few questions about H. psittacus & stocking question

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honda237

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Mar 28, 2009
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kalamazoo, Michigan
ok i've always had interest in these guys, so i have a few questions.
I know they don't do well in high ph water, now my question is, could they stand to be in ph of 8.0 for about a month to a month and a half?
whats their temperment like?
would they do ok with severums, and geos?
What size do the males max out at?
are they big plant eaters?

My plan is, when i move in about a month, i want to run RO(or do something that will lower the ph) water for my 180g.
Everything would be going in a 180g for probably about a year, then i would like a 240 or 300g. so my question is, would everything do fine in a 180g for about a year?
3 or 4 severums (two are about 5", the rest are 3")
8 geos (1 4", 1 8", 6 2.5")
6 guinacara (6 2"-3")
1 red tail shark
15+ tetras
+ 1 H. psittacus
Thanks for any help.
 
My experience is that they can be a bit pushy. I raised out a group of 6 until they were about 4", then I kept the biggest for my display tank and sent the rest to John (snookn21).

The one I kept does not back down to anything. In just a few months he's gone from a 1" baby to being about 7" long and is currently almost as big as my 2 year old severums. I've noticed lately that he's definitely aiming for top spot on the pecking order. He's well-behaved when I'm around the tank, but occasionally I peek in the door to see him, mouth open, barging at my severums and chocolate cichlid. Most back down to him, but a few of the male severums have a go. Every few days I find some frayed fins and missing scales. Nothing too serious yet, though.

If you get them, get them as small as you can. They grow extremely quickly. Watch them around the severums -- sometimes they get along well, sometimes they push each other around. Like any large SA cichlid, it's really down to the individual personality of the fish. Like I said, I haven't seen any really bad damage, just some typical cichlid arguing.

It should also be noted that mine were voracious eaters, similar to my Uaru, and they pushed everything else out of the way when it came to feeding time.
 
i think if you start out with a young psittacus you will be ok. i've had mine since sept '08 at .25". its about 11" now and i think its a female. its always been with other cichlids and just recently began to cause problems by chasing pretty much everyone in the tank besides the plecos and flagtail. i'm considering moving it to my 75g by itself. up until now it really only didn't like my datnoid and pike.
 
I had a group of these and found them to be quite aggressive and voracious eaters. My male was about 14" when I sold him. I think you're better off with a chocolate in that setup. My Psittacus would also eat smaller fish like Rainbowfish if they could fit it in there mouth.
 
They are amazing cichlids ! Mine is 10" and not aggressive at all except it can't stand a pike cichlids and they display at each other without fighting . Mine is in a 260g mixed tank and probably my favourite cichlid
 
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