H. nicaraguense Temperament?

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Dan F

Dan F

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 10, 2007
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Oregon
I am considering picking up some H. nicaraguense, but am unsure about their aggressiveness (or lack thereof).

The tank I am thinking of adding them to is a 6' 135. It currently houses a pair of A. robertsoni and nothing else. My plan would be to pick up six nics and grow them out a bit before putting them in with the robertsoni.

Does this seem reasonable? Will the nicaraguense be able to live long-term in a tank this size? (I have read 10" max. size)

At this point it is just an idea, but I am going to be in Portland next weekend and am hoping to pick up the nics then. If anybody that keeps them or has kept them wants to share their experiences with nicaraguense it would be greatly appreciated. :popcorn:

Thanks!
 
My nics are the most aggressive fish in my tank, but that's not saying much. They really don't bother the other fish, the male just struts around so everyone knows he's the boss. I've not kept robertsoni so I can't comment on how they'd likely get along. I keep my nics with severums, a mellow JD, psittacus and melanurus juveniles, and some cutteri, in addition to some others. My male is probably 8-9" so a 135g should be plenty fine for full grown nics. I've got mine in a 6' 180g.
 
My Nic is only 5-6"(and has been for 6 months) and is extremely territorial. He spends his day in his cave poking his head out at any one that swims too close. While he has a lot of attitude he is harmless to similar sized cichlids, I believe my geo iporangensis are onto this and constantly eggs him on. The only physical altercations are when the Nic catches my ebjd on the wrong day and the ebjd decides to liplock with the nic'se entire face. Even these scrimmages result in nothing more than a few scratches on the Nic. He is in a 125g with geo iporangensis, a rotkeil, a heckeli, and an ebjd.
 
I would describe nics more as territorial than outright aggressive. Mines would defend their territory fiercely but otherwise really didn't bother other fish in the tank. I think they should be fine with the robertsoni.
 
Territorial is definitely a better description than aggressive for nics. I've never seen my male pick a fight with anyone but he will chase them away from his territory, especially when he and the female are about to spawn.
 
Dan, I saw the biggest, nicest male nic I've ever seen at world of wet pets a couple days ago. He was about 8-9" and stunning. You could buy him some females at wet spot and try for a pair--just an idea. I'd rather him go to you, ya know?
 
Lab_Rat said:
My nics are the most aggressive fish in my tank, but that's not saying much. They really don't bother the other fish, the male just struts around so everyone knows he's the boss. I've not kept robertsoni so I can't comment on how they'd likely get along. I keep my nics with severums, a mellow JD, psittacus and melanurus juveniles, and some cutteri, in addition to some others. My male is probably 8-9" so a 135g should be plenty fine for full grown nics. I've got mine in a 6' 180g.
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Cool, I think the robertsoni are at least as tough as a severum.

bbortko said:
My Nic is only 5-6"(and has been for 6 months) and is extremely territorial. He spends his day in his cave poking his head out at any one that swims too close. While he has a lot of attitude he is harmless to similar sized cichlids, I believe my geo iporangensis are onto this and constantly eggs him on. The only physical altercations are when the Nic catches my ebjd on the wrong day and the ebjd decides to liplock with the nic'se entire face. Even these scrimmages result in nothing more than a few scratches on the Nic. He is in a 125g with geo iporangensis, a rotkeil, a heckeli, and an ebjd.
Click to expand...
Sounds pretty similar to my steindachneri as far as being "more bark than bite".

rrcoolj said:
I would describe nics more as territorial than outright aggressive. Mines would defend their territory fiercely but otherwise really didn't bother other fish in the tank. I think they should be fine with the robertsoni.
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Seeing how it is a 72" tank I think there should be plenty of room for establishing territories.

Lab_Rat said:
Territorial is definitely a better description than aggressive for nics. I've never seen my male pick a fight with anyone but he will chase them away from his territory, especially when he and the female are about to spawn.
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Nice - have they produced any fry?

aclockworkorange said:
Dan, I saw the biggest, nicest male nic I've ever seen at world of wet pets a couple days ago. He was about 8-9" and stunning. You could buy him some females at wet spot and try for a pair--just an idea. I'd rather him go to you, ya know?
Click to expand...
I tried to get up there yesterday, but the boy wouldn't get up from his nap in time. Now I'm really sad I didn't make it - I am definitely going fish-shopping next weekend, so we will see if it is still there!
 
They've produced wigglers, but the non-sticky eggs are their downfall. They're in a community tank and the others love to snack on the eggs. The male is not very bright and when he goes to charge at his tankmates to keep them away he ends up scattering the eggs all over. The poor female tries to desperately grab the eggs and return them to safety while the severums and psittacus go to town eating them. It's really rather sad to watch, yet kind of funny at the same time. I could pull them and put them in their own tank to raise fry but there doesn't seem to be any market for the fry. I've seen them on Aquabid at a bid of $1 for 12 juvies. Not worth the work of raising them up to sell-able size since I have no local fish club or auctions where I am now.
 
I have a breeding pair of nics (5"f, 8" m) and as stated above, they never pick fights unless someone encroaches on their territory. I keep them in a 190 with a big aro, 6 juvie festae, green terror, a group of 8 very large clown loaches, and a few large plecos. The nics frequently are chasing the clowns out of their spot, but thats about it. they are very easy-going fish for the most part, but can easily handle their own with the bigger more aggressive cichlids as well. I've also kept them with a breeding colony of frontosa and it worked well. awesome fish IMO for any large community cichlid tank as long as plenty of territory is available.

here's an older vid of mine holding the fort...
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