Yellow tail acei - underestimated ????

[Ulysses048]

Now have six of these guys in my display tank ... and think they are my favourite fish.... I love the way they swim in the top part of the tank - are such graceful swimmers - non-aggressive nature - and look great in with electric yellows - I really do believe these fish are underestimated ....
Does anyone else share my love of these fish ????

[fishtraderlau]

hell yes.

it is incredible, not long ago they were worth $'s too, i just love them.

have a good school of msuli pt (my personal favourite) as well as tanzania's and hoping to get some ngara white tails too.

[GTR73]

Yeah I'm a recent convert to these fish also, and I indeed share your love of Acei.
I got 5 late last year, only because they were a good price and I planned to grow them out a bit to sell later. But after keeping them the last few months in my 3ft tank with my E.yellows, I'm thinking maybe I should breed these guys.  :roll:
As you say, great fish to watch and swim in upper half of tank, which seems unusual for Mbuna, and Acei don't run and hide in their caves at the appearance of a strange face. Such great colours - the males look great with that purple/blue metallic head, blue body and yellow fins. Probably what's the best thing however is they get on great with the mild mannered E.yellows and stripped my tank spotless of algae - better then any catfish breed could ever do!

So now I'm in a dilemma as I'd love to breed them - the juvies even look great so should sell easy - but I've gotta either try breeding them in the measly 3ft residing with my E.yellows, or convince my wife to let me get another tank (which will be like shovelling the proverbial up hill). They're hard to sex also, I have one dominant male that I'm 99% sure of, but no idea of the others.
There is a short article on Yellow Tail Acei here:

http://cichlid-forum.com/articles/p_acei.php

Can anyone with experience breeding yellow tail Acei advise if I can get away with breeding these with the E.yellows in my standard 3ft??? It's well filtered by a 1000L/hr external canister.

[emiee]

i have to agree as well...

i have stocked my 6footer with tanzanias and my 4footer with msulis...

i love they way they will give each other a nip but wont bash the crap out of each other... and they really are easy breeders... i have 4 or 5 with mouthfuls now and a heap of fry/juvis as well... (anyone want any  :lol: )

[Ulysses048]

Yes - I would like some tips on breeding the Acei Tanzania as well ...
I have six adults - have only had them in my 4 footer for a couple of weeks - and watching their behaviour to try to determine sex.
Hopefully I will have at least one male in that lot - are the females good holders - ie - do they usually hold to term - or do you strip them when they are still at the egg stage??

[emiee]

when i first purchased my msulis they were a well established breeding colony (15) in a 3 foot tank... when i brang them home i housed them in a tallish 3 footer with 6 sub adult yellows and they continued to breed for me. i can not honestly say i seen any difference in breeding habits or quanity when the yellows were moved out. but this is just my experience.

the only thing i suggest is to keep up ur water changes. if i get lazy, which sometimes i do, these fish seem to tell me by not giving me anymore fry. as sson as i have done a water change they spawn again.

personally now i strip my females once i can clearly see tails and eyes in their mouths... i am hoping one day i will be pleasantly surprised to fine some cuckoos in there  :lol:
but i doubt it  :roll:
 
i have never noticed any of my females holding one day and not the next so i would have to say in my opinion they are good holders. Sometimes i struggle to strip all the eggs but maybe thats just the way i do it.

i notice that my males are a stronger/deeper colour especially around the face. they are bigger as well. all my established/dominate boys have 2 or more egg spots but i have had females with 2 egg spots as well. so ya just cant be sure  8O

i purchased most of my tanzanias through here from the doug - dfishkeeper - and he was most helpful then so i am sure someone with a lot more experience will come along and add or correct me soon  :D

HTH

[mudskipper]

good to hear those aceii settled in well for u carole, u should see how cool they are in a school of 50 fish.

as with msuli point these guys are very very underated, they look awesome and u can put them in with almost anything.

breeding them isn't hard, good water, filteration, and good food. i have good sucess with them in 4x2x2, but i am sure they will breed in anything over 3ft, as long as it is not too over crowded.

cheers lloyd

[Ulysses048]

Yes - thank you Lloyd - very happy with the Tanzania - seems like I will have to think about Msuli Point as my next purchase.
We were sooo enthused by the auction, we went and bought a 7 ft tank the very next day  - in the throws of setting it up - so will certainly include some m.points in that one !!!!!

[hareysfish]

[quote:2b0334ebb7="Ulysses048"]Yes - I would like some tips on breeding the Acei Tanzania as well ...
I have six adults - have only had them in my 4 footer for a couple of weeks - and watching their behaviour to try to determine sex.
Hopefully I will have at least one male in that lot - are the females good holders - ie - do they usually hold to term - or do you strip them when they are still at the egg stage??[/quote:2b0334ebb7]

they are like convicts,just add water. good quality males have a blue shine all over their body and the females stay black.the females will hold till they can't anymore, although i milked after 14days of holding. i had a colonie of about 20-30 .they are 1 of my favourites as well

cheers scott

Hi Guys

I agree with you, acei are an under-rated fish and one of my favourites also. I have found them to be hardy and easy to breed, and they will mix in with most other africans without any problems. According to Ad Konings in his 3rd edition of "malawi cichlids in their natural habitat" acei live in shallow sandy bays in the wild, in large schools which stay close to the cover of large fallen trees and browse for food (invertebrates etc) in the thick algae cover on these trees.

I have bred them successfully both in a 2 x 2 x 2 species tank and in crowded larger tanks with a variety of other malawi cichlids. As long as your water quality is good and they are well fed you shouldn't have any problem breeding them. Their eggs & fry are one of the smallest I have seen in malawi cichlids but they grow quite quickly.

Cheers, Doug