A store is offering tank raised festivus and wild mirificus and i'm curious if there is much difference between the two species. Also how many should be kept together. I was thinking 8 in my 120 (moving them to a 400 in a year) but not sure if they are like angels where they shoal as youngsters and then declare holy war upon maturity or if they continue to shoal once they mature.
Difference between mirificus and festivus
- Thread starter jake37
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They are very much like angels. All my wild groups of Mesonauta have been fairly aggressive with each other once they hit maturity. I had groups of 6 - 8 in both 150 and 220 gallon tanks, and it was still a lot of chasing and dive-bombing. They will pair off and chase away any conspecifics which breaks up any shoaling behavior they exhibit.
In terms of species, they are very difficult to correctly identify. Physical appearance is a crapshoot. People will post an illustrated photo key for identifying them but I have never seen anyone agree on it. Every time I have ever posted a photo of my groups, I get varying opinions on their species. It doesn’t matter, IMO — their general care and behavior is the same.
In terms of species, they are very difficult to correctly identify. Physical appearance is a crapshoot. People will post an illustrated photo key for identifying them but I have never seen anyone agree on it. Every time I have ever posted a photo of my groups, I get varying opinions on their species. It doesn’t matter, IMO — their general care and behavior is the same.
Er I meant about how many in a 10 foot tank do you think could co-exist peacefully ? With my angles in a 4 foot tank they brutalized each other.
I always do a minimum of 6 to cut down on conspecific aggression. In a 400 gallon 10’ tank you could keep a larger group, but that would be up to you. Like angels, the more space you give them, the calmer they’ll probably be.
The trouble is maintaining them for a year in the smaller tank where they may give you a hard time. It really depends on a lot of factors — how the tank is set up, the type and number of tank mates, etc. my wild groups went from 2 - 3” to double that in a year and started spawning. Females spawn small.
The trouble is maintaining them for a year in the smaller tank where they may give you a hard time. It really depends on a lot of factors — how the tank is set up, the type and number of tank mates, etc. my wild groups went from 2 - 3” to double that in a year and started spawning. Females spawn small.
Ok thanks. I think i'll start with 7 if they are sub 2 inch; one might die because that seems to happen when i buy a group of fishes; in a year after I move i can explore the possibility of a few more - the 400 will have winemilleri and maybe a few gbr and some pleco so they would be a good fish to fill the the mid/upper region. Of course after having them for a year i might decide i just don't like them.