H. Carpintis Maximum SIze

[Modest_Man]

Yes we're talking about carpinte, cyanos can reach 12" no questions about it...
But the carpintis, as some literature suggests, reaches only 8". Is escondido a special strain or hybrid? I am referring to the pure carpintis, not special strains nor hybrids.

H. carpintis "Escondido" is neither a hybrid nor a "special strain". It's simply a collection locale where the original wild fish were caught (aka near Cenote Escondido in Mexico). They tend to be more colorful, and I'd say they have a much better chance of being pure than any general carpintis picked up in a LFS which could have been bred with who knows what in its lineage.

I would try to keep a pair in anything under a 75 gallon, and I'd use the incomplete divider method for that.

 

[Marc280106]

I have seen an adult pair housed in a 10' x 3' x 3' communtiy. The male was every bit a "solid" 11" and female 9".

Aquamojo boast's this male, once in his collection, was 12". And judging from the pictures i have no doubt.

http://forum.aquamojo.com/index.php?showtopic=8476&hl=Escondido

http://www.aquamojo.com/escondido/escondido.html

 

[BlackLagoon]

Just found out from ACA that there are several so called morphs of this species. This is due to different populations of them (probably isolated). I just assumed that some morphs like the escondido do grow to 12" while others do not grow more than 8". Thanks for the help guys.