Rio Negro.....Temensis. LOAD WARNING

[Matt724]

WOW! beautiful

 

[Superlaz]

Reds are there from a young age. Im referring to the blue hues in the dorsal, the yellow on the cheeks/Belly, and the loss of overall brown color and speckling and becoming a more 'solid' color.

As for John's Tems, I think this has been touched on on and off on various threads. My opinion is they are from a different location/collection point than the bulk of those in the hobby. The amount of spangling on them is outrageous. Beautiful fish, but again, not the norm in the hobby. Their body shape also seems off too me atleast. I dont know if they are wild caught, or farmed...doesn't matter to me...my point being that they are from a different source than the majority of the Tems we encounter in the hobby.

 

[gangster]

^^^^ i agree his tems have tons of speckles and seem really tall compared to most others. But on top of that his tank isnt an average size monster tank.

 

[pwmin]

I still maintain that tems are my favorite cichla (besides azul azuls)...just sucks that they get so large

 

[mjuniorc]

Great thread LAZ.... Ur making me miss my tem... The pic I sent u of him, if u look back he had potential...

 

[fhawk362]

Much of the mechanisms we have on our aquariums is to "clarify" the water. I wonder if this somehow bleaches out our captive fish. The water would have to make a difference, maybe the darker water increases the colors to some degree.

Laz I know you are from South Florida, I used to fish in Glades all the time, some of the Mayans we would catch were brilliant red. After some time in captivity, they lost that shine. The water in canals off of OLD 41 were tanin colored..........also the mayans ate a lot of grass shrimp, that improves the reds in fish.

Maybe the pbass down there are also eating crustaceans which would bump up their red colors. Just some thoughts. Could be the fish that the pbass feed on are feeding on crustaceans, therefor the pbass are getting the red that way.

Very true, the dark water fo the everglades always has darker fish, the mayans are dark dark red, the oscars arte nearly pitch black and the LMBs are some of the darkest around.

It may not have everything to do with it cause in my tank i have one really light colored mayan as well as one thats really drak, but i do believe it plays a pretty big role.

 

[silverdragon]

unbelievable

 

[Superlaz]

Great thread LAZ.... Ur making me miss my tem... The pic I sent u of him, if u look back he had potential...

That he did. You'll run into some new Tems man...just give it time. In the meantime, you can continue growing out some of your current beauties

Very true, the dark water fo the everglades always has darker fish, the mayans are dark dark red, the oscars arte nearly pitch black and the LMBs are some of the darkest around.

It may not have everything to do with it cause in my tank i have one really light colored mayan as well as one thats really drak, but i do believe it plays a pretty big role.

As mentioned earlier, I think Natural environments bring out the best in fish..for whatever the reasons.

unbelievable

That they are. A full grown Tem in breeding colors, and a full grown Monoc are the most impressive cichla in my eyes...perhaps its because they have the most range of colors, or maybe its a familiarity deal since these fish were the main staples for a cichla fanatic for so long...regardless...beautiful fish.

 

[mad ness]

currently growing out a pair of tems. when i got them, chose from about 50 5-6" fish. Some of them were that dark brown, the others were really light colored, almost like a washed out orange. got one of each. the lighter one's darkened back up, but consistently lighter color. lots of speckles. how big a space you guys reckon would be requiered to keep a pair?

and how are they with other pbass and fish of same size? at current size, they are really docile.

 

[selki]

While food does play a part, and "perfect" water (according to the species) is important too, I really think it's the sunlight that matters most. The fish in my outdoor tank color up great even no matter the food or water conditions.

I recently gave a pond fish to Reagan, and he said he's already starting to fade.

Gorgeous tems by the way, but I hope it doesn't make a bunch of people with 100 gallon tanks think they should go buy one!

I agree.