Looking to add a bass to my collection, suggestions?

[davenmandy]

I have room for 1 bass in my tank, 400 gal, current inhabitants 3 leo rays and a black arowana.

Bass I have owned and don't want:

Orino
Occel
Mono
Temensis
Pinima
Xingu

Bass I have owned and will consider if I can find a rarer variant:

Azul
Kelberi

I would want a really cool spcies of azul, I've seen ones with tons of spangling or really intense blue. I would also consider a rarer Kelberi like a 24k Gold or a Ceara, or any super cool looking one that anyone here mught be able to suggest.

Bass I am unsure about:

Kelrino
Kelzul

3/4 of older bass pictures I have seen turn out looking pretty ugly IMO. I would love a bass with best of both worlds, however most of the time from what I have seen they end up looking pretty bland and do not have the stunning features of the bass I appreciate on their own. If people want to post pictures of an older specimen that came out with very strong, prominent blue's or gold's, I will look into them further.

Not interested in:

Pleizona
Nigromaculata
Intermedia that are under 8 inches and super expensive

What I hope to get out of this thread is some collection points, variants, and most importantly vendors of bass I may be interested in. Don't know much about Kelberi other than I loved my Bahia, but been there done that. From what I see the nice golden GLOW that I liked about mine doesn't seem to present itself in many non-bahia species but a lot of people love them, so I would really appreciate some more pictures and details about cool species. As for the azul, I only know your basic one, no specific collection points, so I was hoping to gather information on cool variants of this species so I have something other than the standard Azul which I have already owned.

All suggestions welcome, PICTURES PLEASE, I would like to add this final fish to my tank and finally complete my vision, this is a bass I would want to keep the rest of its life.

 

[SePPii]

Here is a Mato Grosso Azul I had a while back ago that I picked up from Lovethemfish. He doesn't have any more but a lot of people here do, maybe this will help you.


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[davenmandy]

That's not bad, be interested to see a bigger species. Thank you for your post, your info is exactly the type i want. I heard of thousand island azuls which intrigue me, think with tons of spangling, but i think i am leaning towards a ceara kelberi if anyone knows where I can find one. Appreciate the post, exactly what I wanted to know.

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[SePPii]

No problem. Most cichla have something little different about them from different collection points. It just all comes down to which ones you like best. Just be patient, and save up if you want to find a one of a kind specimen. Cichla game gets kind of expensive with the rarer stuff


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[CichlaRyan]

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, there have been stunning C. Kelberi originating from Bahia, Ceará, Tocantins etc. This can be applied universally, you just have to find the right one (in this case Cichla). Personally I love the golden color of C. Kelberi, they strike a strong presence and illuminate their surroundings. Fortunately, C. Kelberi has become a lot more common in the past few years, allowing hobbyists selection and choice. Because appearance is vital, I would recommend purchasing a more adolescent specimen instead of growing out a fingerling. As complications and risks could possibly yield the return you seek.

Cichla are found in a great deal of South America, as we know plenty of variations among this genus and it's respective species exists. We even have a sticky with a good sum of collection points for Cichla in Brazil found here.

As far as vendors go you know who gets my recommendation.

 

[tomka123]

That's not bad, be interested to see a bigger species. Thank you for your post, your info is exactly the type i want. I heard of thousand island azuls which intrigue me, think with tons of spangling, but i think i am leaning towards a ceara kelberi if anyone knows where I can find one. Appreciate the post, exactly what I wanted to know.

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Here is an older Mato Grosso about 10":

 

[tomka123]

Whatever you choose I would get at least 3-5 of them. Not every fish turns out with "that Look"… If you get a batch you should have a good chance at something special. I would also try to get wild caught… Most everyone here that knows their stuff only buys their stuff from Rapps because they know it is as advertised. Some others like Rare Fish have great reputations too, but even he laid an egg on a recent Intermedia import. I personally get mine straight from Brazil! Your best bet is to get whatever wild caught location strain is available. This year the Minas-Gerais/Ipatinga Kelberi were the ones that came in wild caught, maybe next year will be Ceara or something else. Before the Ipatinga there were lots advertised as Wild Caught from here & Wild Caught from there, but now many of us have them growing up & they are all looking identical… Just smells bad to me! Your last option, if you don't want to grow them from babies is to offer someone like me the money a quality adult fish is worth that is already all grown up, healthy, & beautiful! Good luck with your search!

 

[FLESHY]

Whatever you choose I would get at least 3-5 of them. Not every fish turns out with "that Look"… If you get a batch you should have a good chance at something special. I would also try to get wild caught… Most everyone here that knows their stuff only buys their stuff from Rapps because they know it is as advertised. Some others like Rare Fish have great reputations too, but even he laid an egg on a recent Intermedia import. I personally get mine straight from Brazil! Your best bet is to get whatever wild caught location strain is available. This year the Minas-Gerais/Ipatinga Kelberi were the ones that came in wild caught, maybe next year will be Ceara or something else. Before the Ipatinga there were lots advertised as Wild Caught from here & Wild Caught from there, but now many of us have them growing up & they are all looking identical… Just smells bad to me! Your last option, if you don't want to grow them from babies is to offer someone like me the money a quality adult fish is worth that is already all grown up, healthy, & beautiful! Good luck with your search!

Where do you get your fish?

 

[davenmandy]

Interesting, is there a location for which the azul I see that has tons of spangling on its body collected from? Thank you for the advice tomka, but for my current situation I think that I really only want one specimen and I'll just hope for the best. Rapps and wes are my go to vendors for this, I am already working on this with them. They have both been extremely helpful. Yes wes intermedia didn't turn out, but i can guarantee you 100% he will make it right with the purchasers because that is the type of man he is, i can guarantee he tried his best and I wouldn't put the blame on him. Anyway, i would be willing to pay for a 8+ Inch species but it is hard for people to part with theirs for a fair price, and i do mean fair and not cheap. 100% i want a wild caught. Anyone have pics of the minas-gerais or ipatinga as "adults"?


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[sabmakj21]

I agree with tomka on the part that not every cichla you get from a special collection point will have "THAT look". Because of natural variations and other things affecting the growth of these fish, you almost never know what you will get.
All the bass I ever had looked different and only a select few had traits that I totally loved. I just got in some small azuls that did not come with a specified collection point, but the traits they are showing at this size, I am really liking. I also ordered some Tocantins Azuls that I can only hope live up to the hype.

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