bocourti info - your experience?

[peathenster]

I recently got an adult pair from Ken (here - http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=266330). Haven't been able to find as much information on the world wide web as I had hoped....got a few questions:

1. pH. I bumped the pH up to about 8, thinking that a CA species probably likes hard and alkaline water. But Rusty Wessel mentioned in his article that "it prefers clean water with a pH of about 7.0" (http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=103). The fish look happy and eat well so far but I was wondering .... what pH do they spawn at?

2. Diet. Again, according to Rusty Wessel, "In the wild its diet consists of snails, insects and algae based on personal observations". But they look a lot like my old pearsei, which practically lived on veggie. I offered romaine lettuce but they didn't touch it. I was wondering how hard I should push them....(they both love pellets).

3. According to (again) Rusty Wessel and Dan Woodland, they would spawn on a horizontal flat surface, instead of a cave. Is this the case? I offerred a large flower pot on its side but neither of them ever entered...need to get the decor right...

Thanks...here are a few quick pics of the couple

 

[Ghage]

Here's the Bocourti I have in my 110 gallon. I feed mine Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets and frozen blood worm, brine and algae. He eats like crazy and grows like a weed, I hope that keeps up. He really has not been very picky regarding anything I've fed him. He's a great fish and has a great personality, always out in plain view.

 

[Ghage]

I meant to say Frozen Vegetable Diet not Algae, sorry about that. By the way, your fish look great!!!!

 

[justpgraham]

Beautiful fish ! Wish I had bought the one I see a month ago now !!!

 

[peathenster]

Here's the Bocourti I have in my 110 gallon. I feed mine Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets and frozen blood worm, brine and algae. He eats like crazy and grows like a weed, I hope that keeps up. He really has not been very picky regarding anything I've fed him. He's a great fish and has a great personality, always out in plain view.

I meant to say Frozen Vegetable Diet not Algae, sorry about that. By the way, your fish look great!!!!

Beautiful fish ! Wish I had bought the one I see a month ago now !!!

Thanks. Mine do eagerly accept pellets, but not night crawlers. I'm just wondering if / how hard I should try to put them on a veggie diet.

Anybody spawned them before?

 

[FSM]

Try spinach, my carpintis seemed to like it.

 

[driftwood]

Mine will eat a whole head of Romaine if i let him. Also likes cucumbers alot. Mine has gotten so big that he needs his own tank and I just can't have another solo fish. I'm debating on weather or not i want to keep mine. He's a nice fish but is starting to not tollerate tank mates and thats sad because I've had him since he was just over and inch.

 

[peathenster]

Still wondering about spawning pH....anybody?

Try spinach, my carpintis seemed to like it.

will do....

Mine will eat a whole head of Romaine if i let him. Also likes cucumbers alot. Mine has gotten so big that he needs his own tank and I just can't have another solo fish. I'm debating on weather or not i want to keep mine. He's a nice fish but is starting to not tollerate tank mates and thats sad because I've had him since he was just over and inch.

good to know - will keep offering romaine lettuce too.

how big is him? I wonder if an extra male would spice things up....ship him to me .

 

[climacoolair]

My boy loves his zuchinni and any pellets and adores spirulina flake .

PH wise the tank sits between 7.4 - 7.6 and he seems to not be bothered.

Dave

 

[peathenster]

My boy loves his zuchinni and any pellets and adores spirulina flake .

PH wise the tank sits between 7.4 - 7.6 and he seems to not be bothered.

Dave

Thanks. I guess I'll try to slowly lower it.

The male seems to be the problem. The female is ready and willing, but the male ignores her...