Does anyone on this site keep these? What are they like for temperment? What are good tankmates? Are they still nice when not breeding? I will be buying another large tank within the next week 180gal and up plywood tank. Just wondering how these guys behave and experiences you have had with them are they rare?
AMPHILOPHUS NOURISSATI
- Thread starter RedH2O
- Start date
Kind of rare in the hobby but still readily available. 180 gallon should be great for a couple of them. I've heard they're peaceful but mean towards their own species. Try looking up astatheros nourisatti I think they're genus got moved around. Size/temperament is probably about the same as a jack dempsey.
I picked up a @3" one the other day, it was a loner in a LFS, doesn't seem overly aggressive. Have it housed with some H labridens and P breidohri, eats anything.
I have 4 young adults that I ordered from A Place for Pets. They are fairly peaceful even to members of their own species. I wouldn't keep any aggressive cichlids with them. Juan Miguel Artigas Azas wrote about them in a Cichlid News article and said that you have to avoid letting them get dominated by tankmates in order to breed them.
The 3" one in the pics above was around $14.
Although he sports the colors above, the flash tends to make them brighter than they appear to the naked eye in my tanks, using better light bulbs than I have, might also bring out color.
That is a great article Vincent, it peaked my interest and is one of the things that put me on the lookout for them.
The breeding color in the Cichlid News photos is amazing.
Although he sports the colors above, the flash tends to make them brighter than they appear to the naked eye in my tanks, using better light bulbs than I have, might also bring out color.
That is a great article Vincent, it peaked my interest and is one of the things that put me on the lookout for them.
The breeding color in the Cichlid News photos is amazing.
I haven't kept them in years, but they are much like robertsoni, rostratus, and similar sand sifters.......i.e. not terribly aggressive.
I always had the best success keeping them in groups of five or more (or by themselves). Provided the tank is very large, they seem to appreciate a social order, and you generally get one dominant male that runs the show but without too much aggression. The fewer fish you keep, the more squabbles can get serious.
Make sure their tank has sand as a substrate, not gravel. They need to be able to sift the sand through their gills, rather than having to spit it back out. If they can do that, they seem to be much more comfortable.
It's interesting you brought them up. I just about pulled the trigger on a group of large specimens at my LFS about two hours ago! You certainly don't see them often, mush less a group of fully grown adults!
I always had the best success keeping them in groups of five or more (or by themselves). Provided the tank is very large, they seem to appreciate a social order, and you generally get one dominant male that runs the show but without too much aggression. The fewer fish you keep, the more squabbles can get serious.
Make sure their tank has sand as a substrate, not gravel. They need to be able to sift the sand through their gills, rather than having to spit it back out. If they can do that, they seem to be much more comfortable.
It's interesting you brought them up. I just about pulled the trigger on a group of large specimens at my LFS about two hours ago! You certainly don't see them often, mush less a group of fully grown adults!