Istlanum questions

[Brandonclark88]

Howdy. Just ordered 4 istlanum in hopes to get a pair out of them. Any tips or tricks on raising juvies? I know they're prone to bloat when they're young so my main question was about thier diet. What's a good type of pellet to get them on? I already use hikari gold, bio gold, marineland cichlid pellets, tetra color bits, color crisps. I figured I'd keep up on water changes like normal and keep the temp around 80. Any other tips that could be helpful? Thanks!

 

[Buphy]

Never kept them, but good luck breeding them! What size tank are you putting them in?

 

[Brandonclark88]

Thank you. And I'm growing them out in a 40g breeder. Will be in either a 75 or a 125 depending on thier aggression towards each other when they get larger

 

[Athletic_Amph]

you are going to need a 125g minimum in the long run, imho. I attempted to breed a M/F I purchased from Rapps, but was very unsuccessful. I didn't heed the advice of other keepers when they said to keep the M and F separated, and came home from work one day to find the female mutilated... the males can be extremely aggressive towards tank-mates and especially their female, they are true wife beaters. So be sure to provide lots of caves, crevices, and hiding spots for them all

are these the red or green variant? would love to see some pics

 

[Brandonclark88]

They are the green variant I do believe. Purchased them from thatpetplace.com along with some motags as well. Been looking for some grammodes for a while and haven't had any luck finding any so I figured this was the next closest thing lol. And yes I planned on having plenty of hiding spots / caves for them. I'll be using a divider with them once they get large enough to pair off. I'll post pics once they come in and settle in

 

[Andicca]

Had a group of them a few years ago.When they were small, i fed them mostly a spirulina/ veggie flakes until they got to be about 3 inches. Don't feed them too much. I didn't lose any to bloat. However, once a pair forms, I would come home to find one dead every day until all that was left was the pair. Never saw any aggression to their tank mates, no chasing ect, just one by one, they ended up dead lol. They spawned for me once in a 29 gal tank, I personally never had any aggression between the pair. I then moved them to my 75 gallon and they lasted 2 or 3 months in a community, and they died. I dont think they take stress very well, they hid most of the time until I just found them dead. I was worried they'd be aggressive to everyone else, turned out not to be the case.

 

[Andicca]

Had a group of them a few years ago.When they were small, i fed them mostly a spirulina/ veggie flakes until they got to be about 3 inches. Don't feed them too much. I didn't lose any to bloat. However, once a pair forms, I would come home to find one dead every day until all that was left was the pair. Never saw any aggression to their tank mates, no chasing ect, just one by one, they ended up dead lol. They spawned for me once in a 29 gal tank, I personally never had any aggression between the pair. I then moved them to my 75 gallon and they lasted 2 or 3 months in a community, and they died. I dont think they take stress very well, they hid most of the time until I just found them dead. I was worried they'd be aggressive to everyone else, turned out not to be the case.

 

[PYRU]

Good water quality. Underfeed vs overfeed. If you truly want the best odds of keeping a pair then I would separate then reintroduce with a divider once you find out who's who. These are crazy aggressive at very small sizes. One will usually kill off the rest. Really beautiful and underrated cichlid imo.

 

[Brandonclark88]

Thanks for the advice everyone! So feed more of a vegi diet than protein and lighter feedings. Keep water pristine and keep fish an unstressed as possible. Any other tips?

 

[Brandonclark88]

Came in earlier today. Right around 1.5-2". I ordered 5 instead of 4. Pretty happy with how they came in and look. Eating already! Also moved them into an open 75 instead of a 40. Ordered some red tiger motas and some salvini today as well and they were smaller so they went into a couple 40 gallon breeders.