Cichla ocellaris

[Polystigma]

Does anyone keep Butterfly Peacocks? I would really love to have a small group of these monsters.

Tell me about you fish, they temperment, growth rate, coloration.

Also, what is the tank setup?

I hope to get a nice roomy tank set up and then take a drive down south and catch my own. I've seen photos of the wild ones in South Florida and they have amazing color.

Thanks,
Ted

 

[piranha45]

in case you don't end up getting them (they require enormous amounts of tankspace), a very reasonable alternative would be the Nimbochromis group of malawi cichlids.. N. venustus, N. polystigma, N. fuscotaeniatus. All are commonly sold at local petstores, and you could could keep a group of 4-5 in a 125g pretty easily. Very capable predators, will devour feeder fish even at very young ages.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_livingstonii.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_polystigma.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_venustus.php

most of the pics shown display immature males or females... adult males get very resplendent colors

 

[PeacockBass]

Does anyone keep Butterfly Peacocks? I would really love to have a small group of these monsters.

Tell me about you fish, they temperment, growth rate, coloration.

Also, what is the tank setup?

I hope to get a nice roomy tank set up and then take a drive down south and catch my own. I've seen photos of the wild ones in South Florida and they have amazing color.

Thanks,
Ted

excellent.

Welcome Ted. Its great to see you are interested in Cichla. These ARE the greatest freshwater fish. hehe.

I must say, Ocellaris and Monoculus are my favorites.

Their growth rate is awesome, you should expect to see 12-16 inches in the first to second year, then the growth will slow down and you can expect a 20inch fish with in the 3-4th year range. They can be aggressive to each other when young, kinda like a wolf pack, there will be a alpha male and a low-man on the totem pole.

They have THE BEST colors IMO... heh.. Monoculus is my fav.

coloration will be kinda dull with in the first 6 inches.. once they start getting size and hit sexual maturity with in the first year, you will see fantastic coloration.

Feeding live foods is best. You will see better color and faster growth rates. aswell has more "fit" fish.

When feeding these fish, you need to watch out, they will explode with energy unmatched in the freshwater kingdom.

For growout, a tank of 100 gallons works the best. Then once they start getting some size, a 240 will last quite a while.. Once they get past 16 or so inches its a must to get them in a 30+ inch wide tank as they will get stressed out and lose their health.


Keep the questions coming, i love these fish.

 

[Polystigma]

in case you don't end up getting them (they require enormous amounts of tankspace), a very reasonable alternative would be the Nimbochromis group of malawi cichlids.. N. venustus, N. polystigma, N. fuscotaeniatus. All are commonly sold at local petstores, and you could could keep a group of 4-5 in a 125g pretty easily. Very capable predators, will devour feeder fish even at very young ages.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_livingstonii.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_polystigma.php
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/n_venustus.php

most of the pics shown display immature males or females... adult males get very resplendent colors

As you may guess from my forum name, I am quite familiar with this genus. I will probably have an African tank of some kind, but I am dying to branch out into much larger fish, and the challenges they entail.

I'd really like to have a pond, but it gets a little too cold here during the winter for them.

Although I have never been a fan of starting off with a tank too small, how long do you think a 240g would hold a group? Filtration is something I am obsessed with. I love wet/dry trickle filtration, but I also like to stick on a canister for some decent mechanical capacity.

Ted

 

[PeacockBass]

As you may guess from my forum name, I am quite familiar with this genus. I will probably have an African tank of some kind, but I am dying to branch out into much larger fish, and the challenges they entail.

I'd really like to have a pond, but it gets a little too cold here during the winter for them.

Although I have never been a fan of starting off with a tank too small, how long do you think a 240g would hold a group? Filtration is something I am obsessed with. I love wet/dry trickle filtration, but I also like to stick on a canister for some decent mechanical capacity.

Ted

a 240 will last around 3 years depending on their growthrates.. Once they get larger, they will start ramming the sides and hurting their jaws. Filtration is a must with Cichla.. Im a huge filtration person too. Wetdrys are the only way.

here is a picture of my cichla pool durring a feeding.

 

[rayman45]

they are the nicest looking fish !

 

[Daddyo72]

I've got some Monos I just trained to hand feed. They are like puppies when I walk by. Always wanting attention.

 

[GTS]

I have a 12" mono and a 12" ocelleris. I plan to put them in my patio pond when its finished. I am still fumbling around with the deminsions of the pond. I could make it shallow and wide or deeper and less wide. I also plan to put my jardini and a perrono in there as well.

I am fourtunate enough to live in central flrorida where winters are nearly non existant. Heat wont be a problem. Its just the dimensons and deciding if I want to add more pbass that I have to worry about.

 

[Polystigma]

I have a 12" mono and a 12" ocelleris. I plan to put them in my patio pond when its finished. I am still fumbling around with the deminsions of the pond. I could make it shallow and wide or deeper and less wide. I also plan to put my jardini and a perrono in there as well.

I am fourtunate enough to live in central flrorida where winters are nearly non existant. Heat wont be a problem. Its just the dimensons and deciding if I want to add more pbass that I have to worry about.

I also live in Central Florida, but I am not so sure an outside pond or pool will maintain a high enough temperature on its own. When we go a couple weeks of temperatures not exceeding 60 or 65, that will bring the pond temperature WAY down.

I read some information from paul Shafland from the Non-Native Fish Research Lab (printed, not online) that mentioned that the northern territory of the released peacocks in South Florida is limited by the winter water temperatures. I do not know what they cased this on, their research methods, or how old their research is, but that would pretty much lead me to believe that Central Florida gets a bit too cool in winter for a wild population.

Smaller bodies of water, pools and ponds, would be more succeptible to termperature fluctuations.

PeacockBass Those fish look great! They definitely seem to have a lot of energy.

Thanks,
Ted

 

[GTS]

I also live in Central Florida, but I am not so sure an outside pond or pool will maintain a high enough temperature on its own. When we go a couple weeks of temperatures not exceeding 60 or 65, that will bring the pond temperature WAY down.

I read some information from paul Shafland from the Non-Native Fish Research Lab (printed, not online) that mentioned that the northern territory of the released peacocks in South Florida is limited by the winter water temperatures. I do not know what they cased this on, their research methods, or how old their research is, but that would pretty much lead me to believe that Central Florida gets a bit too cool in winter for a wild population.

Smaller bodies of water, pools and ponds, would be more succeptible to termperature fluctuations.

PeacockBass Those fish look great! They definitely seem to have a lot of energy.

Thanks,
Ted

My pond is going on the patio . Only one wall is screened the rest are bricked. Its more like an extentsion of my house than a patio. If the temp drops a bit than I will cover the screened wall and add a 400 watt heater. If your pond is sealed and covered properly and if you add a heater the temperture will not be a problem. I am in tampa and it only gets cold here during the first two weeks on january after that winter is over. In florida we have two seasons summer and fall lol that about it.