Tips for raising a Festae

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I have raised 2 separate groups of fry before. 1 on regular NLS pellets, 1 on NLS Grow. The males in the group which were fed NLS achieved 5" in approx 9 mos and gleemed with color. I did not get the same results with the NLS Grow.
Also fed NLS Thera-A to a group of 4 Umbees, and pair of Red Texas. The males sprinted to 6" in approx 5.5 mos.
Thus i have good and not so good results with the product.
 
Like I wasn't expecting Billy Bomilly to come in & inform everyone what the expert way is to raise a festae cichlid, because the dietary requirements of festae differ so greatly from every other omnivorous cichlid found in SA. No doubt you would have those same people believing that a festae from Ecuador would require different amino acids, fatty acids, etc, than festae found in Peru. :ROFL:

I have no issue with anyone that wants to supplement their fishes diet with live, or frozen but to suggest that one has to feed live blackworms, crustaceans with shells such as small mealworms, grubs, snails, etc and supplement that diet for the fishes lifetime in order to provide optimum health, is simply Bomilly BS. ;)

As far as Archie, the fish in your avatar - what does he have to do with anything? You certainly didn't grow Archie out, in fact that wasn't your tank, or fish, or even your camera when that picture was taken.

BTW - I never said that I have a decade or two in cichlids, I've been a student of fish of all types for the past 45 years.


To the OP, perhaps one of the nicest adult pair of festae to ever grace the MFK forums - and both were fed NLS as their main staple. I guess the owner of those fish kept them in less than optimal conditions. <insert rolling eyes gif>

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...15243-Eye-Candy-a-k-a-Festae-Treat-yourself-D

Again, I have no issue with anyone that wants to feed live or frozen treats to their fish, but from a nutritional stand point it certainly isn't required, at least not with the pellets that you are currently feeding. I wouldn't get too excited about having to rush out & buy black worms, snails, meal worms, or frozen krill.
 
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Very scientific analysis gents, I'm sure that the OP will take that data into careful consideration when determining how Balton's festae shown in the previous link turned out. lol
 
Can't stand to hear any voice but your own, eh ArrrDeee?

O/P asked for tips from Festae keepers. You called respondents kids and advise her to ignore everyone except you. You act in a condescending manner and when your tone is challenged you get all butt-hurt. Now you put words in my mouth and dredge up old debates in an effort to remain relevant.

FYI,
I didn't say that I grew Archie out. But I know who did and what he was fed. Sir.

GL O/P. Enjoy your little fella. Go with what you're most comfortable with.
 
I can not understand why every other thread on this forum turns into a fight between NLS and non-NLS people! Seriously, OP asked about raising festae can't we say "some good pellet food" will do, and resist from saying negative about the other point of view (whether you feed NLS or Hikari or whatever). This is becoming childish!
 
I have only kept 5 festaes in my fish keeping career and with all of them i started them on omega one cichlid pellets till they where big enough to eat hikari bio gold, massivore(not much though), frozen treats as in spurlina brine shrimp which i loved feeding my male he would really show how aggressive he was when ever he ate that. also frozen krill. And i also feed them freezed dried krill.
What type of filter where you thinking about running on the 29 or possible 75 that you are looking for?
But depending on the filter i would do water changes weekly.
Take out about 30 - 40% depending on if you have substrate/decorations.
And congrats on your first festae! They are awesome had my male since a juvie is about 9 -10 inches now. He is my avatar :)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
OP, regardless on what food you use, however I do highly recommend NLS, water changes is key to their health. You mentioned that you wanted them to thrive and not just live. So NLS and weekly 50-75% water changes is definitely a good start.

Make sure you use Prime when doing your water changes! Keep us posted, we here at MFK love photo updates!

Welcome to MFK! You will not be disappointed with your choice of fish!
 
OP, everyone above has given at least partially good advice. If youre going to use live food, I wouldnt recommend feeder fish, even when the festae gets big enough to handle them well. Unless you breed them yourselves, feeders can be major disease carriers. I prefer freeze dried foods for treats for the fish. I only have 1 festae I'm growing out right now, and I'm sticking to pellets and weekly water changes with ample hiding places for it to rest. A friend of mine has raised several festae this way that he traded away and he had success with them.
 
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