PETROCHROMIS
STOCKING
LEVELS
              Frank Schulterbrandt  10/01/2009

        First of all let me tell you that this fish is not for the typical hobbyist. Petrochromis will inflict a lot of pain, to its conspecifics, to you and to your wallet. But getting past all of that, petrochromis is by far one of the most interesting fish that I have ever had the pleasure of housing in my tanks. These fish not only have a great personality but are very smart. Petrochromis are in fact so smart that they sometimes surprise me with some form of new behavior.

 

       Due to the aggressive nature of petrochromis, they have to be house in the larger sized tanks. You should house  these fish in tanks that are at least 5 feet long.  In fact in keeping these beauties, you should purchase the largest tank that you can afford. A 125 gallon tank would be ok;
a 150 gallon tank much better, a 180 gallon tank would be good, a 240 gallon tank great and a 300 gallon tank excellent, anything larger is just icing on the cake. 

      
      Your stocking level depends on several things. The tank size, the type of petro and the mix of the various petrochromis type(s) in your tank.  Obviously the tank size dictates the stocking level, but the type of desired petrochromis will also dictate the size of the tank due to the size and aggressiveness of those desired petrochromis.  If you chose the tank first then you must consider the type of petro that you will get because some of these fish get very large. If you chose the fish first then your tank should be able to accommodate their future growth potential.  

    So we know what type of petro we want. Will we have a single variant tank or a mixed tank ? If your petros cost an arm and a leg, you could always purchase the cheaper petros as a means to supplement the population level. Remember crowding these petros minimizes the aggression levels (see Petrochromis Stocking Levels). The High Stocking Levels decreases dramatically for near full grown petros.

   If you have chosen to have a single variant tank, you should get as many of those petros over the count of 15 as you can afford and that would meet the right population level for the size tank that you have. I am not in favor of single species tank for esthetic  reasons. I like the various blend of colors flowing in the aquarium.  The supplemental addition of the cheaper petros like Famula , Trewevasae or the even less expensive Tri-Color  will make the tank more colorful and give you the right population count. 
 
    So the answer to the question posed which is more important the tank size or the petro stocking level.
                                                            In My Opinion  The right stocking level.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*A :   Tanks that are less than 5 feet are not recommended for petrochromis. However there have been several reports of
           hobbyist raising and breeding Trewvasae and Famula in tanks less than 5 feet in length. By using four foot tanks
           filtration just becomes a big task to keep the water at acceptable levels and certainly a 55 gallon would be a bigger
           problem facing both aggression and filtration problems.           

          I have found that if you can filter the tank properly then “Pack Those Petros In” close to the maximum filtration limits.
                                                        

                                                                         GOOD LUCK,   HAVE FUN,   ENJOY

* Much of this information has been accumulated by asking many, many questions and while applying this information, I have acquired a greater understanding of this amazing and smart fish. Thanks to all for your willingness to share information.