Red hook or Barred SD

[islandmisfit]

Hi There,

I am looking for opinions on Red hooks vs barred sd. Mostly what people prefer or like or dislike about each species. I currently have 6 of each at 3” in a 300 gallon tank with a small asian arowana. So far i notice the barred seem scrappy with each other and seem to avoid the aro. While the red hooks appear to interact more with the aro around feeding time. They are both aggressive feeders. I am wondering if they mellow out with age? At some point i will likely remove one species or the other and appreciate any feed back. thanks

 

[Bertie07]

If by barred silver dollars so you mean wide bars, if so they get around the same size, the widebars may get a bit bigger but really which one you want to keep depends on the ones you like best as they should really behave in the same way

 

[moe214]

Wide bars get way bigger than red hooks from what I've seen... look at vincentwugwg he has both types at large sizes

 

[islandmisfit]

yes i heard the wide bar get quite large. The ones i have were sold to me as myleus schomburkii. From what i gather there are perhaps a couple of different varients of these. Is there any way to identify from looking at a juvenille fish one from the other. I believe some are referred to as emperor black bars or blue hooks. I cannot seem to find any info on it aside from the physical appearance of mature fish.

 

[Bertie07]

Wide bars get way bigger than red hooks from what I've seen... look at vincentwugwg he has both types at large sizes

Wide bars are said to get around 12” though it’s more common for 10-11” and red hooks get to around 10”, so they usually get to the same size with widebars getting a bit bigger in some cases

 

[Bertie07]

yes i heard the wide bar get quite large. The ones i have were sold to me as myleus schomburkii. From what i gather there are perhaps a couple of different varients of these. Is there any way to identify from looking at a juvenille fish one from the other. I believe some are referred to as emperor black bars or blue hooks. I cannot seem to find any info on it aside from the physical appearance of mature fish.

I think you’ll just have to wait until they get bigger, either way they’re all very nice fish

 

[moe214]

Wide bars are said to get around 12” though it’s more common for 10-11” and red hooks get to around 10”, so they usually get to the same size with widebars getting a bit bigger in some cases

Feel like I read they could get to 16" and some of Vince's I believe are indeed over a foot. But don't quote me on that. Would have to go back through threads.

yes i heard the wide bar get quite large. The ones i have were sold to me as myleus schomburkii. From what i gather there are perhaps a couple of different varients of these. Is there any way to identify from looking at a juvenille fish one from the other. I believe some are referred to as emperor black bars or blue hooks. I cannot seem to find any info on it aside from the physical appearance of mature fish.

There is thin bar and wide bar. Thin bars stay smaller around 7" I believe. The name tells you how to ID them. Should be able to ID pretty easily. As long as the bar is already prominent

 

[islandmisfit]

thanks for the replies. I think they are wide bar as the bar is very prominent. They are both quite interesting fish to watch. Aggressive feeders and very interactive with each other. Alway lots of scrapping and display behaviours towards each other. Also funny how bold they are with the asian aro. The aro tolerates them pretty well so far and if they get too pushy he lets them know and they seem to respect it ha. im looking forward to watching them grow. Ive always been a real cichlid guy so this tank is a departure from what i normally keep which has been mostly discus and i have had a soft spot for oscars. Thanks again for the input.

 

[Chefken]

I dont notice any mellowing with age.....I find they are mostly aggressive towards each other with one usually dominant. I am raising a new shoal myself!

 

[krichardson]

I dont notice any mellowing with age.....I find they are mostly aggressive towards each other with one usually dominant. I am raising a new shoal myself!

Ken,how many do you have?