Got a few questions about festae and community tank

[josh1986]

Hey guys as the title describes I am attempting a big American setup. Mainly all males. I have 2 festae in there aswell. Now 1 festae is definitely a female and I'm thinking the other is male due to blue dorsal and speckling remaining. They are only about 3 inches. They have started to lip lock every now and then and the female seems to flare a bit at the male and circle him a bit. He harrases her every so often too but she is more aggressive. I'm also a bit concerned as the female has been getting stringy white poo and not eating much. All other fish in the tank are fine. Is this due to stress from the two festae being in the same tank or from the other fish? The male is starting to get some stringy poo aswell. He is eating like a beast though. Also can u tell if this jag is male or female? Its grown so fast and I think it's best mates with the freddy I have in there. Would also like to know the gender of the freddy. Is it common for the jag to grow faster than a freddy? Also I have picked up a argentea cichlid a while ago its about 4 inch... Are these cichlids as aggressive as jags and festae? It seems to be becoming a bit of a trouble maker..

 

[ragin_cajun]

your fish have hexamita. feed some food soaked in epsom salt solution as explained in JD's sticky post on the topic. Easiest to do it now while the male is still eating. The female, you might have to net and squirt epsom solution down the throat.

 

[dan518]

+1 to the above,
Jags will outgrow your freddy.
Argentea can be as bad as jags for aggression.
Be prepared to swap stock around, you have alot of heavy hitters in your tank.

 

[philipraposo1982]

your about to have lots of problems with your fish. hith is real in that tank too.

 

[josh1986]

your about to have lots of problems with your fish. hith is real in that tank too.

Hey sorry. What do you mean by real in my tank? I'll treat with Epsom salts. I read the sticky note was really helpful aswell... Also I am going to re home fish as problems start. Right now everyone is getting along but if dramas arise in the future I will re home any fish that don't get along. I am thinking of keeping the Gt, jag, freddy, texas, larger jd and the blackbelt. But I know it is unlikely it will be successful.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Hey sorry. What do you mean by real in my tank? I'll treat with Epsom salts. I read the sticky note was really helpful aswell... Also I am going to re home fish as problems start. Right now everyone is getting along but if dramas arise in the future I will re home any fish that don't get along. I am thinking of keeping the Gt, jag, freddy, texas, larger jd and the blackbelt. But I know it is unlikely it will be successful.

if this is a 250+ gallon tank you might be able to pull that off, in a smaller tank it's gonna end badly for somebody I think. Vieja species tend to hate each other, and black belt and argentea are two of the more aggressive ones.

 

[josh1986]

if this is a 250+ gallon tank you might be able to pull that off, in a smaller tank it's gonna end badly for somebody I think. Vieja species tend to hate each other, and black belt and argentea are two of the more aggressive ones.

Yeah it's about 900 liters so 240gal. I want to upgrade as they grow to a 300gal. Any chance I could keep the festae pair too?

 

[GTS]

Yeah it's about 900 liters so 240gal. I want to upgrade as they grow to a 300gal. Any chance I could keep the festae pair too?

The festae pairing off would not bode well for the tank, Festae grow slowly, but they do grow large. Their reputation for aggression when breeding is 100 percent deserved, at least in my opinion. Even large single specimens can cause problems in tanks that are 8 foot long or longer. There will also likely be problems between the Jag and Freddie, the members of the Parachromis genus do not like each other. Removing the festae and one of the guapotes would be helpful. You might not need to do it now, but you should plan on it.

 

[josh1986]

The festae pairing off would not bode well for the tank, Festae grow slowly, but they do grow large. Their reputation for aggression when breeding is 100 percent deserved, at least in my opinion. Even large single specimens can cause problems in tanks that are 8 foot long or longer. There will also likely be problems between the Jag and Freddie, the members of the Parachromis genus do not like each other. Removing the festae and one of the guapotes would be helpful. You might not need to do it now, but you should plan on it.

OK. So the stock right now in the tank is
2 festae at 3 inch
1 texas at 4 inch
1 blackbelt at 6 inch
1 synspilum at 4 inch
1 green terror at 4 inch
1 vieja argentea at 4 inch
1 jag at 5 inch
1 freddy at 5 inch
2 JD at 4.5 inch & 3 inch
1 Featherfin cat at 5 inch
1 salmon tailed cat at 5 inch
Out of this stock what do u think would work for my tank size

 

[Gourami Swami]

A good bet would be synspilum, texas, freddy, gt, jd's cats. You could add some other slightly smaller cichlids like salvini, sajica to this as well. I think a lot of the other fish on your list are big "heavy hitters" and won't peacefully share the tank long-term. With American cichlids, centrals especially, getting a working combination usually takes a lot of trial and error, and some luck. Can't tell you exactly what combo will work, only educated guesses. You will have to just keep an eye on things and be ready to move fish when necessary.