One of the ONLY Africans I love. Enjoy these guys they truly are beautiful once they start to get bigger. Hopefully you have a nice male in there, they're the prettier ones. I've only seen this happen a few times but when they are hunting they lay on their sides on the sand and attack from the bottom. Very cool sight to see. The markings on the side help them blend in with the bottom.
My new Venustus tank
- Thread starter latinoheat
- Start date
odd I have heard the same thing, but that they lay at the top. Mine enjoys hanging out in the top corners and swimming down to scare off or eat.
How would they 'lay' at the top? If anything, they'll behave a bit like livingstonii in that they'll play dead (on the bottom) so other fish will either ignore them, or come pick on them like they would on any other dead fish (notice most dead fish will have their eyes picked out overnight?), and then attack the fish as they come in on them. I had some livingstonii in one of my show tanks at Stuart's while I was there, and it was one of the coolest feeding behaviours I've ever seen in captivity. The instant I'd drop in feeders, they'd be laying on their sides not moving, and then snatching up any that came too close.
mike dunagan;736838; said:
Sounds like yours is stressed. My LFS owner is obsessed with these guys and has quite a few tanks of his own with them in it. Usually the stressed fish or fish that get chased more are hiding towards the top. I noticed this at my house when I had 2 Venustus living with a small JD and a small GT. TheyAfricans were at least 4.5" to the 2" of the SA/CA cichlids. A few days later both Venustus died. They never really would show their color well either.
I have had him for about 4 months now. His color just starting showing. He has been doing this since the beginning. It makes sense that he would lay still above the fish as well since he becomes a bluish color. I understand the idea of being stressed, but has being doing this since I have had him. He is also the largest fish in the tank. I have seen this behavior before in venustus.
That's quite the deformed fish you've got there! Did you buy it as one of the 'stubby' ones or whatever they're calling them now?
Any apparant distortion is probably from the angle of the shot. I normally shoot further from the tank angling down, the photo above was closer to the glass pointing up.
Same fish a month and a half ago (2nd post down). If he still looks deformed, then maybe he is:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51882
Same fish a month and a half ago (2nd post down). If he still looks deformed, then maybe he is:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51882
