To Zonatum or not to Zonatum?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
J

Jmart159

Piranha
MFK Member
Jul 13, 2009
1,142
45
81
39
Tampa, Florida
I tried asking this once without too much feed back I figured I'd try one more time.

Do you think I could keep a Zonatum in a 130 with a Syn and a pair of Nics? The Syn would more than likely be the bigger of the two.

I'd really like to hear from some hobbyist that have kept both of these fish. Thanks everyone -JMart
 
I had a 7 + " Zo for 4 months, who I took in because a devil tore him up. Tried courting everything, He was great for 2 month, then began a rampage and I sold him.
 
I have kept Zonatum (Laguna Dolores) with Synspilum, both males and both same size. I found the Zonatum a lot more aggressive and had to remove the synspilum as it was being relentlessly harrassed.

All I will say is that when I first got these fish, a w/c pair, the male was approx 5 - 6" and they lived peacefully in a community tank. The male is now 9" and aggressive towards other fish apart from his other half.

Needless to say I now keep my Zonatum pair in their own tank.
 
Ive got a zo and a syns in a 135 with a mayan. The zo is 10" syns is 5-6" and mayan about 5". The mayan and the syns butt heads. The zo he has times when he likes to chase the others, like at feeding time when the food is almost gone.Never really and damage though. Right now the smaller fish have a place to hide but when they get larger dont know if it will work so well. Dithers may help but I personally think a zo can be a time bomb. Zo's are known to be one of the most aggressive viejas.

Sent from my SCH-I500 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Right now my syn is roughly (very roughly) 8" and I figure the Zo will have to be grown out from just a couple of inches. I was thinking that this should keep the aggression down for quite a while since he wouldn't be seen as a threat. My logic is that the Syn, with the head start, will hopefully stay a somewhat gentle giant and the more dominant fish throughout their lives and keep him in check.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom