How to ID juvenile Cichla Temensis...and others.

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KenyanSandBoa

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 20, 2007
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Hey Guys,

I'm new to the peacock bass area of fish keeping and I'm hoping you guys can help me out. I can ID the adult phases of pbass, but I don't think I can tell my ass from my elbow when it comes down to identifying juveniles. I've taken a liking to the cichla temensis in particular, but my lfs only labels pbass as...you guessed "Peacock Bass". Any help here will be greatly appreciated.

I plan on starting them off in my 150 but then moving them into a 300 when needed. What are your thoughts on 4 cichla temensis in a 300...should I go bigger?
 
I'm no Expert or nowhere near an experienced Pbass keeper, but I think that when Tems are babies that have a horizontal Line going across there body with no other patterns.
 
Kobi9019;785637; said:
I'm no Expert or nowhere near an experienced Pbass keeper, but I think that when Tems are babies that have a horizontal Line going across there body with no other patterns.
Click to expand...

In a sense yes. Also look for a fish that is very thin(top to bottom) for the size it is. Watch it though cause a stressed tem and a stressed mono look similar. A stressed mono or even ocellaris will have it's horizontal line go all the way to the head(like a tem) and a stressed tem will develop vertical lines(much like a mono/ocellaris). But look for the solid horizontal line and a slim body shape and you should be ok.

Also 4 in a 300g will probably be ok for a while but a couple xtra gallons wouldn't hurt.
 
cichlaguapote;785812; said:
In a sense yes. Also look for a fish that is very thin(top to bottom) for the size it is. Watch it though cause a stressed tem and a stressed mono look similar. A stressed mono or even ocellaris will have it's horizontal line go all the way to the head(like a tem) and a stressed tem will develop vertical lines(much like a mono/ocellaris). But look for the solid horizontal line and a slim body shape and you should be ok.

Also 4 in a 300g will probably be ok for a while but a couple xtra gallons wouldn't hurt.
Click to expand...

Allright thanks for clearing it up. I remembered reading that the tems were the ones with the horizontal lines. I will keep the stress thing in mind though.
 
Thanks guys. Well, I don't think that's what the lfs has then. I'll continue my search.
 
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