mclovin Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 am pretty keen on getting some cukoo cats but am curious on a host colony. i have heard that blue fish such as dolphins and peakocks are a good host along with most protomelas. i have also read that anything that breeds like rabbits is good. i would rather use a colony which i already have ( too many fish atm haha) if i was to use my venustus colony or lombardoi. would these fish be just as successful as other types? cheers in advance, murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 venustus would be my suggestion only prob is what to do with thousands of baby venustus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutters187 Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I think the cichlids catch on after awhile. In nature they breed next to Ctenochromis Horei. Poor widdle cichlids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 I think the cichlids catch on after awhile. they sure do thats why I rotate my cuckoo horde between tanks. heh heh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclovin Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 they sure dothats why I rotate my cuckoo horde between tanks. heh heh apparently the cukoos (adults) eat the cichlids eggs and any left, the cukoo babies hatch earlier and then eat the remaining cichlid eggs. ive also heard that if you swap the male over, he doesnt know what to do with him self because he has lots of females. less likely to catch on. have you tried this in your experience? thanks, murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supercobwe Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 venustus would be my suggestiononly prob is what to do with thousands of baby venustus? That's a good choice but you also can use some cheap peacocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclovin Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 does anyone know the ratio of m/f cukoo to how many m/f host? cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supercobwe Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I believe 2-3 male and as many female as possible but I'm not an expert in these cuckoo so ask Donny (DFF). Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supercobwe Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 i would rather use a colony which i already have ( too many fish atm haha) if i was to use my venustus colony or lombardoi. would these fish be just as successful as other types? cheers in advance, murray I wouldn't use lombardi as a host because lombardi is very aggressive when they breed and not recommended to use aggressive cichlids as a host. Other good host is blue dolphin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayPee Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Use something that appeals to you as well. No use having a tank with fish that you don't like the look of in it. But would still have to be practical though. I would use venustus only because I like the look of them. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I had no luck with lombardoi when I tried using them and the lombardoi were breeding like rats. I use peacocks which works...... when I actually have any tanks to put fry into. lol full up now ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclovin Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I had no luck with lombardoi when I tried using them and the lombardoi were breeding like rats.I use peacocks which works...... when I actually have any tanks to put fry into. lol full up now ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhrg! yeah most mbuna are quite aggressive ive noticed, im leaning towards venustus and im getting a colony of dolphins in the near future so ill swap them between. having too many fry is a good enough excuse to get more tanks hahaha. one more question, when the cukoo cats deposit their eggs, as a result of the cichlids eggs generally being eaten by adult cukoos or baby cukoos, are cichlid fry common? cheers, murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutters187 Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 The cichlid fry will be eaten unless you separate the eggs when female is holding. My mate used Kingsizei and Hongi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 As mentioned teh cichlids catch on pretty quick, my current hosts yellow tail acei, know to spawn on a rock etc, the cuckoos wont go there, havent had a cuckoo egg in a mouthfull for a while now, crap loads of unwanted acei but lol, started off pretty good. Blue dolphins were pretty good hosts Venustus were the best host so far, but he got to big and he openly attacked the cuckoos at every opertunity.. I have a colony of simochromis on their way to be my new host colony Strip 2-3 days after they spawn, or the cuckoos may start to eat each other, Once you have a good host colony you can strip and feed the eggs to the cuckoos, (not every mouthfull will have cuckoo eggs.) They grow ubber fast up to 2cm, then a quality pellet works a treat, (NLS grow1mm) Once you strip the cichlid look very carefully for the cuckoo eggs they are clear, with a slight yellow yolk in them, about 2-3mm round. Good luck they are crazy to watch...poor chiclids lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclovin Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 thanks for everyones input, i will swap them between a venustus colony, dolphin colony and possibly a white knight or hongi colony. will eventually find out which works the best. will have spair males to rotate also. cheers, murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
