**Video**Atromaculatum and Ornatus added to Festae tank

[balton777]

The tank is looking great Balton. The new additions are very interesting. Can't say I have ever seen them before now. Too bad the saums didn't work out. They would have looked great in that tank.

Thanks Brent, I appreciate it. As said, I'm quite unfamiliar with them too. I hope I can keep them alive and well. The Ornatum are going to look so much better this time next year.

The poor male GT got his arse handed to him straight away. He seemed completely defenseless against the speed and tenacity of the Atromaculatum.

They look great! Especially the atros! They would be my favorite too. How is their temperment so far?
Keep us updated and good luck.

Temperament is excellent with who is in the tank right now. There's almost no fighting except the male Ornatus biting the female when she gets too close to him. Of course the Festae will bite the other fish if they don't move out of their way when they go cruising thru. But they're not chasing the other fish or harrsassing them whatsoever.

I'm quite happy with the set up. I kind of miss the clown loaches being in this tank but they're doing fine in the 156g. It's neat having a S. American tank, I've never done a theme before, I've always added anything and everything I liked that would cohabitate together.

 

[R0B]

Awesome addition, to bad the GTs didn't work out. Good luck with the tank, hope they all get along great for you. Would love to see some updates in a few months

 

[Pyramid_Party]

What plant is that in the tank? I see that same plant in lots of tanks

 

[Sarah88]

LOL yeah i guess their wouldnt be that much online about them, that sucks but will be an awesome learning experience with them trying out all the different stuff and seeing which foods they like best and everything. sucks about the GTs but awesome the the pair teamed up together to fight them, seems to me like a good sign that they like each other and thats cool to see that they can have some attitude as well as somebody was saying on another thread that they tended to be timid and shy, just goes to show that these guys' attitudes are just as variable as any other big cichlid

 

[Nemesis]

Very cool pickups. I wish you the best with them. Just make sure to keep an extremely close eye on them, and have a backup tank just in case. Being that ornatum, and festae are closely related, you may run into some problems with the 2 later. And although the atros can hold their own, they may or may not be able to hang with the 2 bigger pairs in the tank. I've heard that ornatum can be just as, if not more nasty than festae. But I have no personal experience with either. Other than seeing Ira's atros, which were pretty rough on each other when housed alone. Truth is, there really hasn't been many people keeping them, and you can't really base everything off of the few fish that have actually been kept. Your experience with them can differ greatly than that of others. That being said, I hope everything works out, and I'm looking forward to updates.

 

[cichlidfish]

Nice tank, and love all the fish. Looks pretty peaceful.

 

[balton777]

Awesome addition, to bad the GTs didn't work out. Good luck with the tank, hope they all get along great for you. Would love to see some updates in a few months

I wish they would have worked out too. Adding their blue coloration would have been great. The tank seems a little empty without the two 12" Bocourti and pair of RTM in it.

I'll defintely update, you know me....

What plant is that in the tank? I see that same plant in lots of tanks

I get those from Michael's/MJ Designs, a chain craft store. I pay $7.99 each which is about half of what Petsmart asks for an almost identical looking but smaller plant. It doesn't have the base because they're designed to stab into foam for hanging baskets. I just stick the ends into holes in the driftwood.

LOL yeah i guess their wouldnt be that much online about them, that sucks but will be an awesome learning experience with them trying out all the different stuff and seeing which foods they like best and everything. sucks about the GTs but awesome the the pair teamed up together to fight them, seems to me like a good sign that they like each other and thats cool to see that they can have some attitude as well as somebody was saying on another thread that they tended to be timid and shy, just goes to show that these guys' attitudes are just as variable as any other big cichlid

As they say, each fish has it's own personality and level of aggression. I'm going to really enjoy raising these guys and getting to know them.

 

[balton777]

Nice tank, and love all the fish. Looks pretty peaceful.

Thank you.

Very cool pickups. I wish you the best with them. Just make sure to keep an extremely close eye on them, and have a backup tank just in case. Being that ornatum, and festae are closely related, you may run into some problems with the 2 later. And although the atros can hold their own, they may or may not be able to hang with the 2 bigger pairs in the tank. I've heard that ornatum can be just as, if not more nasty than festae. But I have no personal experience with either. Other than seeing Ira's atros, which were pretty rough on each other when housed alone. Truth is, there really hasn't been many people keeping them, and you can't really base everything off of the few fish that have actually been kept. Your experience with them can differ greatly than that of others. That being said, I hope everything works out, and I'm looking forward to updates.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely be watching them. If worse goes to worst, I have a spare 135g with several FX-5's laying around waiting for active duty. The Ornatum are tiny right now, like 3.5-4" vs the Festae at 12-13". It will be a while before they can challenge the ole boy.

 

[Norbert]

I like your style man

I hear you about the teeth, good chompers on them

 

[Freshwaterpredators]

Awesome combination great lookin pairs. good luck with the atros and ornatums keep us updated