Is this a Nasty cichlid?
- Thread starter Wildcat157
- Start date
If anyone with experience like a moderator is still following this post I have a specific question.
I have been researching a little and see that this species is prone to bloat which I was unaware of.
Many articles including on this site recommend increased tank temperatures some is high is 86° f.
That seems ridiculously high to me.
Also, I see others recommending aquarium salt.
Is there any science behind these recommendations, why is the species so prone to stress induced bloat?
It's a shame.
Sincerely
I have been researching a little and see that this species is prone to bloat which I was unaware of.
Many articles including on this site recommend increased tank temperatures some is high is 86° f.
That seems ridiculously high to me.
Also, I see others recommending aquarium salt.
Is there any science behind these recommendations, why is the species so prone to stress induced bloat?
It's a shame.
Sincerely
Although the first ones I tried seemed prone to bloat, .... by following a few simple recommendations and doing research, that was not the case later on.
As someone mentioned previously, they aren't a community fish. If they can't kill other fish in the tank, they may be intimidated into stress, and may bloat.
They are the only endemic cichlid to the island of Hispaniola so its not surprising that other "similar" appearing cichlids in the tank would trigger aggression.
As they are loaners in nature (except when spawning), they prefer a tank to just themselves, or as a compatible pair.
A pair i had lived about 5 years peacefully (most of the time) together in a 6 ft tank, until a week long winter power outage killed the female.
I did research on the water temps in their natural waters, and most places they were found, had water temps in the mid to upper 80s
They are omnivores, and some have found a diet too high in protein causes them to bloat, so I used a pellet high in Spirulina and algae as a staple.
I did not use salt, and more importantly IMO, always did enough water changes to keep nitrate below10ppm .
They are very attentive parents.
One of my favorite species of all time.
Ron Georgione had one that would constantly win awards at ACA (American Cichlid Assn) conventions.
Whenever a passer by would get close enough to its tank, it would accurately splash a shower of water on that person (me included)
They have an immense personality that can rival that of any cichlid
As someone mentioned previously, they aren't a community fish. If they can't kill other fish in the tank, they may be intimidated into stress, and may bloat.
They are the only endemic cichlid to the island of Hispaniola so its not surprising that other "similar" appearing cichlids in the tank would trigger aggression.
As they are loaners in nature (except when spawning), they prefer a tank to just themselves, or as a compatible pair.
A pair i had lived about 5 years peacefully (most of the time) together in a 6 ft tank, until a week long winter power outage killed the female.
I did research on the water temps in their natural waters, and most places they were found, had water temps in the mid to upper 80s
They are omnivores, and some have found a diet too high in protein causes them to bloat, so I used a pellet high in Spirulina and algae as a staple.
I did not use salt, and more importantly IMO, always did enough water changes to keep nitrate below10ppm .
They are very attentive parents.
One of my favorite species of all time.
Ron Georgione had one that would constantly win awards at ACA (American Cichlid Assn) conventions.
Whenever a passer by would get close enough to its tank, it would accurately splash a shower of water on that person (me included)
They have an immense personality that can rival that of any cichlid
Thank you for that reply. Your insights are helpful.
Also, those were some beautifully majestic Haitians you had.
Looks like the key is to reduce their environmental stress by not having any tank mates no matter how docile, and pristine water parameters. I may have to take out the few Mbuna that I do have.
I understand what you're saying about their native Homeland water temperatures being high and they are omnivores in the wild.
Increased water temperatures obviously decrease the oxygen content which is something I think about. But I do have an eheim diffuser and pump with good aeration.
Plant-based foods versus high protein food always seem to be a bit of an oxymoron to me when it comes to float in fish. Even people that eat a lot of vegetables it usually produces more gas (at least in me!)
Nonetheless, most the spirulina pellets I see on the market today are very small. A large fish such as these could consume a bottle in a few days.
I saw a German product called soft spirulina. I ordered the product thinking that it might be high quality but was disappointed when it arrived in a tiny little container and again the pellets were pretty small.
Is there a spirulina product out there that is large like 5 to 7 mm that anyone knows of?
Thank you
Also, those were some beautifully majestic Haitians you had.
Looks like the key is to reduce their environmental stress by not having any tank mates no matter how docile, and pristine water parameters. I may have to take out the few Mbuna that I do have.
I understand what you're saying about their native Homeland water temperatures being high and they are omnivores in the wild.
Increased water temperatures obviously decrease the oxygen content which is something I think about. But I do have an eheim diffuser and pump with good aeration.
Plant-based foods versus high protein food always seem to be a bit of an oxymoron to me when it comes to float in fish. Even people that eat a lot of vegetables it usually produces more gas (at least in me!)
Nonetheless, most the spirulina pellets I see on the market today are very small. A large fish such as these could consume a bottle in a few days.
I saw a German product called soft spirulina. I ordered the product thinking that it might be high quality but was disappointed when it arrived in a tiny little container and again the pellets were pretty small.
Is there a spirulina product out there that is large like 5 to 7 mm that anyone knows of?
Thank you
I have also used Soft Spirulina and my fish preferred it to some of the rock hard type.
I found soaking really hard pellets in little garlic liquid, and drop of liquid vitamin for a couple minutes could make them more palatable to some cichlids.
I found soaking really hard pellets in little garlic liquid, and drop of liquid vitamin for a couple minutes could make them more palatable to some cichlids.
New Life Spectrum mini wafers Algaemax. My 14" catfish and 12.5" pike have no issue eating this size. My 6" GT also gobbles this up.
It's also got 2-3 different types of algae. The next size up is Algaemax Jumbo, but it comes only in 600g or kilo containers.
