Oreochromis mossambicus

[straitjacketstar]

Common food-farmed Oreochromines get a bad rap. I propose to overlook their invasive status and appreciate their amazing adaptive abilities and appreciate them for what they are. Sexy.
I don't know why I got so excited when I first saw one in person. I knew their status as an invasive species all over the world but I suppose the black and white and silvery green duds and fleshy lips won me over. Since then I've managed to always have some. I've since considered rose-breasted & red-eyed O. niloticus and the amazingly colorful O. tanganicae but I've never felt the need-to-have urge to keep them as I have O. mossambicus. They, among other hobby staples like kribs and cons, will always be among my favorite cichlids.
This is my current 7" male.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09119-Mozzy.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09125-Mozzy.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09118-Mozzy.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09117-Mozzy.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09147-Mozzy.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09148-Mozzyteeth.jpg

He is involved in a love/hate relationship with this thing. A fellow invasive species, Dormitator maculatus.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09138-Dormitator.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09099-Dormitator.jpg

They're never too far apart. It's kinda cute watching them be so taken with one another one minute and then sick of eachother the next.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09120-Dormitator.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y277/straitjacketstar/Misc%20Africa/Oreochromis%20mossambicus/08-04-09126-MozDormitator.jpg

Thanks for looking! :D

[mcdaphnia]

Nice fish! I had a trio of gold mossambiques in a 250 and liked them. Planning to keep a trio of the tanganicae out of the 20 fry I raised outside this summer.

[snow]

GREAT SHOTS!:)

[flowerpower]

That's a pretty fish. My mother has one that flirts with every other fish in the tank- very driven to breed, even without a mate.

[straitjacketstar]

Nice fish! I had a trio of gold mossambiques in a 250 and liked them. Planning to keep a trio of the tanganicae out of the 20 fry I raised outside this summer.

I'd love some tanganyicae but they're hard to find. I'll have some one day. :)
I had some pink mozambiques and liked them a lot. Mine didn't seem to grow as fast as regular mozambiques though. :irked:

[Cichlaholics Anonymous]

gorgeous fish, I grew out a niloticus that came in with feeders and it was a very amusing fish to have, full of personality

[cornbread_5]

yeah alot of tilipia or west african species of fish get looked over i had alot of west africans , i have tilipia zilli , tilipia busmani and hemichromis elgontus

[cornbread_5]

is that real or fake plants in your tank and what kind

[straitjacketstar]

is that real or fake plants in your tank and what kind

The plants are fake. :)

[cornbread_5]

you just have them floating?

[straitjacketstar]

The have wire bases. If I want them tethered I wrap a rock to them and the base will sink giving the leafy parts a naturally upward growing look.
In this tank I hooked the wire base up and out of the back of the tank where the filter intake is and it looks more floaty.

[cornbread_5]

you ordered them online

[straitjacketstar]

you ordered them online

I got them at Michaels. A large chain crafts store.

[LobstersGoPeenchPeench]

i had a black and purple mozambique or whatever and it was crazy. least what it was labeld as when i was 13. 1 of my first fish i had given to me. and the first cichlid i ever kept