Thanks for the kind words, fellas.
6 P. synspilum
5 P. sp 'Coatzacoalcos'
5 P. bifasciatus 'Rio Carolina'
3 C. godmani
3 V. argentea
1 V. regani
2 C. cutteri
2 P. fenestratus 'Catemaco'
1 H. bocourti
2 P. hartwegi
Not sure if that will happen
. Sorry, I don't have a full tank shot at this time
Exactly, some of my favorite fish are considered drab but they make up for it in so many other ways. I have a beautiful pair of 'Ports' that breed regularly, get along perfectly with one another and are super parents. Can't beat 'em.
The tank is 180G (6' x 2' x 2') and is definitely overcrowded. This does the fish no real harm other than not allowing them to put down a spawn in peace. They definitely coexist well. Pair bonds that form in the tank are strong and long lasting due to the "perceived threat" from the other tank inhabitants. There are no real battles and a lost scale or two, a split fin, or a short chase is as far as agression goes. The "pain" is well distributed. Smaller fish "fly under the radar". There is a pair of C. cutteri in there that have raised their fry to the free swimming stage on several occasions. It is bare bottomed (just for ease of maintenance) and I've placed several large flower pots (open side up) to give the fish a sense of territory.
This is not how I would prefer to house these fish but it will have to do for now.
If find that 'synspilum' are not very aggressive at all toward conspecifics. A little bit of head to head confrontation (see early pic) and a bit of shoving is all it comes to. And there is even less of a problem with heterospecifics. My big pair of 'hartwegi' rule the tank but only get tough when they are trying to spawn.
I bought them when they were only about 2" long. I think they were about $5 each. I have them with many other large CA cichlids. Here's the list:
6 P. synspilum
5 P. sp 'Coatzacoalcos'
5 P. bifasciatus 'Rio Carolina'
3 C. godmani
3 V. argentea
1 V. regani
2 C. cutteri
2 P. fenestratus 'Catemaco'
1 H. bocourti
2 P. hartwegi
They are presently crowded into a 180G (6'x2'x2'). The tank is well filtered and I do major water changes frequently. At some point I'll be getting rid of some once I've established pairs (I like to keep 2 pair of a species, plus a few grow-outs). What I need is one really large tank (400G+) to show them at their best.
Not sure if that will happen
. Sorry, I don't have a full tank shot at this time.
Exactly, some of my favorite fish are considered drab but they make up for it in so many other ways. I have a beautiful pair of 'Ports' that breed regularly, get along perfectly with one another and are super parents. Can't beat 'em.
I'll include a couple more pics.
The tank is 180G (6' x 2' x 2') and is definitely overcrowded. This does the fish no real harm other than not allowing them to put down a spawn in peace. They definitely coexist well. Pair bonds that form in the tank are strong and long lasting due to the "perceived threat" from the other tank inhabitants. There are no real battles and a lost scale or two, a split fin, or a short chase is as far as agression goes. The "pain" is well distributed. Smaller fish "fly under the radar". There is a pair of C. cutteri in there that have raised their fry to the free swimming stage on several occasions. It is bare bottomed (just for ease of maintenance) and I've placed several large flower pots (open side up) to give the fish a sense of territory.
This is not how I would prefer to house these fish but it will have to do for now.
If find that 'synspilum' are not very aggressive at all toward conspecifics. A little bit of head to head confrontation (see early pic) and a bit of shoving is all it comes to. And there is even less of a problem with heterospecifics. My big pair of 'hartwegi' rule the tank but only get tough when they are trying to spawn.
