Paratilapia Polleni

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SlightlystoopiD

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 8, 2011
105
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0
San Diego
i know its an African cichlid from Madagascar but its got more characteristics of a south/central american cichlid so i've decided to post here.

i plan on picking one up tomorrow at my local shop.

never seen them for sale anywhere here in san diego but ive always wanted one, so im jumping at this opportunity.

does anyone have any experience or care to share any knowledge about his species?

any advice is much appreciated.

trust me, ive already done my fair share of research, but there really isnt much info floating around the web about these guys...

thanks!
 
ive had a few polleni and bleekeri. go with same care as you would any sa/ca cichlid. they arent as aggressive as most sa/ca cichlids but trust me they can hold there own in the right situation. take care of that fish. they are very hard to come by and almost extinct completely so ive read. check out there cat eyes. there awsome! there are a few members here still keeping these fish hopefully they will chime in. good luck with that awsome find!
 
I had a female. They remind me of an Oscar. They eat a lot, and hang out in the middle and top of the tank. I never saw mine fight, or even flair it's gills. It HATED my Managuensis that lived with her. If it isn't the "boss" it might not have the nice deep black color. It'll be the same shade of brown as an Oscar when stressed. Good luck! Cool fish!

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I'm planning on picking one up shortly to pair with my pearl eartheater, who's quite the load. Great fish. Really sharp looking as adults.
 
Ive had both raised from 2" to 7". My hubby had a polleni at about 8" best specimen i had ever seen about 6yo i think. They can be very good tank mates with oscars, jacks, severums, viejas,catfish and ect. They might get bullied by jags or midas but they can hold there own. Good eaters and very personable at feeding time but ive always found then to be shy and sit back kind of fish not glass bangers. Very tolerant to the forgotten or late water change here or there. Our older one handled 3 moves just fine. They are also rather quick growers not as quick as oscars but 1 year to reach 6" or so well cared for. They are thick burly fish mines ran into everything and would clack the heaters all the time and they are good tank rearranges. Ive never really seen any of the ones weve had use any kind of cave or hide. There method will usually be under a filter or back top of tank. Big ruler o thumb if you dont already know one paratilapia species per tank. Ive had luck raising bleekeri and polleni together to have well behaved adults but not good outcome when introducing one to an others tank. Even male and females will not get along in some cases.


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okay, so i had a little dilemma hold me back from picking him up today but i spoke with the dude that works there and he said he would hold him for me until wednesday.

thanks for the input my fellow fish enthusiasts!

i plan on picking him up along with a green terror roughly the same size(about 2 inches).

im pretty stoked on this right now!
 
Ive had both raised from 2" to 7". My hubby had a polleni at about 8" best specimen i had ever seen about 6yo i think. They can be very good tank mates with oscars, jacks, severums, viejas,catfish and ect. They might get bullied by jags or midas but they can hold there own. Good eaters and very personable at feeding time but ive always found then to be shy and sit back kind of fish not glass bangers. Very tolerant to the forgotten or late water change here or there. Our older one handled 3 moves just fine. They are also rather quick growers not as quick as oscars but 1 year to reach 6" or so well cared for. They are thick burly fish mines ran into everything and would clack the heaters all the time and they are good tank rearranges. Ive never really seen any of the ones weve had use any kind of cave or hide. There method will usually be under a filter or back top of tank. Big ruler o thumb if you dont already know one paratilapia species per tank. Ive had luck raising bleekeri and polleni together to have well behaved adults but not good outcome when introducing one to an others tank. Even male and females will not get along in some cases.


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Here's the pic of that fish..it was the dominant fish in the tank for as long as I had it. Kept it with a mix of lesser aggressive CA, some SA, and a few haps. Awesome fish..highly recommend.

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Think ya could keep one with clown loaches?

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Think ya could keep one with clown loaches?

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As long as they aren't small edible size, I think so. I've never had paratilapias pick on bottom fish
 
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