I have seen a few post of people just getting these guys so it motivated me to take a couple new pics of mine....
Ery. Sp. Peru
- Thread starter IndyTexy
- Start date
Yes the convict was intended to be food she has deformed gill plates.. but she has been in there about 6 months and they do not show any interest in eating her.
Yes they get along but there is a pecking order the big guy is dominate and the smallest one is left alone the one closet to his size some times gets put in its place but I have had them together for about 1 yr. Check out this pick of them getting along.... ( they are much larger than this now)
Yes they get along but there is a pecking order the big guy is dominate and the smallest one is left alone the one closet to his size some times gets put in its place but I have had them together for about 1 yr. Check out this pick of them getting along.... ( they are much larger than this now)
How many are in there? What size are they and what size tank are they being house in? I'm looking at doing the same and would like to get your input. Thanks.
I have four in a 150 . They all are pretty big the runt is about 7" the other three are 8 and 9"( my largest one is about right at 9"). I have several 6-10" pieces of PVC tubes throughout the tank with Rock ledges over them. I also have many drift wood hideouts. The tank is heavly planted on the lower levels and has a live canopy of duckweed, anacharis and others. I have standard natural gravel as a substrate. I keep the water turbulance low by using a couple aquaclear 110 as the filtration along with the plants ( I have used larger filtration but they seem to stay hidden when there is alot of current). These guys are very hardy once they get a little size. The biggest challenge seems to compatability. I think the tank set up is critical. The they feel very comfortable among the floating and dense plants. They love to hang out in tubes and caves but they also love to bask on top of elevated flat rocks. I think it also important to leave a large swimming area in the middle of the tank. The floatong canopy keeps shades alot of the light which they prefer. Once confortable they will cruise around the tanks , bask in the open and hang out where you can see them , but is important that they have hiding places where they cannot be seen. They seem to be aware that they are being watched and when people are in the room. I feed them a small snack of pellets every night and a heavy amount of nightcrawlers twice a week. I will also fed them shrimp,krill,grasshoppers, and silversides. I do not often feed them live fish as you can see they won't eat the convict they will eat feeders though. I keep a 3" green terror , 8" Tiger Botia, 6" Common Pleco, 5" Royal Pleco, 8" senegal Bicher, and a 5" sun cat these guys help clean up after them as they are messy eaters which with live plants makes the tanks get sour quickly if they are not being scavanged.They have a pecking order and very much have a dynamic as a group. They are not always peaceful with each other when the big one wants to he will keep the rest of them hidden but wont really do more than initiate minor scuffels . I give them about 12 hours with out lights .. they are very active much of the time the lights are off. I do think it would be good to use sand as a substrate and add some crayfish as regular basis in their diet. also make sure you have a good lid. I hope this is useful . Here are a couple pics of teir setup...
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Indy... THANK YOU very much for all the info! That was very informative. I'm pushing back the delivery of my guys to get their tank ready, going to duplicate what you've done.
Another followup question for you. I was entertaining either the Ery. Red's or the Purples.... or both variants. Was going to get 4-6 total. Do you think they'll be compatable or just go with one or the other? If I went with just one, it'll probably be the Red's. Thanks again for your knowledge.
Another followup question for you. I was entertaining either the Ery. Red's or the Purples.... or both variants. Was going to get 4-6 total. Do you think they'll be compatable or just go with one or the other? If I went with just one, it'll probably be the Red's. Thanks again for your knowledge.