I finally found a place that sells my dream fish herichthys labridens. I am debating on getting 5-6 and growing them out to attempt getting a pair. Problem is I only have a 55 gal. Max size is only about 8.5 inches so I would assume that they would be fine until I could sex them or a pair forms. Also post pictures if you have these awesome (and endangered) fish!
herichthys labridens dilemma...
- Thread starter Kayden
- Start date
I have kept at least 3 species from the labridens group, they need very clean flowing water, so lots of water changes (I was doing at least 30% every other day).
I have found they are very territorial and aggressive with each other, so need for space seems imperative.
A 55 might work a while, but my experience is ...not for very long.
My "yellows" started intimidating, and thus killing each other at a very young age
"yellow"above.
The ones below, I smartened up, and keep only compatible pairs to a tank.
Pantostictus below
Below "white labridens" or now H.pame
same kind of thing with a close cousin, Nosferatu ( H) bartoni
below female pame' in spawning dress, with courting male.
I have found they are very territorial and aggressive with each other, so need for space seems imperative.
A 55 might work a while, but my experience is ...not for very long.
My "yellows" started intimidating, and thus killing each other at a very young age
"yellow"above.
The ones below, I smartened up, and keep only compatible pairs to a tank.
Pantostictus below
Below "white labridens" or now H.pame
same kind of thing with a close cousin, Nosferatu ( H) bartoni
below female pame' in spawning dress, with courting male.
I was aware of such as I know they are endemic to only media Luna. And would rig the tank for auto water changes like the rest of my aquariums. Two 300 gph flow canisters and a power head would also be equipment I would use. The only issue I have is space. The aggressiveness would be the only thing holding me back because I 100 percent want a pair of the yellows and death might get in the way of that. Do you think if I scraped it so they were able to hide a lot and divide territory that would work better?I have kept at least 3 species from the labridens group, they need very clean flowing water, so lots of water changes (I was doing at least 30% every other day).
I have found they are very territorial and aggressive with each other, so need for space seems imperative.
A 55 might work a while, but my experience is ...not for very long.
My "yellows" started intimidating, and thus killing each other at a very young age
"yellow"above.
The ones below, I smartened up, and keep only compatible pairs to a tank.
Pantostictus below
Below "white labridens" or now H.pame
same kind of thing with a close cousin, Nosferatu ( H) bartoni
below female pame' in spawning dress, with courting male.
Mine were in a 6 ft tank, with lots of wood, and rock, and they seemed to search each other out.
My aim was to end up with a pair, out of the 8 "media luna" I started with.
I ended up with 1, hope you have better luck than I did.
I will admit, I expect this from almost every cichlid I try, and am pleasantly surprised when it goes better than I expect.
My aim was to end up with a pair, out of the 8 "media luna" I started with.
I ended up with 1, hope you have better luck than I did.
I will admit, I expect this from almost every cichlid I try, and am pleasantly surprised when it goes better than I expect.
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I don't think a 55 is a good solution, regardless of your set up and filtration. Years ago, i had a group of the blue labridens in a 180. The fish were relatively young, only around 3"-4", and they were rough on each other. In a smaller tank, I think that the dominant fish would have killed the others quickly.
Reviving my dead thread to ask if these still even exist within the hobby? My research alone says no, I’ve stumbled upon Bartoni, Tamasopoensis, and of course the variants of “Texas” but those seem to be the only Henrichthys in the hobby
There are a few people with some of these still around. I personally know of 3 decent sized colonies being maintained here in the US. These were available earlier this year from Dan @ COTA. Unfortunately, todays hobbyist thought the $25 ea price tag was too much for them and Dan only sent a few orders of them out.
Sadly they historically were never in very high demand. Only a handful of what was typically always the same hobbyists would get them. So, like many of the 'specialty' Central American cichlid species they either disappeared completely or are just very scarce due to demand.
I stopped working with many CA species due to the same reason. They just do not sell. Maybe for a home breeders selling a spawn its worthwhile but for an actual business the space requirements for a 'special' cichlid that will sell slow or in low overall quantity ties up space that can be used for something that sells in big quantity regularly. Often 1 spawn (at best) per year is enough to fill the global market on the 'rarer' cichlids. So, like Dan @ COTA, he and I always sold the same handful of species repeatedly which are the ones I maintain regularly on the stock list and the cool, special, or rare stuff just sat err.. swan, around the facility taking up space, food, & utilities.
With Dan gone, and I no longer offering some of the species it is sad to say but lots of CA cichlids are gone from the hobby with the exception of some hobbyists that obtained stock from myself or Dan that may breed from time to time.
I will also add that H. labridens definitely get larger than 8". I have been able to see them several times at the 'Rusty Wessel fish house' (youtube that!). Rusty was one of the very, very, few people to collect this fish and maintain it long term. He had some very old giants! 55 gallon would be too small unfortunately.
Oh for sure. I’m aware how rare they were and how little demand is out there for them. I follow you pretty closely and have had my eyes on the tamasopos you have in stock for a while now. just figured I would throw another line out in my search for henrichtys as they are by far my favorite genus of cichlids, and these being the holy grail for me. It is unfortunately to me that fish trend like a popular news source or snack. I enjoy fish that are rarer in the hobby, even if they are a bit drab (well besides festae
) But people vote contrary to that with their wallets and i understand how that effect supply and demand. I have definitely done some more research on the species and the Media Luna ecosystem since 2020 when I first made this thread and have several tanks much larger than 55 gallons now. And if I ever did have the pleasure of stumbling onto a good size group of labridens for sale I would probably set up an 8-10 door tank just for them. This fish has plagued my thoughts and dreams for the past 5 years and would earn much more than a 55!