Thorichthys Aureum info

[Adhlc]

Does anyone have some general information on this fish such as growth rate, potential size, dietary needs etc. Do they prefer to be in schools like T. Passionis? And if I were to try and breed these guys - at what size are they sexually mature and what sort of conditiong needs to be done to get them going?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cichlidfish]

I'm guessing they much like any other thorichthys in care. I know meeki and passions typically are found in groups, but not sure about any of the other thorichthys. I haven't seen them for sale anywhere, so that would be a really cool find.

 

[peathenster]

Does anyone have some general information on this fish such as growth rate, potential size, dietary needs etc. Do they prefer to be in schools like T. Passionis? And if I were to try and breed these guys - at what size are they sexually mature and what sort of conditiong needs to be done to get them going?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

were you able to locate some?

 

[darth pike]

I know they are in the helleri group, which usually requires cooler temps than members of the meeki group.

 

[cichlidfish]

I know they are in the helleri group, which usually requires cooler temps than members of the meeki group.

Helleri can be found in the same locations as meeki and passiones-in the Yucatan penisula. I have an article on meeki from Freshwater and Marine Aquarium that talks about other thorichthys and fish that are commonly found w/ meeki.
Here is some interesting info on the helleri and aureum.

http://www.fishchannel.com/fish-exclusives/fama/thorichthys-helleri.aspx

http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3980

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/cichlid/thorichthysaureum.php

http://www.britishcichlid.com/pdfs/the_family_thoric_dawson.pdf

 

[darth pike]

http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4912

http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3886

Two threads in just the first page saying helleri and others in their group need cooler temps 72-74 or so ... I trust the experts, but not everyone does.

 

[Jason_S]

http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4912

http://www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3886

Two threads in just the first page saying helleri and others in their group need cooler temps 72-74 or so ... I trust the experts, but not everyone does.

Absolutely. A few years back I had the privelege of meeting Rusty Wessel and getting his opinions on several different topics. He keeps wild caught colonies of every species of Thorichthys. I bought some T. helleri off him and he advised me that the helleri group should definitely be kept in cooler temps. 76 F at the max but 72-74 is an ideal range for them. They should also have lots of oxygen in the water so I'd recommend either an air stone or powerhead.

The helleri are similar to haitiensis and beani in that they are susceptible to bloat as juveniles. Some believe this to be related to high protein diets but I personally don't think diet has anything to do with it, and that rather it is caused by inadequate water conditions. Being that they're most often found in fast flowing rivers, they're used to highly oxygenated, fast flowing waters.

The meeki group also will thrive anywhere between 72-76 degrees but if necessary they can withstand higher temps than the helleri group over long periods of time.

 

[Adhlc]

were you able to locate some?

I was doing an African cichlid order at the LFS and noticed they had a bunch of rare SA/CA's including Aureums, Passionis, Beani, Grammodes,and about half a dozen Gymnogeophagus species. They had the Aureums in 3 sizes, I ordered 3 of the medium sized ones for myself. Unfortunately they're fins are pretty mangled from shipping (They were in the same bag as 12 Pseudotropheus Demasoni ) So they're still at the store recooperating, but they look promising.

Thanks everyone for the info, the links you all posted were very helpful.

 

[darth pike]

Also, 'red aureum' as the common name often ends up being maculipinnis ... not sure if they said 'aureum' or 'red aureum' ... but thought I'd throw that out there just in case.

 

[Adhlc]

Also, 'red aureum' as the common name often ends up being maculipinnis ... not sure if they said 'aureum' or 'red aureum' ... but thought I'd throw that out there just in case.

The guy I got them from is pretty old school, they were simply listed as Cichlasoma Aureum. I haven't had a chance to examine them properly but I'll be sure to throw some pictures up for a positive ID.