polleni
- Thread starter baracuda
- Start date
what store did you see them at? i might want to pick another one up if there is more than one at this lfs 
i have one right now. moderately aggressive, but still can't hold it's own against tankmates like a male jag and a female red tiger mota, granted he IS about an inch smaller than they are. all those fish are in a 100 gallon btw. i have the polleni separated from them via divider.
mine eats a lot - krill, frozen foods, pellets and looks to have a decent personality. i think they get around 10" or so. personally i think they are pretty easy to keep, or rather it is my experience that they don't require specific care that is much different from CA or SA cichlids. i could be wrong, but mine so far has been trouble free.
i have one right now. moderately aggressive, but still can't hold it's own against tankmates like a male jag and a female red tiger mota, granted he IS about an inch smaller than they are. all those fish are in a 100 gallon btw. i have the polleni separated from them via divider.
mine eats a lot - krill, frozen foods, pellets and looks to have a decent personality. i think they get around 10" or so. personally i think they are pretty easy to keep, or rather it is my experience that they don't require specific care that is much different from CA or SA cichlids. i could be wrong, but mine so far has been trouble free.
Well i was there yesterday and they have some polleni, snook (splendida the orange ones), 2 atf, some thinbars, indos, aba aba knife, and some other cool stuff....thats what i remember off the top of my head......oh and they are selling the polleni for like 24.99 i think....not sure if thats a good price since ive never seen them in other lfs.
I was under the impression that the Paratilpia Polleni get around 14-16", very thick, and very belligerent towards tankmates..
I also have a belief that many of the tilapia cichlids and west african fish have very unpredictable dispositions.. Kribensis and Jewel Cichlids at times can live with certain tankmates, and destroy other tankmates..
I have also heard a theory with Tilapia Buttikoferi that they are very mild-mannered up until about 6-7", even to the point where they will get picked on by other cichlids and I myself have had african cichlids kill juvenile Buttikoferi.. But, when they hit that 6-7" range, a ticking timebomb goes off in their head and they become very dominant and kill all tankmates..
I have seen it happen before... My current Polleni is about 6" and does not hold his own well with other big cichlids.. only tries to kill the other Polleni.. They have very interesting combat methods compared to Africans and SA/CA cichlids.. They don't flare and lock jaws like i've noticed with other fish, they just get nasty and bite faces and eyes in quick dart and move attacks.
my 16" Buttikoferi kills everything.. but lost a handful of juvies to a group of Mbuna africans in the matter of a few days..
Very interesting fish.. just my observations.
I also have a belief that many of the tilapia cichlids and west african fish have very unpredictable dispositions.. Kribensis and Jewel Cichlids at times can live with certain tankmates, and destroy other tankmates..
I have also heard a theory with Tilapia Buttikoferi that they are very mild-mannered up until about 6-7", even to the point where they will get picked on by other cichlids and I myself have had african cichlids kill juvenile Buttikoferi.. But, when they hit that 6-7" range, a ticking timebomb goes off in their head and they become very dominant and kill all tankmates..
I have seen it happen before... My current Polleni is about 6" and does not hold his own well with other big cichlids.. only tries to kill the other Polleni.. They have very interesting combat methods compared to Africans and SA/CA cichlids.. They don't flare and lock jaws like i've noticed with other fish, they just get nasty and bite faces and eyes in quick dart and move attacks.
my 16" Buttikoferi kills everything.. but lost a handful of juvies to a group of Mbuna africans in the matter of a few days..
Very interesting fish.. just my observations.
Most of the paratilapia can be kept in a 55 as a pair or larger when grouped. They are NOT very aggressive and I would think they would have problems with most central americans.
While they do get a bit on the large size - 20-30cm most stay around the 20cm range or a bit larger.
Spawns can be a bit large as with Centrals. Keep the tank warm 76-94 degrees fahrenheit and watch for ich as a disease that causes them trouble.
While they do get a bit on the large size - 20-30cm most stay around the 20cm range or a bit larger.
Spawns can be a bit large as with Centrals. Keep the tank warm 76-94 degrees fahrenheit and watch for ich as a disease that causes them trouble.
I have one that I have had for almost 9 months. grows about .5-.75" per month. Aggression is mostly conspecfic so they are best kept as single specimens. Can be somewhat sensitive to water quality, so stay on top of water changes. And like most cichlids they will eat most anything that will fit into their mouth. I lost 2 brichardi and almost lost a yellow lab to mine.