Livingstonni care and feeding.
- Thread starter tcarswell
- Start date
Wimmel's comment was spot on.
Male fuscos can become holly terrors, even in large tanks. I've seen a 'young' male fusco dominate every fish in a 7ft 230 gallon tank, to the point that the owner had to permanently remove him. This is often what happens when one attempts to keep a species that kills & eats fish for a living, in a community type set up. It's always a gamble.
Take it from those of us who have seen first hand what can happen when things don't work out.
Male fuscos can become holly terrors, even in large tanks. I've seen a 'young' male fusco dominate every fish in a 7ft 230 gallon tank, to the point that the owner had to permanently remove him. This is often what happens when one attempts to keep a species that kills & eats fish for a living, in a community type set up. It's always a gamble.
Take it from those of us who have seen first hand what can happen when things don't work out.
Care and feeding:
The the Livingstonii Cichlid are omnivorous, so but in the wild they habitually feed on fish so can be considered a piscivore. In the aquarium they do best with a high protein diet, so can be fed live or frozen food, freeze dried krill, pellets, and other high quality foods for piscivores. Occasionally feed mysis and feeder fish, though feeder fish can initiate hunting instincts and cause more aggression. They need herbivorous foods as well to balance out their diet. Young up to 3 to 4 can be fed flake, but after that flake is too messy and will foul the water. Adults do best when fed frozen foods twice a week. They will eat to the point of their stomach being distended, so be very careful to not overfeed.
A minimun 70 gallon tank when small, but because they grow quickly and have a predatory nature, 125 gallons is suggested. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Sand for substrate will make them feel most at home. Sand used for saltwater fish or freshwater can be used. If keeping them with a higher Ph, the saltwater sand can help keep the Ph up.
The Livingstoni needs a large aquarium with lot of hiding places in rocks and wood and a sandy bottom. They need some open areas in which to swim but also like lots of plants such as Vallisneria, which creates a more natural environment for them.
The the Livingstonii Cichlid are omnivorous, so but in the wild they habitually feed on fish so can be considered a piscivore. In the aquarium they do best with a high protein diet, so can be fed live or frozen food, freeze dried krill, pellets, and other high quality foods for piscivores. Occasionally feed mysis and feeder fish, though feeder fish can initiate hunting instincts and cause more aggression. They need herbivorous foods as well to balance out their diet. Young up to 3 to 4 can be fed flake, but after that flake is too messy and will foul the water. Adults do best when fed frozen foods twice a week. They will eat to the point of their stomach being distended, so be very careful to not overfeed.
A minimun 70 gallon tank when small, but because they grow quickly and have a predatory nature, 125 gallons is suggested. They do fine in either freshwater or brackish freshwater but need good water movement along with very strong and efficient filtration. Sand for substrate will make them feel most at home. Sand used for saltwater fish or freshwater can be used. If keeping them with a higher Ph, the saltwater sand can help keep the Ph up.
The Livingstoni needs a large aquarium with lot of hiding places in rocks and wood and a sandy bottom. They need some open areas in which to swim but also like lots of plants such as Vallisneria, which creates a more natural environment for them.
I've lost count as to how many larger predatory species of haps (including livingstonii) that I have seen, and personally kept myself, that have never eaten anything besides a high quality pellet food.
And while N. livingstonii are indeed classified as piscivores, that doesn't mean that they require feeders, or frozen food supplements if one is feeding a high quality dry food. (which also contains some plant matter)
I've also never once heard of anyone keeping this species in a brackish set up.
YMMV
