Cichlasoma Istlanum Behavior - Feeding, Advice Sought....

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nuth88

nuth88

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 16, 2006
1,056
13
68
Firestone, Colorado
Hey~

Most of you know, I have been raising a lil Izzy from Pinky Fingernail size, well, it was 10, (BaldTaxGuy and I got a bag, from Conkel, and I think he has a couple, and I have 1) now, he is all that is left, and let me tell you, he has the personality of a Midas, and if it has fins, he hates it. My question is, he is about 2" (1 3/4" really) and he was in a 45 long, but he was moved as he was all that was left, now he is in a 10, for about 6 weeks while I prepare his 55 solo tank. The question I have is, I had snails in there, I say had as I have been looking for feeding on the WWW, and have heard the standard, but never heard snails, (I thought it was my group of Skunk Botia, but as he has grown, the very social Botia's have gone into hiding, thus the move, and the Steins, now have the 45 for GO, the Activivty picked up instantly!)

He loves mini krill, NLS, Micro Crabs, Bloodworms, etc.... But Snails? The tank had about 10 in there as they do great on a tank where a BN Pleco, or a Alge eater can not be present. Should I look to Malayasan Trumpet Snails? I mean, he moved last night, and I go to feed him this AM, and it looks like a snail grave yard. Empty Shells everywhere. Can anyone give me some feedback on my lil guy, he is different then all of the fish I have ever owned as he is mean toward anything but me. Loves the Nuthman, Hates EVERYTHING Else? WTF?

Thank you in Advance~

Nuthman~

:nilly:
 
Mine grew up with a Severum, Convict, Rainbow Cichlid, and a Leporinus. He only had problems with the Leporinus. Lost my Istlanum when it jumped out of it's enclosure, right when he started getting some size jumped at about the 5" mark. I didn't know what it was at the time but thought this fish rocks. Haven't seen one at a lfs in a long time out here. Would love another, when i get the room for it.

i never kept any snails when i had an istlanum.
 
nuth88;2660386; said:
He loves mini krill, NLS, Micro Crabs, Bloodworms, etc.... But Snails? The tank had about 10 in there as they do great on a tank where a BN Pleco, or a Alge eater can not be present. Should I look to Malayasan Trumpet Snails? I mean, he moved last night, and I go to feed him this AM, and it looks like a snail grave yard. Empty Shells everywhere. Can anyone give me some feedback on my lil guy, he is different then all of the fish I have ever owned as he is mean toward anything but me. Loves the Nuthman, Hates EVERYTHING Else? WTF?

Thank you in Advance~

Nuthman~

:nilly:
Click to expand...

My istlanum hates all other aquatic life. Mine ate MTS. He doesn't attack me so much as he attacks the cleaning magnet and the siphon. He wants to fight fish in other tanks if he can see them. These fish are not well suited to community settings at all. I like mine as a single specimen wet pet, and that is how I keep all my fish. As far as food goes, anything goes as long as you change the water regularly and keep the water relatively warm (84F or so). All istlanums generally have great personalities and are generally unafraid of most things. I will not list all the foods my istlanums currently eats, let's just say his diet is very varied, as is all my fish. My fish is between 9 and 10 inches now. Probably closer to 10. They grow fast and eat furiously.
 
Thanks Guys, I will get a pic up sometime tonight. I will say his activity level jumped thru the roof when I upped the temp, (Faulty Heater) to about 84 from a steady 78-79. He always has a great appetite, except this AM, I would have sluffed that off to the move, but then I noticed all the snail shells. Kind of Freeky.

Darth~

Any thought on the snails, since he can not be kept with anything that has fins? What size is his home tank? Will a 55 be enuff for him Solo? He will stay solo, and is truly a Wet-Pet.

Thanks~

Nuth
 
A 55 is fine for a male istlanum solo for life IMO. I don't know what to say about the snails other than I think he will eat them.
 
Thanks Darth~

Working on a Video and some Pictures....

The Snails, I am gonna give MTS a go, they are the beast of snails....Gotta keep the tank clean. Thanks for the feedback on the 55!

Nuthman~
 
I had a male Istlantum around 9". Hands down the meanest :angryfirecichlid that I have ever owned. I sold him to a local fish store and the owner placed him in a 300 gal display tank full of large Oscars, Pacus, Jags and other cichlids. The owner left the store for lunch and when he returned the Istlantum had terrorized everything in the tank. He had to remove the Istlantum to keep him from killing every fish in the tank. I wish I would have kept him. I posted a vid of him on you tube before I sold him. Go to you tube and put in " Istlantum Cichlid showing off his teeth".:popcorn:
 
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