Experience with Herichthys Pearsei

[TheRayMaster]

Hey everyone,
I was thinking of stuff to put into my new 200 gallon and everyone says to stay away from Oscar and Peacock Bass cause they get too big. I was looking at some other cichlids and I saw Herichthys Pearsei. Does anyone know if it is a community type fish and how big it gets?
Any information on this would help. Thanks!

 

[SouthCentral]

Hoping to have some info for you in the next two days. A friend of mine (another cichlid nut) is just coming back from the ACA today and he had purchased a pair of them while there. I'm sure I can get a fair amount of info out of him, as he purchased them from a breeder.

 

[KNH]

I have a ~7.5" pearsei that is a great fish. They do get large though somewhere ~16" or so. He is mild mannered and I'm planning on parting with him soon b/c my bocourti won't leave him alone.
KNH

 

[TheRayMaster]

Thanks guys. Anyone got some pics? I have seen one that has some blue and yellow on it. Dont know if that is a light enhanced pic or not. Guessing it was a male. Around what size do they color up if at all?

 

[Wonder11]

I have a ~7.5" pearsei that is a great fish. They do get large though somewhere ~16" or so. He is mild mannered and I'm planning on parting with him soon b/c my bocourti won't leave him alone.
KNH

Funny...I have a H. pearsei, , he's 12"+ and a H. bocourti that is 7"+ and I had to seperate them as well.

 

[shrimpsauce]

they get pretty big compared to a lot of other CA cichlids, and very massive.
i had a 9" male in my 600g that, at the time was the dominant fish in the tank (everything else was the same size or smaller). mine colored up at 4".
mine ate a lot of plant matter, and pretty much anything else. it wasnt overly aggresive, but killed the otehr pearsei in the tank.

 

[KNH]

Funny...I have a H. pearsei, , he's 12"+ and a H. bocourti that is 7"+ and I had to seperate them as well.

My pearsei and bocourti are both ~10" now and the bocourti still dominates. I'm trying to keep both but its still a toss up whether or not it will work. How old is your pearsei?
KNH

 

[Wonder11]

My pearsei and bocourti are both ~10" now and the bocourti still dominates. I'm trying to keep both but its still a toss up whether or not it will work. How old is your pearsei?
KNH

I've only had him a couple of months, but when I got the H. bocourti and tried to put him in with him he badgered the bocourti so much I had to put him in another tank! The H. pearsei DID come out of a 200gal with a pike cichlid, a V. synspilum, a Midas, a Black Belt and an assortment of "Aquatic Rats" (Convicts) He was the mellowest in the tank, but big enough to stand his ground (at 12" +)!

 

[k0y0te]

mine colored up at 4".

wow thats awsome! mine at about 5 but not color yet! i hope he gets as nice as yours.

 

[peathenster]

As others said pearsei actually get bigger than the other two you mentioned. They are mellow to a point, and can get nasty when they are fully grown. Make sure you include a lot of veggie in the diet.