smaller and are a bit calmer, while others are larger and can go looney. 

[Tony s]

On 4/21/2024 at 8:55 PM, mynameisnobody said:

while others are larger and can go looney. 

Okay. I gotta ask. Which ones are the looney ones? Sounds like my kinda fish, and I don’t think I can get that info elsewhere 🤣

[Tony s]

You also have the option to get some of the lesser known species. Hemichromus. Benitochromus. Anamolochromus. Some of the rare kribensis. 
 

I have thought about getting a colony of jeweled cichlids. Or yellow kribs. 

[mynameisnobody]

@Tony s Neolamprologus sexfasciatus, the spelling may be off. I also second the rare kribensis colony. 

[beastie]

Depends on for how long you want the tank to work, right?

I saw a guy here with a 70 liter give or take started with a pair of neolamprologus multifasciatus, was feasible for half a year, maybe year before everyone reached adulthood. I went the opposite way, I had 12 in a 360 liters, had the colony for ten years, while the last two years I stopped adjusting the water and lost the babies and the males became overly aggressive too, an imbalance in numbers and it messed with it.

I saw a group of jullies (marlieri) the other week, in a long sort of shallow tank, I would guess 150 liters maybe, just jullies, and they had a very unique behavior, fights for lead female spots, interaction in the group and even care for young. I really fell in love but they do best in larger volumes

[Roly0287]

On 4/21/2024 at 8:55 PM, mynameisnobody said:

Sounds good, be sure to have a ton of rock work from them to call home. If you more than a pair, I’d make very specific rock work territories. Super cool species and do your research because some stay smaller and are a bit calmer, while others are larger and can go looney. 

I plan on doing a sand substrate with rock work in the corners and an open center with maybe some corkscrew or jungle Valls to kind of separate the spaces.

On 4/22/2024 at 1:32 AM, Tony s said:

You also have the option to get some of the lesser known species. Hemichromus. Benitochromus. Anamolochromus. Some of the rare kribensis. 
 

I have thought about getting a colony of jeweled cichlids. Or yellow kribs. 

I’ll have to look into those species. A seller down here has 4 different species of Kribensis available. He’s got Congochromis sabinae and Pelvicachromis subocellatus Matadi. The females on that last one look beautiful when in courtship colors.