Adullt Ngara flame tail.

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Wow that is huge. I have seen some Aulonocara jacobfreibergi peacocks that size but never a ngara flametail
 
It looks like an old male, past his prime. In the wild you would never see a specimen of this size.
 
RD. said:
It looks like an old male, past his prime. In the wild you would never see a specimen of this size.
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I disagree.People listen to the experts which say they don't get that big but maybe the recommended aquarium size is a just a bad joke and these fish are being stunted.i've seen Jacofrierbergis get to a foot in a pond.got to remember they come from the 3rd biggest lake in the world.I've seen dominate fish get that big in a 55g,but most don't end up w/a dominate one like that which is probably the best one I've seen. So why wouldn't it get bigger in the lake? a dominant fish will be dominate there also.
 
There was another male 6.5". I didn't buy it is just too expensive for these. The importer said these were pond raised breeders. Very hard to.come.by. most flame tails are smaller around 4, and 5" is hard to get.
 
I disagree.People listen to the experts which say they don't get that big but maybe the recommended aquarium size is a just a bad joke and these fish are being stunted.
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My reference as to size in the wild came from a friend of mine who spent 6 months working for the late Stuart Grant, on location at Lake Malawi. When returning one of the first things he commented to me about was the size of Malawi cichlids in captivity, vs those in the wild - especially the Aulonocara genus. I've seen hundreds, perhaps thousands of photos of these fish taken in the wild, along with hundreds of wild caught specimens (some that I have personally owned), and never seen a single Aulonocara in the 7-8" size. My friend never did either, in 6 months of diving among these fish. Interestingly enough, one of the species that he said was often grossly oversized in captivity was jacobfreibergi.

This is not to say that one can't get these fish to these massive sizes in captivity, I have also seen 7" Labidochromis caeruleus in aquariums - a fish that in the wild averages 2.5-3.5". (f/m) Most experts are referring to wild specimens, living and eating in the wild - not those being kept in captivity and fed nutrient rich diets 3-4 times a day.
 
7 inch is indeed huge for stuautgranti species. I have several Ngara flametail males that max out at 5 to 6 inch. Jacobfriebergi are the largest peacock species and I had several that that hit 8 inch.

It has been well documented by fishery studies and reports from wild fish importers that the growth rate and maximum size of wild fish are slower and reach smaller maximum size than tank and pond raised fish.
 
Nice Ngara.

I have aver one that is around 2 years of age, he is only around 4".

I have a German Red approaching 7". He is about 2 years of age. Started him in a 72 gallon bow front for several months. Then when he was about 3", moved him to a 125 gallon 6 footer.
 
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