Carpintis growth rate

[Man-made Monsters]

I really appreciate the info everyone. I will try upping my water changes to every 3 days and see how that works. I can see why you’ve kept Carpintis for the last 20 years. My father has kept Oscars for as long as I can remember and this is the first cichlid that is mine. They are very entertaining fish.

For me it comes back to the pearls, I just love the colors of teal, blue, gold, and sometimes slightly purple . All colors I’m very into. They can be cool wet pets but don’t always have as much personality as other Central Americans. If you are enjoying how he looks now, wait till he’s full grown. The color in the pearls gets richer and more vibrant in my experience. The young male I’m raising now has a very interactive personality with me which I enjoy. I will be trying to breed him after he gains a bit more size. Other times I have kept Carpintis they usually just responded to me because of food. Each cichlid is different.
I’ve had a large Vieja Maculicauda at around 12 inches that was like an underwater dog for me. Friends would come over to chill and he would swim around and ignore them. He would see me and come straight to the glass, not even going to the surface to eat. Just interacting with me. My friends were always so amused by this. They called him a water dog. I had a huge Jaguar cichlid that was the same way.
For us hobbyists it’s all about what fish is interesting to us. There are a bunch of folks like your dad that love Oscars. Whatever brings you joy is what it’s all about.

 

[Matth05]

I must have gotten lucky because he is has been a good wet pet being very interactive and not just for food. He acts similar to how you are describing the vieja you owned although he gets a little skittish when the room has too many people. Even my father who has had Oscars as wet pets for many years often says the Carpintis acts like his Oscars would.

 

[Matth05]

Thought I’d do a small update on my Carpintis. I’ve been doing 30-40% water changes every 3 days now and I’ve also been slowly adding more variety in foods with some more plant based pellets as well. My eyes could be playing tricks on me but I think he is putting on size even in such a short amount of time (Although I don’t think shows up on camera very well?).

 

[Matth05]

Hey everyone I just have a question, could be a little bit of a dumb question. I’d thought I’d post it on this thread because it is about my Carpintis, who is doing great and growing my like a weed. I’ve recently switched his primary pellet to mini sized Hikari Cichlid Gold. I did this gradually as well not just a sudden switch. He eats the pellets but seems to mouth them quite a bit, sometimes spitting them out, before finally eating them. Is this normal? Are these pellets just harder than others and require more effort to chew down?

 

[Man-made Monsters]

Hikari Bio Gold Plus is the only Hikari product I really support. Most Hikari foods are made with a lot of fillers like corn, rice, and wheat. Stuff fish would never eat in the wild. If you changed the size of the pellet, and not the brand of pellet, then it just has a different feeling as he processes it in his mouth.

 

[Matth05]

Okay thanks. What brands would you recommend? I don’t really care about price I’m willing to spend more money for a quality food.

 

[Man-made Monsters]

Northfin is an amazing food. My male loves the Veggie Pellets in 2mm size. New Life Spectrum is an awesome food if your Carpintis will eat it. Mine doesn’t, but other fish I have do. Some fish get picky and won’t eat NLS. Omega One cichlid pellets are descent and I use those. My Carpintis goes nuts for Tetra Freeze Dried Krill. I break it into smaller pieces for him and give it to him twice a week. Im going crabbing today so we will see if this male likes blue claw crab. Every fish I’ve owned for the last 20 years loves crab, except adult Melanura. Incorporating a soft marine protein is good for most omnivores in my experience. You can use shrimp that you get from a grocery store. Just cook it in a little water and garlic then chop it very small. Get treat and good for them. I’m pretty sure my fish eat better then me…lol

 

[Matth05]

Thanks! I just ordered some Northfin veggie and cichlid pellets on Amazon, going to give them a shot. He's pretty picky so fingers crossed. Funny you mention Omega One pellets because that was what I was giving him as his primary food. I wanted to try the switch because I read that the omega one pellets also had some of those fillers that you stated earlier. I've heard good things about the Hikari pellets, which is why I wanted to try them, but the Carpintis doesn't seem to be a fan.

 

[Matth05]

Thought I’d do another update (about 1 month later) on the growth of my Carpintis, which I decided to name Bruce (assuming he is a male which I am fairly certain). I’ve been continuing my 40% water changes every three days. Sometimes every other day if he really makes a mess of the tank. He’s doing great, definitely passed the 4 inch mark now and growing much more steady. Also thanks to Man-Made Monsters for recommending that I get some Northfin pellets. The Carpintis loves em.

 

[tonymofo]

Mine was steady half to three quarters of a inch a month. I would tho add a second water change per week. All my tanks got 75% or more water change every three days.

Wow and I thought I was bad with the 80% WC every 7 days.......

The Carpintis is looking real good! Keep it up. The some female blood parrots in there to keep him company.