Emperor cichlid

[spongebob281]

well I have one as a store pet & she is about 9 years old and maybe 26" or so & attacks everything including people. I call her my dog or pitt bull fish. I tried putting a 12" red devil & a 9" Tyrannochromis male that was a mean as fish but within a hour less I put both in her tank at the same time she about killed them & was relentless. By far the meanest fish I have owened. I actually had a trio & sold the other two/pair off because I could not keep them together & were tying up 3 big tanks. I orginally raised them up in a 350 gallon & they ate about a grand in cichlids, then I brought them to the hatchery to a tank I had made for them 48x48x24 to see if I could breed them. Put some 9-11 male fronts in which they ate! Only thing that seemed to be okay in the 350 & now the 150 with my girl is a syno cat & reg pleco that stay hid or do not move unless to eat. They paired off , tubes dropped twice but no eggs/fry & eventually the big boy decided he wanted to kill everything in & outside the tank
they will out grow your tank eventually & may work with larger sa/ca if starting them young & growing them up? I have seen some BIG tanks on here with them mix in with dovi etc..

me dave

So most likely my EC will eventually kill my GT, Jag and RD? Sorry for jacking the thread

 

[Delhezi B]

You certainly picked a monster. This is the largest of all cichlids that can top out at nearly 40". Although mine barely reached the 30" mark by year 5. It's also a powerful swimmer that demands lots of swimming space. I kept a group in a 900 and the dominant male killed every tankmate, male and female, until he was the only one left.

Do a search on Boulengerochromis microlepis. There's tons of info out there to be found.

holy crap. I knew they got big but I didn't know they got that BIG. Somehow I dont think that one woudl work in my tank anymore they seem just a little to agresive I think that the only fish that i own that coudl handle one woudl be the dorado. Id like to try my hand at growing out one though. What is the growth rate like? and how long do you think one would last in a 265? its probably going to be a year or to before i upgrade.

thanks oddball

As you already know, they get huge. As long as you keep the water quality consistant, you shouldn't have to keep the ph high like lake Tanganyika. I acclimated all of my Africans to the ph of my tap water and they did great. Just don't change it around on them. Odds are, if your getting it from a LFS, they're using tap water anyway. They have been bred in captivity, but wild ones are probably more readily available. They do eat fish so you want to make sure it is small when you get it, or your current stock is big enough for it not to eat them. Not many people can keep them because of their size, but you can always give it a try and see how it goes.

My water dosent change very much. so i shoudl be ok there the ones now are about 4-5 inches long and i always could set up a spare 75 for short term untill my other fish grow out. thanks for the info joe.

I got a foot long EC in a 500 G. I keep it in the garage with constant temp at 72 degree. My EC is such a wussy he get punked by a 5" red parrot. LOL. Yeah they get huge not sure if your tank is big enough for one. Oh yeah they have a huge appetite. Mine is always first in line feeding time. I do 40% WC every week. G luck

Cool thanks for the info.

well I have one as a store pet & she is about 9 years old and maybe 26" or so & attacks everything including people. I call her my dog or pitt bull fish. I tried putting a 12" red devil & a 9" Tyrannochromis male that was a mean as fish but within a hour less I put both in her tank at the same time she about killed them & was relentless. By far the meanest fish I have owened. I actually had a trio & sold the other two/pair off because I could not keep them together & were tying up 3 big tanks. I orginally raised them up in a 350 gallon & they ate about a grand in cichlids, then I brought them to the hatchery to a tank I had made for them 48x48x24 to see if I could breed them. Put some 9-11 male fronts in which they ate! Only thing that seemed to be okay in the 350 & now the 150 with my girl is a syno cat & reg pleco that stay hid or do not move unless to eat. They paired off , tubes dropped twice but no eggs/fry & eventually the big boy decided he wanted to kill everything in & outside the tank
they will out grow your tank eventually & may work with larger sa/ca if starting them young & growing them up? I have seen some BIG tanks on here with them mix in with dovi etc..

me dave

Man they sound like a Pain in the butt fish lol. they ate 11 inch fronts? How big are there mouths? At what size did they start to get agresive and killing fish? And again what was the growth rate like?
Oh and is $20 a good price for a 4-5 incher?

thanks a ton dave

 

[evojoey]

$20 is a good price.

 

[krichardson]

No one keeps Boulengerochromis microlepis?

I had mine for almost ten years and it died a few months back.It is the fish in my avatar.

 

[Delhezi B]

$20 is a good price.

Sweet! if it gets to big. Well i read soemwhere ethat they taste great

I had mine for almost ten years and it died a few months back.It is the fish in my avatar.

Oh yea i forgot you had one. What size tank was she in and did you keep any other fish with her?

 

[dpk2313]

I use to work for Dave and she is a pretty amazing fish with an interesting personality, if you have the room go for it I don't think you'll be disappointed.
They are true monsters in size and attitude

 

[Somethingfishyinc.net]

Mine were around 3" or more once in the 350 maybe 12" the first year?
I say 5 years until to big for tank, of your tank was 3' wide you would be good
Price good. Raise it w/ other big stuff may work for awhile? Have another tank ready or a pool if need move fish around?

Me dave

 

[krichardson]

Mine were around 3" or more once in the 350 maybe 12" the first year?
I say 5 years until to big for tank, of your tank was 3' wide you would be good
Price good. Raise it w/ other big stuff may work for awhile? Have another tank ready or a pool if need move fish around?

Me dave

Mine was raised in a 125 untill it had trouble turning around,then I got a 180 for it.That still was'nt the best but I did'nt crowd the tank with decor and it did okay.I raised him almost exclusively on floating cichlid pellets and he was'nt really agressive to the other fish except newcomers.It would chase the other fish away from the food though,and would then take it's time eating the pellets.

 

[KNH]

I've owned 4 of these beautiful fish in the past. They are quite docile when small but when they hit 17"-18" they will begin to chase/kill their tankmates. They also grow at a tremendous rate. My last 2 went from 3" to 17" in 8-9 months.

 

[Delhezi B]

I use to work for Dave and she is a pretty amazing fish with an interesting personality, if you have the room go for it I don't think you'll be disappointed.
They are true monsters in size and attitude

I think im going to go for it. if it dosent work out for $20 i don't have a problme giveing it away.

Mine were around 3" or more once in the 350 maybe 12" the first year?
I say 5 years until to big for tank, of your tank was 3' wide you would be good
Price good. Raise it w/ other big stuff may work for awhile? Have another tank ready or a pool if need move fish around?

Me dave

An inch a month is not bad. So id say the 265 woudl be good for at least 2 years. which by them hopefully I will have a bigger tank.

thanks for the input dave!

Mine was raised in a 125 untill it had trouble turning around,then I got a 180 for it.That still was'nt the best but I did'nt crowd the tank with decor and it did okay.I raised him almost exclusively on floating cichlid pellets and he was'nt really agressive to the other fish except newcomers.It would chase the other fish away from the food though,and would then take it's time eating the pellets.

Lol she sounded like a fun fish to keep. I think im going to go for it.

thanks for the input rich!

I've owned 4 of these beautiful fish in the past. They are quite docile when small but when they hit 17"-18" they will begin to chase/kill their tankmates. They also grow at a tremendous rate. My last 2 went from 3" to 17" in 8-9 months.

By 17 inches ill have a bigger tank and bigger fish so I think everythign would work out.

thanks!