Everybody looks great! Nice for the big boys to get along - no torn fins, etc. So you are keeping this tank breeding free?
210 gallon South American cichlid (mostly) community
- Thread starter ryansmith83
- Start date
Thanks, guys!
He's the most peaceful and undemanding fish I own. He's been moved all over my house from tank to tank, and has lived with 2" rams right on up to 13" lent pikes. I've had him since January 2009 when he was about 2". Here's a video of him in QT from then:
[video=youtube_share;8PhgyfAQMk0]http://youtu.be/8PhgyfAQMk0[/video]
Thanks, Chris. If anyone has the tank size for them, I highly recommend them. Mine seems to be going through a fussy period -- he's developing pits in his gills and lost his red coloration on his chest, so I'm going to add some new variety to his diet and include some vitamins. Maybe he's not getting the right nutrition now that he's gigantic. What worked when he was an 8" fish might not be working now that he's as long as my forearm.
Oh no, the Atabapo severums will not let that happen. They used to spawn once a month or so and would do a great job of raising fry right in the tank. Then my third Atabapo got involved and now it goes something like this: original pair from JD spawns, eggs hatch, male mouthbroods for a few days. Then the lone female comes in, beats the crap out of the original female, the male eats the wrigglers and spawns with female #2. The process repeats, this time with female #1 beating the crap out of female #2, etc. This happens every week like clockwork now. In the meantime, they terrorize the rest of the tank while defending their eggs and spawning site. I really need to make room for a 75 gallon or something, and just give the pair their own tank. I could raise a ton of Atabapos that way.
A couple days before I tried to introduce a belly crawler pike and he was determined to hunt it down and eat it. I had to remove the belly crawler.
Whew - I escaped with my life
On a side note what species is that pike??
From what I've been told, it's Crenicichla saxatilis. I've never been able to find a female anywhere for him. I stumbled across him in an LFS one day and he was beating up a bunch of oscars in a 20 long. He was only about 4" at the time. Now he's twice that.
Glad your experience with those lents didn't totally turn you away from pikes as that sax-type is a stunner. Also nice to see some westies in there.
Really enjoyed your video! What a great mix of cichlids. That Psittacus parrot is stunning
How big is he? Curious how often do you do water changes on that tank and how much do you take out at a time? Great job!
How big is he? Curious how often do you do water changes on that tank and how much do you take out at a time? Great job!
The psittacus is about 12 - 14" now. He's been under the weather lately, unfortunately. It's hard to find a hospital tank big enough to treat him in. lol.
I do weekly water changes. I drain the tank all the way down to the dorsal fins on the fish, so there's probably about 6 - 8" of water left in the tank, then add dechlor and refill right from the tap. It probably wouldn't have to be so extreme if it weren't for the really large fish (the psittacus and the big severums) and the rhino pleco.
I do weekly water changes. I drain the tank all the way down to the dorsal fins on the fish, so there's probably about 6 - 8" of water left in the tank, then add dechlor and refill right from the tap. It probably wouldn't have to be so extreme if it weren't for the really large fish (the psittacus and the big severums) and the rhino pleco.
