# A Bit more African Cichlid Spawning - Malawi & Tanganyika



## VElderton (Jun 3, 2015)

Recently I have been trying to spawn some lesser known Mbuna species from Lake Malawi. Along those lines I recently acquired a breeding group of 9 (2 males + 7 females) _Labeotropheus fuelleborni_ - OB marmalade cats. I have not had any successful spawning of these yet but they are interesting fish.






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What I really like about these fish are the males are OB - blue and females OB - orange. I am hoping to get the conditions right and see some fry from this group soon. I have been told that they will breed as a colony but I am not convinced about this - I will have to wait and see.

Another Mbuna I have been successful with is _Labeotropheus trewavasae_ - albino. I have 4 fish in this breeding group (1 male + 3 females)






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This is an interesting species as the males are ice blue-white and females pinkish / orange. I have had a bit of success with this group and 5 fry/juveniles now and hope to have more in future. :bigsmile:

One thing I have noticed about these two _Labeotropheus_ species is that the _L. fuelleborni_ are veracious eaters and very interactive. The _L. trewavasae_ are quite shy and not active feeders.

I am still working on some Tanganyikan spawning as well. I really like colony breeders - love the interaction and no need for grow out tanks. I continue to have great success with _Juliochromis ornatus_ and recently acquired some locally raised _Neolamprologus brichardi_ juveniles. I started up one intensional breeding tank of these feisty little fish. The aggression was quite high in the 5 I started with so I separated the less dominant fish from a dominant trio.






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I expected the intentional tank would be where spawning would start but that was not the case. That group has no fry yet. This morning my eye caught some movement and sure enough in the subordinate fish are a pair and they have a group of tiny fry :bigsmile:

I have micro worms and baby brine on the go all the time so I started the _L. trewavasae_ off on those live foods supplemented by finely ground dry food. For the new _Neolamprologus brichardi_ I will be doing the same thing. As the N. brichardi grow I hope to get some video but right now they are way too small for anyone to really notice - similar to the early free swimming _J. ornatus_

If all goes well I hope to have some surplus juveniles in the few months to share out with other BC Aquaria members and VAHS hobbyists.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Sounds like some very interesting breeding projects going on in your fish room. Good luck my friend.

Anthony


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## VElderton (Jun 3, 2015)

Thanks Anthony. I am heading to Portland for a conference and will be checking out the Wet Spot to see what they have to offer. A new fish friend and colleague from SFU and I are interested in expanding our Mbuna species that you see locally. 

We have:

Chewere (Pseudotropheus elongatus)

Jalo Reef (Cynotilapia afra)

Maingano (Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos)

P. socolofi (Pseudotropheus socolofi)


Mbuna are on our list, so stay tuned.


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## bingerz (Mar 3, 2011)

Hi VElderton, it's been about 5-6 years since I been on here. Any luck breeding fuelleborni?


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