How to choose a good quality Tropheus duboisi? First, equip yourself with a water parameter test, the second, observing their behavior, and lastly, paying attention to their coloration pattern.
Tropheus duboisi is popular in the hobby for the last 20 years. This fish is quite pricey and difficult to maintain, especially for beginners. The behavior of Tropheus duboisi is very active and rather aggressive to its kind. This tiny angle doesn’t live in a big colony in the wild and eats algae mats attaching to the rocks. Because keeping them in captivity is not easy, buying a healthy one is a good start. So if you’re wondering how to choose a good quality Tropheus duboisi, this article will help.
Make Sure the Water pH
One of the signs that Tropheus duboisi lives a healthy and happy life is they habitat a tank with ideal water pH and hardness. This species originally come from the northern part of Lake Tanganyika in Africa. The perfect water condition to raise Tropheus duboisi is 8.0-9.5 for the water pH, hardness level GH 16-KH 14, and temperature between 73-81°F (23-27°C).
Measuring the water arrangement manually can’t be done. That is why you will need a water pH and hardness testing kit. Or, you can use a water parameter test to test the pH range, nitrate, ammonia, nitrite, and other specification you need to identify.
Activeness
The second tip to know how to choose a good quality Tropheus duboisi is observing their behavior in the tank. They are very agile and love to play around in hide places. Even in the wild, Tropheus duboisi doesn’t territory one permanent area but occasionally moving habitat.
So if you notice they are rather quiet and prefer to stay in one spot without making many movements, you should be aware that they are not in a good or healthy condition.
Coloration Pattern
Next on how to choose a good quality Tropheus duboisi is paying attention to their color. One of the things that make this species fascinating is its color’s morph. As a juvenile, this tiny fish has a completely black figure with many white spots on its body. The teenage pattern will remain for almost a year, and this fish is widely known as “Pearly Butterfly.”
However, the white spots vanish when it matures, and its head turns into gorgeous blue color. A wide yellow or white band also develops under its dorsal fin. So if you see two Tropheus duboisi with different color, it shows their ages. Healthy fish has beautiful color, so make sure you pick the healthiest one.
Those are some important tips about how to choose a good quality Tropheus duboisi. Picking the healthy Tropheus duboisi is a great step to start because maintaining this fish in captivity is fairly challenging. Remember that setting the ideal aquarium set-up, feeding the right diet, changing the water regularly, and assembling the right water condition are important points.