Female Festae-owner responsive????

[cichlid2006]

Actually either fish would make a great pet imo. I've owned a number of Festae and only one GT in my fishkeeping days. I had a GT for eight years and he was very owner responsive and was even a glass banger when my wife came in the room. I don't know how he recongnized her but he did. My Festae have never been as responsive as that GT but for some reason I still like them better. You also might have to take the tank size into consideration. The GT was in a 55g his whole life whereas my Festae are in much larger tanks. Smaller tanks make fish act differently ime.

tbh its the colour of the female festae thats getting my attention. they are so striking in photos ive seen and i know photos never catch the full beauty of a fish so i can only imagine how nice festae look face to face. I have had a GT and he was amazing, so responsive with both the wife and me. so he is my baseline for how responsive i would like a fish to be.

the cichlid i choose will be going into the tank without other cichlids. only 6 pictus and a BN plec or 4 pictus, BN plec and a senegal bichir.
i do have a short list of the cichlids i am able to get:

wild ecuador female festae
trimac
GT (saum)
Lyonsi
Texas (Carpinte)
midas
vieja synspilum

i do keep coming back to the festae colours though but personality has to be a factor along with attitude, i dont care if its rage focused at me or not just big attitude would be nice.

 

[Ryanmahe]

from what ive noticed having a festae for only about a week now, she acts like an osccar haha. everytime i come she begs for food and eats like a horse, swims infront of the tank allday. from personal experience i find them very owner responsive.

 

[balton777]

tbh its the colour of the female festae thats getting my attention. they are so striking in photos ive seen and i know photos never catch the full beauty of a fish so i can only imagine how nice festae look face to face. I have had a GT and he was amazing, so responsive with both the wife and me. so he is my baseline for how responsive i would like a fish to be.

the cichlid i choose will be going into the tank without other cichlids. only 6 pictus and a BN plec or 4 pictus, BN plec and a senegal bichir.
i do have a short list of the cichlids i am able to get:

wild ecuador female festae
trimac
GT (saum)
Lyonsi
Texas (Carpinte)
midas
vieja synspilum

i do keep coming back to the festae colours though but personality has to be a factor along with attitude, i dont care if its rage focused at me or not just big attitude would be nice.

One thing to keep in mind is that female Festae might not be colored up all the time unless kept with other cichlids. If it's the only cichlid in the tank, it might stay more of a duller red color a lot of the time. When kept with other cichlids they'll stay colorful for dominance issues or mating. I'm not trying to steer you away from them, just want to help you make an informed decision. They're one of my favorite cichlids. On your list, I also really like Lyonsi, Trimac and Carpinte Escondido.

 

[cichlid2006]

One thing to keep in mind is that female Festae might not be colored up all the time unless kept with other cichlids. If it's the only cichlid in the tank, it might stay more of a duller red color a lot of the time. When kept with other cichlids they'll stay colorful for dominance issues or mating. I'm not trying to steer you away from them, just want to help you make an informed decision. They're one of my favorite cichlids. On your list, I also really like Lyonsi, Trimac and Carpinte Escondido.

i would rather not put another cichlid in there as i want the centre piece to be perfect with no tattered fins and i think the only small cichlid that could go in with a festae to keep the colours up would be a con. but thats not fair on the con getting chased all the time or on the festae having to constantly assert its dominance.
i was hoping the catfish would provide enough annoyance to keep the festaes colours bright without bugging it too much or getting murdered.

maybe the festae isnt for me then. i will have to look up the rest of my list to try and decide.
thanks for taking the time to help guys

 

[orbit]

If I may, look up Amphilophus red Isletas. This is my next fish.

 

[tankboy_taylor]

If I may, look up Amphilophus red Isletas. This is my next fish.

definatly one of my next cichlids when I get tank space

my festae is somewhat owner responsive but not like my gold sev or gts. it is spooked easily and doesnt go near the top of the tank in fact I just removed its only tankmate and it has gotten a little more owner friendly

 

[hailmike]

mine have their days, sometimes they're like friggin' dogs that haven't seen you in days and pee everywhere because they're so excited and other days they're 'oh hey, ok i'm gonna go over here now.'