I just got one that is about two and a half inches in length.I t does not have any adult markings yet of course but its got a black horizontal bar that starts in the middle of the body and extends back to the tail fin with the verticle bars on the sides towards the front area.I cant post pics at this time but I'm wondering if any members are familiar with tems this size and if this description sounds in order.The lfs had a tank of these fish and they had a tank of small monos that were about the same size and appearance according to the label.
Baby Tememsis
- Thread starter krichardson
- Start date
my juvi tems (about the same size as yours but a little bigger) have a horizontal stripe that runs from the eyes to the end of the tail. and when they are not stressed they have no verticle bars, but when they are stressed they do have verticle bars...
here's a pic of some of my tems
here's a pic of some of my tems
to the 
krichardson;2579575; said:
That description sounds alot more like Mono / Ocel / Orino juvies. Tems tend to have one long horizontal black bar that runs from head to tail the full length of the body. No vertical bars. Dont know your tank situation but you might be happier in the long run w/o a Temensis. They are some of the largest and fastest growing of all cichla and will need alot more tank than some of the other species. I personaly wouldnt keep one just because I have no room for the 10ft long, 4ft wide tank they will eventually require.
ive kept tems since 0.5 inches...
when they were that size they ONLY had the horizontal bar and it would just fade a bit when stressed.
but when they reached about 2 inches they did show the vertical bars when stressed or sometimes they showed it for no apparent reason.they just change pattern as they wished.
when they reached 3-4 inches,they showed the vertical bars ALOT.
i could see the vertical bars almost everytime i looked at them.but they still would change pattern alot and while showing the verticals they also ALWAYS showed the horizontals.
now at 5-6 inches,i always see the verticals,stressed or not,and the horizontal tends to fade alot then appear again.
one of my biggest guys actually shows only the verticals with just a hint of the horizontal.
but ive never seen any tems at this size that do that.
most tems i see show the horizontal very boldly until 8 inches plus.
but for some reason one of mine usually shows the verticals only with just abit of the horizontal.
hope this helps.
when they were that size they ONLY had the horizontal bar and it would just fade a bit when stressed.
but when they reached about 2 inches they did show the vertical bars when stressed or sometimes they showed it for no apparent reason.they just change pattern as they wished.
when they reached 3-4 inches,they showed the vertical bars ALOT.
i could see the vertical bars almost everytime i looked at them.but they still would change pattern alot and while showing the verticals they also ALWAYS showed the horizontals.
now at 5-6 inches,i always see the verticals,stressed or not,and the horizontal tends to fade alot then appear again.
one of my biggest guys actually shows only the verticals with just a hint of the horizontal.
but ive never seen any tems at this size that do that.
most tems i see show the horizontal very boldly until 8 inches plus.
but for some reason one of mine usually shows the verticals only with just abit of the horizontal.
hope this helps.