Buffalo Heads!!!

[mcmemily]

I am so excited. I got three baby (about 1 inch) Buffalo Heads this past weekend!!!
:woot: :woot: :woot:
I'm wondering how you can tell the difference between a male and female.

It was weird because they all have bands right now, but one of them shifts his color to a solid grey blue. I'm wondering if this is a display? territorial? or dominance?

Also, if anyone has kept these fish before and have some advice it would be great.
They seem happy and are eating lots (so far flake and mysis). These are the cutest baby fish I've ever seen! Cute little lumps on their head...

Thanks in advance!!!

[JD_MAN]

I've always wanted some...you will have post some pics up.

[MarlboroMan]

Congrats! Buffalo is one of my favorite cichlids, they have so much character and they can fend many fish larger than it. I remember mine had blue within blue eyes. Took so long to find one, in search of more...

[jsfunk78]

these fishes are very tough and very territorial
it can be put with bigger cichlids.

[rallysman]

I've always wanted some...you will have post some pics up.
They have some in marion. :grinyes:

[M|L]

I think male grows a much larger head than females..

[mcmemily]

I think male grows a much larger head than females..

I was wondering about that b/c mine all have lumps on their heads...so cute. They've grown already! Even they all come out to eat together, it seems like two of them hang together much more and the third is more of a loner-he may end up in my 75g eventually.

[M|L]

Yeah, both sexes have the hump, but the male's are supposely bigger and more pronounced.

[yan]

some pics pls:D

[deangelo]

tough!? depends on the char. of the fish, my 2" BH got killed by my 1.5" burundi...he was my fave always digging up the sand making tunnels and hiding places..

[GooDyboy420]

Pics

[loach43]

I've always wanted some...you will have post some pics up.


You need to head out to one of the CCAC general meetings sometime for the monthly auction. Just last month there were two bags of buffalo cichlid fry that went for DIRT!
I think they only fetched 3 or 4 dollars for groups of ten.

[JD_MAN]

You need to head out to one of the CCAC general meetings sometime for the monthly auction. Just last month there were two bags of buffalo cichlid fry that went for DIRT!
I think they only fetched 3 or 4 dollars for groups of ten.


:jaw:

I always forget about their meetings. I am hoping that my work slows down soon, so I can get out to check this stuff out. Thanks.

[mike dunagan]

I picked one up a few days ago. As soon as he got into the tank he went back to his blue and gray color, instead of brown. As he gets larger I will post some pictures of him... but I think it will be awhile.

[OdiE-ThE-Fahaka]

hey i just saw 2 of these at my lfs and they both looked greyish blue and one was about 3 inch and one was 2 inch and both ad humps on there heads and they were selling for cheap,,,, i was real interested in them what size tank do they need and certain requirements to house these guys?

[TipStylez]

We got a breeding pair at my store i think. Two big ones, and abunch of smaller 1-2inchers.

Cool lil guys, not so agressive like other cichlids tho.

[Bogwoodbruce]

My uncles got a breeding pair, their knocking out young all the time. I've got a 4 inch male with a great bump on his head. In england they call them blockheads.

[toehead11183]

very nice!

[OdiE-ThE-Fahaka]

do these only get 4inches long??? if so what can they be housed with??? can they be mixed with other african cichlids???

[Bogwoodbruce]

They get bigger than that my uncles breeding male is about 6 it's the biggest i've seen. they can easily hold their own with other fish.

[Tongue33]

NOT the MAMMA !! :D

[Horiyoshi III]

Can i get a Scientific name 'cause i'm thinking of the Buffalo Heads wich are Native North Americans,bottom feeding suckers,and i know your not talking about them............

[Tongue33]

These are Madagascan.. let me look.. I was just reading one of my books on them :)

[Tongue33]

Steatocranus casuarius :)

[Bogwoodbruce]

Yes that is rifght. You can get other sub species like tinanti.

[WolfFisho1]

look to be Steatocranus casuarius

[Fatwoul]

Here's a picture of my little girl:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v66/fatwoul/Fishtank/Steatocranus01.jpg

[mcmemily]

She's a cutie! How big is she?
I still have to take pics. Now I have 5 of them- 3 males, 2 females ( I think ). I just put them in my 75 with my Peacocks yesterday. Doing great. I think they're kind of running the show now. They just ignore all other species except themselves it seems like. Tough little buggers.

[lilmixedboy]

for some reason when i had them they loved to just sit on a log most of the day. haha. these fish are cool they mine died from ich along time ago. the best buffalo heads are the pink variants OMG THE PINK ONES ARE SO COOL.

[Fatwoul]

She's a cutie! How big is she?
I still have to take pics. Now I have 5 of them- 3 males, 2 females ( I think ). I just put them in my 75 with my Peacocks yesterday. Doing great. I think they're kind of running the show now. They just ignore all other species except themselves it seems like. Tough little buggers.

She's a chunky 2.5 inches. :)

Someone on a different forum recently said she looked like a male, but I'm still not convinced. Her hump is not very prominent, and she is much smaller than the male she is with, both coming from the same LFS at the same time.

I know that some female steatos can exhibit a slight hump, so the presence of a small one doesn't really mean anything.

I'm pretty sure that if she was a male she'd look more humpy by now, cos she's at least 15 months old.

I know what you mean when you say you think you have 2 females, because I find the species more difficult to sex than might be expected. What do you think? Reckon I've got a little female here?

[mcmemily]

I definitely think thats a female. She has quite a small hump. My females have bigger humps than that. They're probably about 2.5 inches. But the males, my biggest at almost 4 inches has a HUGE hump. They really started to pronounce on them at about 3 inches. But I'm still stumped on a couple of them. Just have to wait and see as they grow I guess.

Nice pic by the way! I can't seem to get mine to stay still. They run circles around each other!

[Fatwoul]

I definitely think thats a female. She has quite a small hump. My females have bigger humps than that. They're probably about 2.5 inches. But the males, my biggest at almost 4 inches has a HUGE hump. They really started to pronounce on them at about 3 inches. But I'm still stumped on a couple of them. Just have to wait and see as they grow I guess...

Thanks, mcm. Glad you think she's a female, too. I'm not bothered about them mating, cos they haven't paired up, but I just don't want the big male to start fighting with the smaller fish.

Nice pic by the way! I can't seem to get mine to stay still. They run circles around each other!

Thanks. Mine tend to be pretty still most of the time. I'm ashamed to say that sometimes I have to use flash - I know this is not cool. I always use as high an ISO as I can get away with, and the flash is always turned right down. The fish don't seem worried by it - they don't jump or anything. I NEVER use flash with any of my pim. cats, because I know their eyes are sensitive.

Anyway, failing that, what I also do is drape a black sheet over the tank, and hide myself and the camera under the front of it, so we are all isolated from outside reflections. The camera either rests on a small beanbag, or a tiny tripod I have. Again, an ISO of 800+. It's then just a waiting game. That's how I got my bristlenose picture you may have seen in the other thread.

I'm a photographer by trade, so the pictures I end up with are not really up to the standard I would normally like, but compromises have to be made to avoid upsetting my babies. :)

[Filthy Sanchez]

Here's a picture of my little girl:

Nice

[Fatwoul]

Nice

Thanks FS. She/he is a great little fish. However, I just this second noticed she was ripping the s**t out of one of my grassy plants! I think I need to stick to java fern in her tank. :ROFL: