Two Red Bay Snooks arriving tomorrow?

[Hybridfish7]

They're pretty cool fish. From what I hear they are surprisingly peaceful in spite of their piscivorous nature. Anything that isn't food is a friend to them. The red form is naturally occurring, similar to the red forms of amphilophus in the great lakes of Nicaragua (where the red form is from).

WHOOPS! got mixed up with something else that has a red form in lake nicaragua. Petenia are not from lake nicaragua.

 

[Kevin@TUIC]

WHOOPS! got mixed up with something else that has a red form in lake nicaragua. Petenia are not from lake nicaragua.

well, your are not entirely wrong with the statement. I mean yes, no Petenia are in Nicaragua. but, you are correct with the color morph and lake part. The red morph petenia are a naturally occuring population. And that red Amphilophus are a lake morph. Plent yof Amphilophus are found int he rivers in Nicaragua but they are all the barred pattern. the orange/ red morphs are only found in the lakes. mother nature & science at it finest.

 

[KeepsWaterAndSomeFish]

While not super uncommon here in the UK they are an underappreciated species with few being housed long term and correctly. They'll outgrow the aquarium quite easily in a couple years with adequate care. In terms of aggression they are mild but very predatory so choose any other occupants carefully. Their mouths are designed to engulf prey rather than cause damage. Going back almost a decade I had a pair (m 17-18" and f 14-15") that spawned frequently and besides pushing, flaring and mock displays within perhaps 4ft of spawning site they weren't particularly hard on the other inhabitants. They were surprisingly good parents regularly keeping fry safe until about an inch long before I removed them. The aquarium also had a couple of predatory catfish in the 2-3ft range and a handful of centrals.

 

[Lollum96]

Thanks guys appreciate all the responses. Not to worry when they outgrow the 125 I'll be putting them in a 300 plywood build.

Assuming they last that long that is, getting a bit worried about them! I know they are a fairly slender cichlid at this size (20cm ish) but they arrived through the post painfully thin. On arrival they didn't look like they had ate for a good while.

I've had them for 4 days so far and they are very skittish. I see them swimming around the tank when I peak my head in the room but as soon as I enter or turn a light on they hide and won't come out for hours.

I've tried feeding them bloodworm, pellets, prawns and fish fillets but they just aren't interested in any of them!

Tank has lots of hiding places and huge 60cm high fake plants that provide lots of cover.

Any ideas on what might get them feeding?

I give home bred feeders to my golden dorado and snakehead every few months as a treat but the last thing I want to do is get 2 large bay snooks hooked on feeders!

 

[dogofwar]

AZ Gardens, which is a super sketchy source, says they're out of stock.

The other is in Australia, where I'd bet that they still have the red ones.

Anyone keeping or breeding red snook in the US?

Matt

Red Bay Snook Cichlid | Arizona Aquatic Gardens

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American Cichlid - Red Bay Snook Cichlid LARGE PAIR (Petenia Splendida) 15cm+

Red Devil Cichlid 6-8cm

aquariumfishonline.com.au

found these, but not sure on the credibility of either place...

 

[duanes]

One thing you might consider o help them feel comfortable, is heavily planting the tank with Valisneria, or some other fast growing plant,
or floating plants

draping some heavily rooted terrestrial plant in the tank for them to hide in or under., may also help.
At the size they are now, they are still bird food, and they instinctually realize this, cover, is one of their main concerns.

I never found them to be plant uprooters

Dieffenbachia grows fast and sends roots everywhere, cichlids love to hide out in the tangles.


Water lettuce is another great floater, and sometimes easy to get.
I throw couple hand fulls like this on he compost heap every day, it grows so fast.

 

[Lollum96]

Update. These guys are now swimming around a lot more when I'm not in the room.

As soon as I enter the room though they hide. And they still are refusing to eat.

 

[jjohnwm]

I've never kept the species but would hazard a guess that at that size they are very piscivorous. As much as I prefer to avoid the use of live feeders, I think you should be less concerned with getting them "hooked" on feeders...and should concentrate on getting them hooked on food!

I would think they would be likely to take live feeder fish, and once they are eating regularly and have put on some weight, you can then turn your thoughts to weaning them onto non-living foods. This, of course, means using quaratined or home-bred feeders, and then leaving them alone with the food fish...no prodding, tweezing, jumping around in front of the tank, herding the feeders with nets, etc.

If you wait too long and allow them to become too skinny, they will eventually pass the point of no return, at which point they will never begin feeding and will simply waste away.

 

[dmyersWv]

I've only had the green. Very undemanding fish, mine came pellet trained, but I've had luck with other fish showing some wild caught that pellets are food. Maybe some decent sized silver dollars or tin foil barbs.

 

[dogofwar]

There should be no problem at all feeding them pellets. They'll come out more, especially with dithers like tin foil barbs or silver dollars.