It was just one of those things, I had been down to Aqua-World and they had a great selection of Pike Cichlids on hand which finally convinced me to get some. By the way, I forget the exact species of Pike but they have the black head spots of a lenticulata, but a solid lateral stripe and lots of red in the caudal fin, extremely nice fish.
I went home and rearranged a 55, cut down 7 segments of pvc pipe for the expected new 5-6 inch pike(s?), did a massive water change and went back to the store. As I was standing there I just happened to glance up to my left and everything went out the window. There I saw a tank full of Hericthys pearsei "red-fin"! To be honest, when I first saw them I had only the vaguest idea what they were because this was actually the very first time in 23 years of fish keeping that I've seen them anywhere except in books and online, so I worked my brain cells for probably 15 or 20 minutes before remembering.
This was exciting! I did want the pike, but I know I can get them again. This was a first time find for me so I changed plans on the spot. I now have two H. pearsei in that 55, minus the pvc of course.
I didn't know they were a variant until I started searching online for all the information I could find on them, which was surprisingly little from people's first hand experience. I figured they were simply pearsei until I came across a supplier who had some labeled "red-fin". It isn't a great amount of red, but it's certainly there.
I got two, the bigger about 6 inches and the other slightly but noticeable smaller. I couldn't afford a group but wanted more than one, so I asked for the largest and smallest of the group figuring to tip the odds my way however slightly, because none of us (me or the employees) could discern any of the regular sexual dimorphism. Now that they are in my tank the larger one seems to have more pointy dorsal and anal fins, but that could just be my imagination. It would simply be the hand of providence if these turn out to be a pair.
All I've read has them hitting 17' easily, and sometimes more, and they are very peaceful. In fact, I placed them with three young Angelfish and the angels are more boisterous than the pearsei. These guys are like puppies, they follow each other around, hang at the front for food after only a day in the tank, and just LOOK innocent!
'Course, I said that bout my Neolamprologus brichardi before they spawned and went all vegematic on their tankmates. Some of the shots online show some obese, Bluegill shaped fish, so I'll have to watch how much food they get, and apparently they're mostly vegetarian.
Here's a quick cell phone capture, and I'll try to get some decent shots of them later.
I went home and rearranged a 55, cut down 7 segments of pvc pipe for the expected new 5-6 inch pike(s?), did a massive water change and went back to the store. As I was standing there I just happened to glance up to my left and everything went out the window. There I saw a tank full of Hericthys pearsei "red-fin"! To be honest, when I first saw them I had only the vaguest idea what they were because this was actually the very first time in 23 years of fish keeping that I've seen them anywhere except in books and online, so I worked my brain cells for probably 15 or 20 minutes before remembering.
This was exciting! I did want the pike, but I know I can get them again. This was a first time find for me so I changed plans on the spot. I now have two H. pearsei in that 55, minus the pvc of course.
I didn't know they were a variant until I started searching online for all the information I could find on them, which was surprisingly little from people's first hand experience. I figured they were simply pearsei until I came across a supplier who had some labeled "red-fin". It isn't a great amount of red, but it's certainly there.
I got two, the bigger about 6 inches and the other slightly but noticeable smaller. I couldn't afford a group but wanted more than one, so I asked for the largest and smallest of the group figuring to tip the odds my way however slightly, because none of us (me or the employees) could discern any of the regular sexual dimorphism. Now that they are in my tank the larger one seems to have more pointy dorsal and anal fins, but that could just be my imagination. It would simply be the hand of providence if these turn out to be a pair.
All I've read has them hitting 17' easily, and sometimes more, and they are very peaceful. In fact, I placed them with three young Angelfish and the angels are more boisterous than the pearsei. These guys are like puppies, they follow each other around, hang at the front for food after only a day in the tank, and just LOOK innocent!
'Course, I said that bout my Neolamprologus brichardi before they spawned and went all vegematic on their tankmates. Some of the shots online show some obese, Bluegill shaped fish, so I'll have to watch how much food they get, and apparently they're mostly vegetarian.
Here's a quick cell phone capture, and I'll try to get some decent shots of them later.
