New to this and going big....

[gotfish]

Hi, my name is Luke and I am brand new to keeping Peacock Bass. I've never had an aquarium over 55 gallons until about 3 months ago. I picked up a used 135 gallon for a good price and decided to get some Peacock Bass. I have always been fascinated with these fish and decided that since I wont be going to the Amazon any time soon, I'll just bring them to me! I got my first two pbass last night! I am told that they are 4 weeks old, Cichla Temensis. I think they are about 2". I will be getting another four (six total) in about two more weeks. I was browsing pbass on google today and came across MFK. I am glad I did. Since I am new, any tips, pointers, info, feedback, etc. will be greatly appreciated. Here are some pics of my new friends......

 

[bOOsteN aUdI]

you came to the right place bradda... welcome to the forum and i love how your first post is in the cichla section before everyone flames you i will let you in on a few things. first off i am sorry to tell you but you do not have cichla temensis but you do have cichla monoculus which are just as good but a diff species. second off to keep cichla alive especially when extremely young like yours, your water temp needs to be 87 degrees no lower, you need soft water, and good water water parameters. what are you currently feeding them btw? diet is important and dont worry about feeding them dried or frozen. you can do so later down the road when they are more susceptible to change.

this forum has everything you need to know and the search button is your friend. scroll through the pages of threads. the questions you asked come up very often and there is alot of interesting info and experiences. enjoy your cichla the bigger they get the more beast like they become!

 

[gotfish]

you came to the right place bradda... welcome to the forum and i love how your first post is in the cichla section before everyone flames you i will let you in on a few things. first off i am sorry to tell you but you do not have cichla temensis but you do have cichla monoculus which are just as good but a diff species. second off to keep cichla alive especially when extremely young like yours, your water temp needs to be 87 degrees no lower, you need soft water, and good water water parameters. what are you currently feeding them btw? diet is important and dont worry about feeding them dried or frozen. you can do so later down the road when they are more susceptible to change.

this forum has everything you need to know and the search button is your friend. scroll through the pages of threads. the questions you asked come up very often and there is alot of interesting info and experiences. enjoy your cichla the bigger they get the more beast like they become!

Thanks for the info! My water was at 79 degrees and I just cranked up the heater some more. The water I am using is just tap water from my house. I've never had any "hard water" problems with it before but I'm sure it's not the softest water either. My ph level is a little high at 7.8. I have some "Hikari" brand floating mini cichlid pellets but I haven't seen them eat any yet. They've only been in the tank about 24 hours now, maybe a little stressed. One of my friends told me to feed them with the lights off until they aren't stressed anymore. I might go buy some sinking pellets tomorrow, I was also thinking about kril or brine shrimp but I have no clue! What do you think? I would rather keep them on inexpensive sytle foods. I'm so excited about these fish! I can't wait to see them grow!

 

[itsalmosteasy]

Welcome! Glad you found us and you will find a lot of good info on this site.

More likely than not they will not eat anything but live feeders. Most people have to train their bass to eat "dead" foods and a lot of people feed their bass frozen shrimp from the grocery store being that is about the cheapest way to feed cichla. A lot of people feed their bass live food until their bass are around 6" before switching them.

 

[CichlaRyan]

welcome nice monos and yea boosten kinda said it all O.O good luck with your bass cause pbass are awsome.

 

[Mystus Redtail]

I had luck with frozen bloodworms with mine at that size, but he barely sniffed them compared to when guppies were dropped in.

 

[bassman24]

G'luck with the youngens, you got some future ]V[onsters on your hands for sure.

 

[bOOsteN aUdI]

Thanks for the info! My water was at 79 degrees and I just cranked up the heater some more. The water I am using is just tap water from my house. I've never had any "hard water" problems with it before but I'm sure it's not the softest water either. My ph level is a little high at 7.8. I have some "Hikari" brand floating mini cichlid pellets but I haven't seen them eat any yet. They've only been in the tank about 24 hours now, maybe a little stressed. One of my friends told me to feed them with the lights off until they aren't stressed anymore. I might go buy some sinking pellets tomorrow, I was also thinking about kril or brine shrimp but I have no clue! What do you think? I would rather keep them on inexpensive sytle foods. I'm so excited about these fish! I can't wait to see them grow!

to soften your water add a few pieces of bog or driftwood.. it works great! your in cali you deff have hard water and 7.8 is deff it! add stress coat and prime with water changes and get bog wood in the tank and you should be fine. i doubt your cichla are going to eat anything besides live food untill you train them off of it. i would feed them guppies and live black worms untill they are a few inches. read the getting cichla off live food sticky at the top of the forum.. that is how you should be feeding them right now( one at a time so that when time comes you can train them off live foods) also your cichla are going to be a bit spooky at the size they are.. this is normal right now.. they will jet around and get really dark. any questions let em know or shoot me a pm

 

[bassman24]

One more thing...don't freak out when they change colors like I did. It's perfectly normal.

 

[gotfish]

Thanks guys! You're helping me out a lot. I ran by the local pet shop on my way home today and picked up some feeder guppies, the pbass love'em!!! It was so cool to watch!!!