Growout question for Cubans
- Thread starter Chelu
- Start date
Thanks for the reply. I read that thread previously, my question was more so how many would be a good quantity to grow out? I would have ample filtration along with big water changes. Do you think 15 of them would be a good quantity until around 4 inches? I am assuming that by that size I can sex them. Thanks again.
The 1st time I had tetracanthus, starting with 6 or 8 (can't remember) the largest male ate all his brothers and sister, after a serious growth spurt.
So if you get any disparity in sizes, separate the smallest from the largest, right away.
In this way, you may end up with a few live females, and a pair.
When mature, if a female is willing, a male will defend her against all others, against cichlids, whatever. he deems a threat
And if the pair bond is strong, it could go on for years, but allowing no other tank mates.
So if you get any disparity in sizes, separate the smallest from the largest, right away.
In this way, you may end up with a few live females, and a pair.
When mature, if a female is willing, a male will defend her against all others, against cichlids, whatever. he deems a threat
And if the pair bond is strong, it could go on for years, but allowing no other tank mates.
One more question. What would you suggest as a good growth diet? I'm not trying to grow quickly as much as I would healthy. I am currently feeding NLS/Northfin veggie pellets. Would bloodworms be ok? Etc? I read they are prone to bloat, so I want to make sure I feed them the best diet.
Thanks again
Although it is thought bloat is diet related, I believe general stress is the main bloat factor.
So if large ones, can intimidate smaller ones (or other more alpha cichlid tank mates), the smaller island cichlids will bloat.
Your 125 may be large enough, but in case you notice aggression, (overt or subtle) sometimes separating them from each other, with barriers, or in separate grow out tanks until large enough to select mates helps.
I have found Caribbean cichlids don't always react well to other cichlid species either .
On Cuba, or Hispaniola there is only the one cichlid species per island, so keeping them in a cichlid community may be problematic.
If water quality is allowed to degrade, water temp to high or low, is another factor that may contribute to bloat.I lost my first haitiensus with too low a temp, and growing them out, with another cichlid species growing out in the same tank.
A good pellet should be enough, with many small feedings throughout the day, as opposed to 1 or 2 large gorged type.
When I first had haitiensus this article helped in understanding island conditions
Oh, Island in the Sun. The Dominican Republic by Alf Stalsberg ...https://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=55&lang=de
So if large ones, can intimidate smaller ones (or other more alpha cichlid tank mates), the smaller island cichlids will bloat.
Your 125 may be large enough, but in case you notice aggression, (overt or subtle) sometimes separating them from each other, with barriers, or in separate grow out tanks until large enough to select mates helps.
I have found Caribbean cichlids don't always react well to other cichlid species either .
On Cuba, or Hispaniola there is only the one cichlid species per island, so keeping them in a cichlid community may be problematic.
If water quality is allowed to degrade, water temp to high or low, is another factor that may contribute to bloat.I lost my first haitiensus with too low a temp, and growing them out, with another cichlid species growing out in the same tank.
A good pellet should be enough, with many small feedings throughout the day, as opposed to 1 or 2 large gorged type.
When I first had haitiensus this article helped in understanding island conditions
Oh, Island in the Sun. The Dominican Republic by Alf Stalsberg ...https://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=55&lang=de