humbug Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 Looking for Rhamphochromis, adults or juvi. Particularly interested in Rhamphochromis macrophthalmus, but also other Rhamph species. Any leads on breeders, or shops with access to them, would be greatly appreciated. I'm in South Australia, but even if you aren't able to ship, I'm sure we can find a way to make it happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ageofaquariums Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 @none @the German @shon982 huh, seems I don't know how to mention people. How embarassing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rastinger62 Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 Your losing your touch Donny lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watsonboyd Posted September 17, 2016 Report Share Posted September 17, 2016 i dont want to hijack the thread but i am also keen on some macrphthalmus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humbug Posted September 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 Along with a lot of our cichlid species, I believe these guys are in real threat of being lost to the hobby. I know that both macrophthalmus and chilingali have been bred in Queensland in recent times. I spoke to one QLD shop a few months back about trying to get hold of some. I was told that they didn’t sell well, and they had advised the breeder they had bought from previously to stop producing them. I sure as hell hope that advice wasn’t taken!!!! I have kept macrophthalmus, and despite their menacing looks, I’ve found them to be amazingly gentle, on the verge of being timid. Others I know who have kept them have had similar experiences. I found them to not do well with really robust fish, but make great tankmates with other large quieter species. Due to their size, they do need a decent sized tank. Being smaller, the chilingali should do better in smaller tanks – or even better, in larger schools in a bigger tank. Wow - now that would be something! I originally got the macs as a bit of a novelty, but they very quickly became a favourite. Certainly not flashy in colour, but they make up for it easily in personality! Their glimmering silver really adds to a Malawi tank, but when they are spawning they are unbelievable!!! So fast and athletic!!! I recently lost all but one female to mechanical failure of a pump. My macs had bred a couple of times, but no fry were produced. As per my recent experience, it’s so easy to lose a colony to equipment failure. Would be sooooo sad to see these awesome fish lost from the hobby. I’m VERY keen to see these in the hands of at least a few dedicated hobbyists. If someone has them and isn’t collecting fry – please, please, please do so!!! I’m sure there is a market for a steady stream of juvis. They will never be a bread-and-butter fish in the hobby, but still one VERY deserving of care and attention! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted September 18, 2016 Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 @none @the German @shon982 Have you called Smiths yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaholic99 Posted September 18, 2016 Report Share Posted September 18, 2016 13 hours ago, humbug said: Along with a lot of our cichlid species, I believe these guys are in real threat of being lost to the hobby. I know that both macrophthalmus and chilingali have been bred in Queensland in recent times. I spoke to one QLD shop a few months back about trying to get hold of some. I was told that they didn’t sell well, and they had advised the breeder they had bought from previously to stop producing them. I sure as hell hope that advice wasn’t taken!!!! I have kept macrophthalmus, and despite their menacing looks, I’ve found them to be amazingly gentle, on the verge of being timid. Others I know who have kept them have had similar experiences. I found them to not do well with really robust fish, but make great tankmates with other large quieter species. Due to their size, they do need a decent sized tank. Being smaller, the chilingali should do better in smaller tanks – or even better, in larger schools in a bigger tank. Wow - now that would be something! I originally got the macs as a bit of a novelty, but they very quickly became a favourite. Certainly not flashy in colour, but they make up for it easily in personality! Their glimmering silver really adds to a Malawi tank, but when they are spawning they are unbelievable!!! So fast and athletic!!! I recently lost all but one female to mechanical failure of a pump. My macs had bred a couple of times, but no fry were produced. As per my recent experience, it’s so easy to lose a colony to equipment failure. Would be sooooo sad to see these awesome fish lost from the hobby. I’m VERY keen to see these in the hands of at least a few dedicated hobbyists. If someone has them and isn’t collecting fry – please, please, please do so!!! I’m sure there is a market for a steady stream of juvis. They will never be a bread-and-butter fish in the hobby, but still one VERY deserving of care and attention! After experimenting with quite a few back up ideas, the best solution for me was to maintain air (only) during power failure. The air allowing tank to turn over & keeping heavily stocked tanks oxygenated. The best method of backing up air is to trickle charge a deep cycle 12 volt battery constantly. The battery powering an inverter which runs a large air pump (45 watts) on a central air line circuit. No automatic transfer switch required. When the power goes off, the full battery continues until the power comes back on and recharging resumes. With a 235 Ahr battery, I can get 48 hours air to 50% battery level (not recommended to totally flatten batteries if possible). Since the sole intention is to build in backup, i use two of these backed up pumps per central air line. This is the equivalent of having two air stones /sponge filters per tank even though there is only one. And on essential tanks I do have 2 air stones /sponges per tank (equivalent of 4). Also very useful for the occasions one pump needs a diaphram changed. I keep air pump spares as well as a spare airpump, spare inverter and spare smart charger. I'm planning to get 400 Ahr batteries next as this will allow longer. I have a petrol generator that needs manual start (deliberately). If you only have one tank, you could use a small water pump instead of an airpump. On that case, I'd look at 12 volt water pump and leave out the inverter. This would save you equipment cost (and chance of failure) and lengthen backup time since 12 volts need far less current. I'm sure i will still lose fish but hopefully no longer from power or equipment failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenswimmers Posted September 29, 2016 Report Share Posted September 29, 2016 I had a little breeding group of Rhamphochromis Chilingali about 2 years back and ended up swapping them to a reputable breeder in WA so WA might be a good spot if you don't mind hunting your fish down and Smiths seem to get them in from time to time..great peace keepers for angry fish and I had them in with some Kendali which made for an interesting tank good luck & hope you find some Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
