frontosablkrhom;3411837; said:Hello Armand, I bought 5 caribe last august at 2 inches. They were in a 60 gallon tank with plenty of hiding spots. I fed them shrimp and some white fish, 4 times a day. In that tank I lost 2 due to cannabalism. Later on I lost another from popeye. I have the remaining 2 still with a red belly and a juvie pacu. I know it sounds mean but the pacu is there just so the two monsters dont hurt each other. They take out there frustration on the pacu. Its working wonders right now but I will soon donate the pacu to a lfs because it's getting big, around 7 inches.
This year i did as much research as possible. I knew I wanted a big shoal and I also knew I did not want to lose ANY of my expensive mini monsters. So my babies came in at less than an inch, I was questioning weather or not these were even caribe.There was no black spot visible and they were about the size of a pinky nail if not smaller. While doing research I found out live blackworms are a must!!! I spent nearly 200 dollars just on live blackworms, I should have ordered in bulk online. I would have saved alot of money, ( My lfs charges 2 dollars a tablespoon rip off) but i knew i needed them. Within 3 days they were showing there black spot and looking fat. For the first 2 weeks i fed them six times a day, a tablespoon of live blackworms. I vacuumed the detrius out every night and replaced the water with aged water. During the third and fourth week I made the 6 daily portions bigger and upped the water change schedule. At week five they were pushing 3 inches and getting chunky.
So, at week five I could barely afford to get them the blackworms anymore, and figured they were probably ready for shrimp. So the daily feeding schedule consists of 4 shrimp, some shell on, 2 times a day and 4 night crawlers twice a day. That's the diet they're on now. All 11 caribe look great, knock on wood. I've had all 11 since June in a 40 gallon breeder bare bottom tank with one plant!!!
Thats why I dont think cover is the reason you lost the 2 guys. I think when you have such a small number the alpha fish is only looking at these 2 fish all day. When you have a bigger group there's always a new tankmate in his face. So think about it. If theres always someone new passing you there wont be enough time to bully just one particular fish. Big groups is what keeps these guys alive, that and plenty of filtration and water changes. I think some cover is necessary tho. The floating plant is perfect. It's big and at night they're like little birds all perched in there.
Armand ,I know this alot to read. I was in the same situation you were in last year and now things are going great. NO CANNABALISM!!!! So I'm just telling you what schedule has worked magic for me. Anyone who has baby caribes try my feeding schedule and cleaning routine. It's alot to handle but these fish are amazing little gems that are more beautiful than any saltwater fish or cichlid in my opinion. La caribe wey
Tony, you are crazy with all the water change but I guess with a 40 breeder and 11 caribes in it you'll need all the water changes you can do. I need to up the water change like you do...I have one caribe that keeps on getting pop eye...none of the other caribes have pop eye, not sure why. I guess I'll just have to up the water change to twice a week instead of once a week.
I've never fed mine blackworm, they been on shrimp/smelt diet since I first got them, so far so good. just keep them filled to the throat. hopefully the pop eye one will pull through, if not then I'll clean up my hospital tank and put it in there once again.
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