The "little big guy" - Dicrossus maculatus

[JK47]

My "liittle" big guy. That is a hydor V sponge behind him if it help put into perspective, right about 4" TL. I have two small females (I hope) growing out for him right now. I wish I could find a large female close to his size.







He's has claimed the large pile of DW in the middle as his own.







I loaded this picture on accident sorry. Nice cory though lol...

 

[Nemesis]

Very nice. I was thinking about getting some of them.

 

[ceeej31]

he's a beast, all the ones I've seen were tiny

 

[JK47]

he's a beast, all the ones I've seen were tiny

Same here. In the first pic, on the right there is a small 1" of what I am hoping is a female. He is on the left behind the leaf. The cory is 2". This little guy is a tank! He goes bananas for cut up market shrimp.

 

[jag123]

Nice blues on that apisto - thanks for sharing.

What type of leaves do you have in the tank - I can't identify them(maple, oak?) Do they help buffer your water a little bit or are they purely for aquascape?

Nice looking sterbai too.

 

[JK47]

Nice blues on that apisto - thanks for sharing.

What type of leaves do you have in the tank - I can't identify them(maple, oak?) Do they help buffer your water a little bit or are they purely for aquascape?

Nice looking sterbai too.

Thanks Paul, they are oak hardwood. They release humic acids into the water column, among other benifits. There are many dwarf cichlids that spawn on leaves or help encourage them to spawn. I think it looks great too, it replicates what many would see in the wild. No live plants, lots of decaying vegitation. In my case adding them makes the big guy more confident. Without leaves he hides more.

Side note do some homework if you decides to try leaves. They must be "cured" before being added to a tank and only leaves of hardwoods can be used. Just dumping any old pile of leaves in can crash your tank very quickly.

 

[jag123]

Thanks for the info Justin - I enjoy checking out your fish - especially the Satanoperca you keep.

 

[JK47]

Very nice. I was thinking about getting some of them.

Thanks David! Get some, they would be lovely to photograph if I had a decent camera..

Thanks for the info Justin - I enjoy checking out your fish - especially the Satanoperca you keep.

Thanks! Satanoperca are my favorite genus! These guys are in my play/fry tank. I wish I would have experiemented with leaves sooner. The behavioral differences are pretty dramatic. I am thinking of moving my Laetacara cuurviceps pair to this tank as well. Still undecided.

 

[ryansmith83]

I love this guy. I wish I had grabbed some up when they were for sale, but I was raising fry in all of my small tanks at the time. Keep us posted!

 

[robo monster]

i envy you , great looking fish