Of course, they must be pretty old! I guess over ten years, more like twenty. I know some p. ornatipinnis with 24 inches that are 35 Years old (@Uwe: die von Matsl).
The ornates will grow pretty fast up to 15 inches an then they slow down.
Big ornates!
- Thread starter ToRif
- Start date
The ornates will grow pretty fast up to 15 inches an then they slow down.
look at the girth of those monsters! mine's around 3 years old and measuring at 18" but he's slimmer... 
Hello wyldKard,
i do know the ornates shown her very well - i'm living half an hour away from them. I'd spoken with the people working there several times aund i think i know why these ornates are so big . not only in lenght ...
There are also other fish in this tank: On the one side these 3 ornates, on the other side one Synodontis and ... some relative little Hemichromis. This cichlids are food in my eyes. Self-breeding food. I asked about and got no answer ... hm, the character of answer sometimes is the silence that is clearer than thousand words, without misunderstanding by words choosen in a wrong way. The truth is beyond the words, it's in the eyes of the one you speak with.
Okay, the bloats in the bellies of the ornates are not psychological, they are ... cichlids. It's a bit hard to say but for my experience cichlids are the most beloved food for ornates! They will ignore everything up to the last cichlid eaten!!! Ornates also tend to grow quicker in such a situation.
Maybe some cichlid keepers will not like me anymore :-( but this is the reality of special ornate behaviour - i only want to document it and to warn!!! It's not a good idea to keep them together. One-side-fun. There are so much other food items ... and ornates will grow in every other food situation also well!
Last not least: If an ornate kills a Jack Dempsey that is much more than half the size of the ornate this is a real cruel scenery! Much more brutal than other predatory attempts i've seen in my life during watching the nature or even watching documentary-oriented TV. This is the knife edge between loving and caring animals ... and doing vice versa. Due to my life situation i cannot accept this anymore for me.
Greetings
Uwe
i do know the ornates shown her very well - i'm living half an hour away from them. I'd spoken with the people working there several times aund i think i know why these ornates are so big . not only in lenght ...
There are also other fish in this tank: On the one side these 3 ornates, on the other side one Synodontis and ... some relative little Hemichromis. This cichlids are food in my eyes. Self-breeding food. I asked about and got no answer ... hm, the character of answer sometimes is the silence that is clearer than thousand words, without misunderstanding by words choosen in a wrong way. The truth is beyond the words, it's in the eyes of the one you speak with.
Okay, the bloats in the bellies of the ornates are not psychological, they are ... cichlids. It's a bit hard to say but for my experience cichlids are the most beloved food for ornates! They will ignore everything up to the last cichlid eaten!!! Ornates also tend to grow quicker in such a situation.
Maybe some cichlid keepers will not like me anymore :-( but this is the reality of special ornate behaviour - i only want to document it and to warn!!! It's not a good idea to keep them together. One-side-fun. There are so much other food items ... and ornates will grow in every other food situation also well!
Last not least: If an ornate kills a Jack Dempsey that is much more than half the size of the ornate this is a real cruel scenery! Much more brutal than other predatory attempts i've seen in my life during watching the nature or even watching documentary-oriented TV. This is the knife edge between loving and caring animals ... and doing vice versa. Due to my life situation i cannot accept this anymore for me.
Greetings
Uwe
uwe;3497280; said:
So severums, oscars and blood red parrots cannot live with ornate bichirs long term? How about a black ghost knife fish? I have heard different things on this, I want your opinion.
