**NEW KELBERI PICS**
- Thread starter Scatocephalus
- Start date
Thanks all for the kind comments. Seeing these fish every day I sometimes forget how spectacular they are. After a few minutes of taking pics and cursing myself because I suck and can't catch their true beauty it always hits me how incredibly beautiful they truely are.
To answer a few questions:
They eat live feeder goldfish exclusively. The larger of the 2 will mouth frozen krill and even eat one occasionally but I have to starve him for 3-4 weeks before he'll even consider it. The smaller fish has never even looked at anything else as food. I've tried all the tricks in the book but after 6 weeks of eating nothing I get a bit nervous and give up.
I used to try and gut load the feeders first but lately I'll just buy a couple hundred and put them in the tank. The Peas simply pick them off as they are hungry. 200 feeders will last 4-5 days and then I'll let them gor for a week with no food. I do feed the feeders when they are in the tank so when the bigger fish do eat them they are getting additional nutrition, in a manner of speaking.
Regarding kelberi attitude and temperment. They are incredibly mellow and even after having gone without food for a week do not attack their food with gusto like my monos and piquiti. In fact, the kelberi used to be in with the piquiti and had to be removed. As of now they are in with a large female pike, 2 jumbo red hook SD & a female Hoplarchus. Every once in a while the kelberi will flare up at the SD but beyond that, nothing. Not even with each other.
Water parameters are; temp 76 (a bit cool but I think it has been beneficial for various reasons), pH 8.4, hardness - liquid rock. Basically they are being kept in the water as it comes out of the tap. In fact, I have a continuous flow of tap water entering the tank performing a never ending water change. Approximately 100% of the tank's volume is replaced on a daily basis.
I plan on placing the kelberi in their own dedicated 180 within the next couple of months and am going to try messing with their environment. Running the temp higher, adjusting pH and hardness and trying to keep them in a sea of food. We'll see if changing these things up makes any difference.
One last note. They are fun to watch play with their food. They will stalk a feeder and suck it in with one big "WHUMP!" After swimming with it in their mouth for several seconds they'll just spit it out. The feeder swims off as if nothing happened. I've always thought it odd that they do this. In fact, they do not, and never have, hit their food like other Cichla species. The piquiti and monos... good lord, they have water dripping off the ceiling at times. The kelberi simply are not as aggressive of eaters. It makes me wonder if they are more of a stalking or even ambush predator than other Cichla species.
In any case, if anyone has any additional questions I'll be more than happy to answer what I can!
To answer a few questions:
They eat live feeder goldfish exclusively. The larger of the 2 will mouth frozen krill and even eat one occasionally but I have to starve him for 3-4 weeks before he'll even consider it. The smaller fish has never even looked at anything else as food. I've tried all the tricks in the book but after 6 weeks of eating nothing I get a bit nervous and give up.
I used to try and gut load the feeders first but lately I'll just buy a couple hundred and put them in the tank. The Peas simply pick them off as they are hungry. 200 feeders will last 4-5 days and then I'll let them gor for a week with no food. I do feed the feeders when they are in the tank so when the bigger fish do eat them they are getting additional nutrition, in a manner of speaking.
Regarding kelberi attitude and temperment. They are incredibly mellow and even after having gone without food for a week do not attack their food with gusto like my monos and piquiti. In fact, the kelberi used to be in with the piquiti and had to be removed. As of now they are in with a large female pike, 2 jumbo red hook SD & a female Hoplarchus. Every once in a while the kelberi will flare up at the SD but beyond that, nothing. Not even with each other.
Water parameters are; temp 76 (a bit cool but I think it has been beneficial for various reasons), pH 8.4, hardness - liquid rock. Basically they are being kept in the water as it comes out of the tap. In fact, I have a continuous flow of tap water entering the tank performing a never ending water change. Approximately 100% of the tank's volume is replaced on a daily basis.
I plan on placing the kelberi in their own dedicated 180 within the next couple of months and am going to try messing with their environment. Running the temp higher, adjusting pH and hardness and trying to keep them in a sea of food. We'll see if changing these things up makes any difference.
One last note. They are fun to watch play with their food. They will stalk a feeder and suck it in with one big "WHUMP!" After swimming with it in their mouth for several seconds they'll just spit it out. The feeder swims off as if nothing happened. I've always thought it odd that they do this. In fact, they do not, and never have, hit their food like other Cichla species. The piquiti and monos... good lord, they have water dripping off the ceiling at times. The kelberi simply are not as aggressive of eaters. It makes me wonder if they are more of a stalking or even ambush predator than other Cichla species.
In any case, if anyone has any additional questions I'll be more than happy to answer what I can!
interesting read, a bit shocking in some areas but interesting. if i remember correctly didnt you put oak leaves in your tank at one time?
B-E-U-TIFUL.....im telling you bro looks like you feed that sucker CRAYONS...he is rediculously colorful...i hope everone elses kelb looks that good!
bOOsteN aUdI;2346415; said:
Shocking in what regard?
And yes on the leaves. Here are pics from that period.
pwmin;2346519; said:
I know right. Now you see why I am with out a doubt never going to concentrait on anything else seriously but my CICHLA! When there this beautiful everything else pale's in comparison.
Great info on your P's by the way Scat. Just fabulous!
