Nimbochromis venustus in a 55g?

[Frank Shortt]

I have a 8 inch Venustus in a 120 gal tank. He lives with a bunch of fronts, pleco,s , white calvus and a bunch of small tedras. He does not hurt any of them. He is just a big sweet pussy cat. Raised him from about 1 inch and the only time he killed was when he was about 2 inches. He took out his brother and has been great ever since.
Also have a male and female about 5 inches . They live with a breeding group of OB Lab.and a breeding group of BN pleco,s and two 2 inch Firemouths. They also are very calm and have not killed anyone . I have not even seen them chase any other fish in the tank. I think Your fish needs more room, a 55 gal just don't cut it for these guys.And a rubber tub,wow. That is just plain mean. If this is the best you can do for this fish, You should take it back , sell it , or just give it away to someone who can give it the proper care and home it needs.

 

[mike dunagan]

How is a tub a bad home?

 

[cichlidgirl]

How is a tub a bad home?

I guess it would depend on the size of the tub and how long you kept it in the tub. I have seen some very large tubs nowdays for storage. I used the super large oversized tubs ( 70 - 75 gallons, around that size) when i moved to my new home couple years ago, but the fish only lived in it for 2 days and it had filter and heater and bit of gravel and plants (like a hotel room for fish LOL) The tub was close to 4 feet long and 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide. Super sized.

If its a smaller tub then that would be wrong, or if the poor fish stayed in it for more than a week no matter what size it was since it would be dark all the time.

 

[kay-bee]

I would think that a 55 would be fine. The venestus will only get about 10 inches. If a grown oscar (messy marvin) can live in a 55. I would think he could..

Venustus can be 'kept' in a 55gal, but should be 'ideally kept' in a 6ft tank to satisfy both their full grown size and active swimming nature.

 

[Acer]

I've never heard of problems with keeping a fish in a tub, especially if only temporary. Think indoor pond

He has ~60g of water right now, and the water parameters after 1 week are perfect (0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 5ppm nitrate). The shape is a little deeper than I'd want, but like I said, it is temporary. I put a big pane of glass over top with a light, so he isn't in the dark

I love goldfish, and I hate hearing about one in a 10g, so I know where you guys are coming from (I got that 130g for 6 of my guys ). I knew people wouldn't like the 55g... and I'm sure I'll understand when I put him in there and see how much room he has/doesn't have, and go from there.

I was poking around the garden yesterday and grabbed a nice work. Put him in cold water for a bit and then tossed him in the tank... the venustus appreciated it

I'm going to try a couple of peas soon. Right now he is getting NLS cichlid as the basis of his diet, with Omega One freeze-dried shrimps, frozen mysis shrimp, and some blood worms as treats. Love watching him eat

 

[Acer]

A late update... I have some better pics on a different computer.. but here he is

Yup, it's a venustus... I still have that PVC 'cave' in there; I want to make a rock cave, but haven't gotten around to it. And he likes it

Love the way this guy changes colours based on lighting and how moody he is.

 

[mike dunagan]

wow really blue.

 

[Acer]

Yeah, he has his moments where the blue on his face and dorsal area is intense. Other times it vanishes and the spots turn black and really stick out.

I tried feeding him juvenile Midas cichlids... he gave a good chase and that was it! I guess his aggression is reserved for other venustus'...

 

[African Freak]

damn thats a good looking Ven.!! Has to be the best looking one ive seen.