S. lucipinnis combined with....

[Tanganyikafreak]

Is there a possibility to combine S. lucipinnis with L. brevispinis or maybe P. typus in one tank?
In a natural Tanganyika tank that is ;)

[Richard B]

Providing you have the right set-up this is quite possible but you'll need plenty of territory with caves etc

[Tanganyikafreak]

Obviously I will make sure there will be enough spaces for the little critters to hide.
I'll try to create a Tang catfishheaven for them

My biggest 'worry' is.. wouldn't my S. lucipinis 'overrule' the L. brevispinis with his behaviour?
The latter seems to be such a calm species.
So I'm more affraid I will get to see my luci's a lot and the brevi's will be in their caves all day..

[Richard B]

Lucipinnis are not a domineering sp & as such shouldn't 'overrule' the Lophio's. They are more active & content to be out in the open though. Strategically constructed caves allow security for the fish & visibility for the keeper, & it is surprising how many are sometimes needed along with territorial floorspace.

brevispinis do spend more time in hiding anyway IME - both are quite pleasant in their disposition. The only real word of caution i might offer is that you need to be sure of the ID of the Lophio's as i've seen them mis-ID'd with Cyclurus many times (literature & lfs)

[Tanganyikafreak]

Thanks Richard for the info.
If I decide to add some brevi's in my tank I'll make sure it's the brevi and not the other one ;)
Is there such a big difference between those two species?

[Richard B]

Thanks Richard for the info.
If I decide to add some brevi's in my tank I'll make sure it's the brevi and not the other one ;)
Is there such a big difference between those two species?

Actually yes - Sid has posted his experiences which is invaluable info. You can find this searching the african forum or hopefully Sid will repeat it here.

I understand completely where Sid is coming from & agree entirely (although there are some "workarounds" but this depends on having extremely specific set-ups which i wouldn't wholeheartedly recommend people trying to replicate)

[Birger]

At the moment I have half grown S.lucipinnis in with my breeding pairs of P.typus with no apparent problems and I get some fry out of the typus as well. I would have no problem putting Luci's together with either P.typus or L. brevipinnis which I also have.

Regardless of which you combine you need to make sure there are good caves low in the substrate, with stones piled higher the S.lucipinnis will stay higher leaving the low caves for the others(if this makes sense).

Birger

[Tanganyikafreak]

It makes a lot of sense my friend ;)
Thanks!

[Phyllonemus]

Why won't you choose for the typus / lucipinnis combi Tangagnyikafreak ?

Offtopic :
I know you from dutch boards, also welcome on the Forum of catfishes !

[Tanganyikafreak]

Hahaha thanks mate! ;)
I'm not very confident with combining P. typus with my shelldwellers.
But I must say I am truely charmed by them aswell ;)

[Phyllonemus]

I thought it was a catfish tank only

[Tanganyikafreak]

Oh no, sorry, there's a few Tanganyika cichlids in there aswell ;)
But the multi's are going to move to a tank of their own, but there will, most likely, be a couple of L. meleagris in the large tank to replace them ;)