A few weeks ago I ended up returning a Pike cichlid (Crenicichla sp Venezuela) due to aggression. It pretty much destroyed everything in my 75g tank, and it wasn't even half grown. The space it free'd up led me to my current stock. 5 juvenile Aequidens sp Goldsaum. My goal is to have a breeding pair stable and spawning in the 75g tank. I'd say that all of them are between 3-4 inches long. I am not positive about sexing these fish because visually there aren't any landmark differences. But seeing them side by side and observing their behaviors helps give me an idea of which are probably males, and which are probably females. I also added a shoal of Buenos Aires Tetras and my Parrot cichlid who was being bullied in the big tank.
I'll do my best to keep updating this thread with pictures of their growth, and I also intend to start taking video of some of their behaviors so hopefully you can see some of the aggression vs courtship scenarios. Right now, they are still pretty wary of the camera so videos are difficult but they are becoming more and more outgoing every day.
PICS 6/16/10
The following pictures are of the Alpha Male. Or at least I believe it to be a male. He is the easiest to photograph because he comes out the most. He is the largest, the bravest, and I hope he chooses a female, because I'd hate to have to give this guy up. Lotta potential in this guy.
The following pictures are I believe, another male. Second in command. He's not as large, but he is larger than the rest of the group, and he keeps everyone else below him in line. He frequently displays the dark vertical facial band below his eye.
This is either a subdominant male, or a really nice female.... still not sure. This fish is right in the middle of the pecking order.
And here are some pics of the two remaining females. I frequently mix them up myself. They are almost identical so I'll just put them together. The reason I believe these are females is due to the very thin orange caudal lining they display compared to the thicker orange caudal lining on the males. That, and they are much much smaller.
I'll do my best to keep updating this thread with pictures of their growth, and I also intend to start taking video of some of their behaviors so hopefully you can see some of the aggression vs courtship scenarios. Right now, they are still pretty wary of the camera so videos are difficult but they are becoming more and more outgoing every day.
PICS 6/16/10
The following pictures are of the Alpha Male. Or at least I believe it to be a male. He is the easiest to photograph because he comes out the most. He is the largest, the bravest, and I hope he chooses a female, because I'd hate to have to give this guy up. Lotta potential in this guy.
The following pictures are I believe, another male. Second in command. He's not as large, but he is larger than the rest of the group, and he keeps everyone else below him in line. He frequently displays the dark vertical facial band below his eye.
This is either a subdominant male, or a really nice female.... still not sure. This fish is right in the middle of the pecking order.
And here are some pics of the two remaining females. I frequently mix them up myself. They are almost identical so I'll just put them together. The reason I believe these are females is due to the very thin orange caudal lining they display compared to the thicker orange caudal lining on the males. That, and they are much much smaller.
