Black Nasty

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P.A.NativesBPM

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 25, 2012
882
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Pennsylvania
Hello,

So I'm not going to purchase a vieja, red devil, or Midas.
I've decided to go with a black nasty cichlid because I've heard they are as Agressive if not more so than amphilophus plus I fell in love with their pattern and giant fins the moment I first saw them. (Roughly 3 minutes ago lol)

Do they live up to their names? Will I have a glass banger?
Do females and males have the awesome speckling I keep seeing?

Is a monster caudal fin like I've been seeing a common trait?

I've heard 14" is a good size to expect. Is this accurate and could I keep one in my 75 for life? (Alone of course)

What should I expect to pay?

Thanks everyone!


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They're a beautiful and rewarding cichlid not necessarily a glass banger ime, but they can definitely be aggressive. A 75g can work for a while but not for life.... I grew one of my old ones up to 12" in a 75g and he needed more room because he was still growing so a 125g would work for life imo.

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One of the most sensitive fish as a juvie, I have ever kept.
They like warm temps (upper 80sF), and pristine water quality (nitrates under 10, lots of water changes)
They don't like any tank mates, heaters in the main tank, or gear that buzzes or makes a sound.
I kept all heaters, pumps and the like, in a sump, because they attacked and destroyed it (heaters especially).
They are very sensitive to water quality, temp, and fluctuations until they are about 5"+, so if you can get an individual that size or larger, your chance of success is better.
To get the pair I had, I went through 20, 19 died.
From the first 10, only my female survived , and in the end I bought a 10" male.
But this is because I tried the first 10 in winter, and during a power outage my temps dipped into the high 70s, only the one female survived.
Next group of 10 juvies died of stress induced bloat, because I tried to raise them together, the alpha stressed the rest into death one at a time, he died when my female stressed him into death (she was more macho than he). I have tried to raise juvies (from my pairs many spawns, with other cichlids, if they can't kill them, they themselves die of bloat. best to raise haits alone, or if you have a compatible pair.
While they posses the potential for sudden bursts of speed,and rowdiness, most of the time they are quite sedentary, IMO any tank under 100 gallons for an adult is too small.
Just my experience, yours may differ of course.
 
[video=youtube;MAqjk4XWXpg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAqjk4XWXpg[/video] mine were never in a tank over 75 gallons,never attacked a heater,never had any bloat issues with parents or fry,they never had tankmates all were killed,had more batches of fry than i could ever count. I raised a few pairs from their fry also. Skip from real hard cichlids used to offer me all kinds of money for them when he would come see them. Sold lots of their fry to old mfk members. Sold the dad at 16inches for 300 to a guy who wanted a wet pet sold the mom to a current member BOREEK she was between 12-14 inches. Awesome aggressive showy fish you would love them.JME eveybodys is different
 
isde02 said:
They're a beautiful and rewarding cichlid not necessarily a glass banger ime, but they can definitely be aggressive. A 75g can work for a while but not for life.... I grew one of my old ones up to 12" in a 75g and he needed more room because he was still growing so a 125g would work for life imo.
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That's a really cool fish!


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I don't have a sump either. I did have to use a titanium heater, though. The big guy really hates heaters. He attacks anything mechanical in the tank. I had to remove the downtubes for the AC110's too.

They're not really a glass banger in my experience, though. Very effectionate/owner responsive fish, though. Mine likes his nuchal hump, rubbed for example. They do like to come to the top and splash all over the place, so I'd recommend glass lids to keep from getting your floor super soaked.

125 for a big male is the minimum IMHO. They're just too big for a 75. You can do a 75, but it's cruel. It'd be the equivelent of you living in a closet. Expect a male to reach 16" or more. You can do a 75 for a long while (years if you're starting from 1"), but you should upgrade to a 125 minimum at 12-14" IMHO.

Yes, you can expect awesome finnage, spangling, etc...

A good adult male can go for $500. They're expensive because they're VERY difficult to raise to that size. Fry and juvies are very sensative and die easily. That's the reason for the high price tag. They're just rare at any significant size, and they are very showy desirable fish.

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You should still worry about every little detail. These fish need clean water, high temps, and lots of oxygenation. They also don't play well with others. They'll very likely either kill other fish or stress out and die from bloat if they're kept with others.

P.A.NativesBPM said:
If I found a fish at 5", would I be able to avoid the vulnerable stage and not have to worry about every little detail?


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