Cichlid Compatibility

[Stanzzzz7]

jvc66
Melanura can make a nice centre display fish and more often than not are quite laid back by c/a standards.
They are also a species very capable of adopting a habit of scale eating.I have personally encountered this more than once.
Bala sharks have large easily dislodged scales and could be targets to trigger this behaviour.
I am only putting up red flags as I know you are fond of your balas.
You may find a melanura the perfect display fish that lives very peacefully with your balas but I just wanted you to be aware that veija can become a pain once they find a taste for scales.
Melanura and synspilum are the same fish just regional variants of each other.
It is thought by some that the pigmentation of melanura is different to that of the old synspilum due to the type of algea that melanura feed on in their range.
This particular algea is different to that found in the habitat of the Mexican synspilum /melanura. Not sure if this theory carries proven weight but it is an interesting believable theory all the same.

 

[jaws7777]

jvc66
Melanura can make a nice centre display fish and more often than not are quite laid back by c/a standards.
They are also a species very capable of adopting a habit of scale eating.I have personally encountered this more than once.
Bala sharks have large easily dislodged scales and could be targets to trigger this behaviour.
I am only putting up red flags as I know you are fond of your balas.
You may find a melanura the perfect display fish that lives very peacefully with your balas but I just wanted you to be aware that veija can become a pain once they find a taste for scales.
Melanura and synspilum are the same fish just regional variants of each other.
It is thought by some that the pigmentation of melanura is different to that of the old synspilum due to the type of algea that melanura feed on in their range.
This particular algea is different to that found in the habitat of the Mexican synspilum /melanura. Not sure if this theory carries proven weight but it is an interesting believable theory all the same.

Interesting theory about the algae. Do you think they would lose the coloration over time without said algae in there diets

 

[jvc66]

Oh i thought u were gonna go with the two
..we need to con somone into going with two just to see the difference lol

Lol yea just create a fake build thread with two gates to see if anybody follows right?

jvc66
Melanura can make a nice centre display fish and more often than not are quite laid back by c/a standards.
They are also a species very capable of adopting a habit of scale eating.I have personally encountered this more than once.
Bala sharks have large easily dislodged scales and could be targets to trigger this behaviour.
I am only putting up red flags as I know you are fond of your balas.
You may find a melanura the perfect display fish that lives very peacefully with your balas but I just wanted you to be aware that veija can become a pain once they find a taste for scales.
Melanura and synspilum are the same fish just regional variants of each other.
It is thought by some that the pigmentation of melanura is different to that of the old synspilum due to the type of algea that melanura feed on in their range.
This particular algea is different to that found in the habitat of the Mexican synspilum /melanura. Not sure if this theory carries proven weight but it is an interesting believable theory all the same.

In the beginning I wasnt a fan of the vieja, but at this point they have really grown on me. I do find the synspilum more attractive than the melanura but both are nice in their own way. They are a contender for the tank, still leaning Rivulatus but would still be happy with the vieja stocking I previously posted. Wish I could get two 225gallon tanks and do Rivulatus in one and Vieja in another! And thats pretty interesting that the algea could have that much of an affect on the pigmantation. Always love learning something new about the hobby.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Interesting theory about the algae. Do you think they would lose the coloration over time without said algae in there diets

In all honesty Jaws,I do not know.Maybe after thousands of years of evolving around this diet something sticks.

 

[RD.]

I doubt the genetics would have shifted due to a form of algae being eaten. Plenty of regional geographical variants have different colors/patterns, even body shapes, and they consume the same diet. Sometimes the same species found across the other side of a large lake, have different colors and patterns, and they consume identical foods.

Good luck with your new tank.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I doubt the genetics would have shifted due to a form of algae being eaten. Plenty of regional geographical variants have different colors/patterns, even body shapes, and they consume the same diet. Sometimes the same species found across the other side of a large lake, have different colors and patterns, and they consume identical foods

True,I agree you are quite right.
Like I said I was unsure if the theory carried any weight or not.
I remember following a discussion between Bas Pels,Lee Nuttell and Willem Heijns on another forum.I think it was Bas that said the difference was due to different algea from one location to another.

 

[jvc66]

Stanzzzz7 question for you. What are the tempermants of the thorichthys maculipinnis or ellioti? Just curious, will be deciding with the girlfriend this week I think on a stocking between the terrors or vieja

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Stanzzzz7 question for you. What are the tempermants of the thorichthys maculipinnis or ellioti? Just curious, will be deciding with the girlfriend this week I think on a stocking between the terrors or vieja

Ellioti and maculipinnis are the same fish the name just got changed from ellioti to maculipinnis.
They are the most aggressive of the thorichthys family.
Helleri,meeki,pasionis, aureaus and socolofi should generally be more peaceful.
Aureaus are beautiful thorichthys and well worth looking into.They make great tank mates for veija melanura if that's the route you are taking.They look their best in groups of 8 or more and numbers can help curb aggression.
They all live in group's in the wild so keeping them this way in captivity Is good practice.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Helleri are ny personal favourites and I am currently keeping a group of round 16. I also have a veija melanura in there with them.

 

[jvc66]

Ellioti and maculipinnis are the same fish the name just got changed from ellioti to maculipinnis.
They are the most aggressive of the thorichthys family.
Helleri,meeki,pasionis, aureaus and socolofi should generally be more peaceful.
Aureaus are beautiful thorichthys and well worth looking into.They make great tank mates for veija melanura if that's the route you are taking.They look their best in groups of 8 or more and numbers can help curb aggression.
They all live in group's in the wild so keeping them this way in captivity Is good practice.

Of course i pick the most aggressive of the group lol. But i will look into aureaus since i cant remember what they look like. And your helleri are gorgeous. Looks like you have a few meeki in there as well? Do they all tend to stay more towards the bottom of the tank or are they a mid level swimmer?