Where to Put My Kelberi?

[pwmin]

I had all my cichla in the 300, but then decided to pull the kels and azuls out to get them more live and I quit feeding the orinos to try and get them to catch up. They've grown a little bit, but not as much as I was expecting. I went up on feeder size to the larger comets and started giving the orinos some, so I through the azuls back in the 300 w/ the orinos. The kelberi are still in a 125 w/ about a half-dozen bichirs and a festae. The 24K is definitely lagging behind the 3rd batch. What I'm wondering is if I should keep the kelberi separate from the other bass or just put them in the 300. And if I keep them separate, should I just have them by themselves or should I try them w/ my male and female motas. The female festae is 4.5", the female mota is 4.5" and the male mota is 4". If I would put the bichirs, cichla and cichlids in my 210 long would that be a good idea or should I put the cichla in a 40 by themselves?

sorry for the stupid questions. I'm trying to break down a tank and just opened up a 210. I had a 17" L. pictus taking up half of it divided and some gar and bichirs in the other half and they're going in the 125. I just can't make up my mind what I want to do.

 

[flyin lizard]

Stop giving feeders and get them on a good varied diet,shrimp,scallopes,smelt,tilapia all the the frozen section at the grocery store.

 

[pwmin]

i'm not asking for advice on feeding them. I know what I'm doing with feeding cichla.

 

[Crazyfish88]

Stop giving feeders and get them on a good varied diet,shrimp,scallopes,smelt,tilapia all the the frozen section at the grocery store.

dude it's not that easy to convert Pbass taking non live food...I have 2 large ocellaris that don't even take frozen market food or any hikari pellets and I starved them for 2+ weeks before..There's even ppl who have starved their Pbass for 1+ month and still won't take non live food. Pbass's are picky eaters, not like RTCs where they gulp anything down...

 

[orinocensis1]

dude it's not that easy to convert Pbass taking non live food...I have 2 large ocellaris that don't even take frozen market food or any hikari pellets and I starved them for 2+ weeks before..There's even ppl who have starved their Pbass for 1+ month and still won't take non live food. Pbass's are picky eaters, not like RTCs where they gulp anything down...

Yup I agree.. Plus Kelberi are the hardest cichla to give non live foods.. I'm not saying its impossible but I'm just saying its easier said then done.

 

[Angler]

I always read that feeders make Cichla grow faster, but I wonder if this is true. My Rapps 3rd batch is 8 inches or so and I feed mainly shrimp. He has eaten mainly shrimp since I got him from you Paul. I am a Cichla rookie, so maybe I am wrong and feeders do make them grow faster.

Are you doing the feeders because you are having trouble getting them to eat other stuff, or because you think they will grow faster?

If they aren't at risk of being beaten up in the 300, I would put them in there. I would think the large space would help a lot. Good luck!

 

[bl00dr0ck]

Are they still small enough that you're worried about the ones in the 300 bullying them? Or is it more of a concern that the others will eat all the food and the Kel's won't get enough? I wouldn't think that it would be a problem for the Kelberi to go with the cichlids in the 210 for now. If the mota's pair off and start getting aggressive that would be another issue. As far as I've seen so far, and I'm by no means an expert, cichla tend to be pretty damn quick getting food and aren't pushovers either. Not to mention, the red and gold color scheme with mota's, festae and Kelberi would look awesome. lol

 

[pwmin]

dude it's not that easy to convert Pbass taking non live food...I have 2 large ocellaris that don't even take frozen market food or any hikari pellets and I starved them for 2+ weeks before..There's even ppl who have starved their Pbass for 1+ month and still won't take non live food. Pbass's are picky eaters, not like RTCs where they gulp anything down...

Yup I agree.. Plus Kelberi are the hardest cichla to give non live foods.. I'm not saying its impossible but I'm just saying its easier said then done.

thanks for the support. I really only feed sinking pellets, bloodworms, shrimp and feeders and the kelberi will only go after feeders and bloodworms, but I haven't starved them or anything. One of the azuls will eat shrimp readily, but the other will taste it readily, but won't eat any.

I always read that feeders make Cichla grow faster, but I wonder if this is true. My Rapps 3rd batch is 8 inches or so and I feed mainly shrimp. He has eaten mainly shrimp since I got him from you Paul. I am a Cichla rookie, so maybe I am wrong and feeders do make them grow faster.

Are you doing the feeders because you are having trouble getting them to eat other stuff, or because you think they will grow faster?

If they aren't at risk of being beaten up in the 300, I would put them in there. I would think the large space would help a lot. Good luck!

They never got beat up when they were in the 300, I just hear that they do better by themselves. I'm not too worried about them not getting food, either as the orinos can't really get more than 2 of the larger comets at the same time, so the kelberi should always be able to get 1 or two. However, if I'm feeding shrimp one day and live the other, they won't be eating as much as the orinos and I want them to catch up. I'm not really sure why as it's probably not that necessary.

Are they still small enough that you're worried about the ones in the 300 bullying them? Or is it more of a concern that the others will eat all the food and the Kel's won't get enough? I wouldn't think that it would be a problem for the Kelberi to go with the cichlids in the 210 for now. If the mota's pair off and start getting aggressive that would be another issue. As far as I've seen so far, and I'm by no means an expert, cichla tend to be pretty damn quick getting food and aren't pushovers either. Not to mention, the red and gold color scheme with mota's, festae and Kelberi would look awesome. lol

i think i pretty much addressed the first part of this post, too. The motas have been very aggressive so far, but I've never had less than 3 in a tank larger than 40 gallons. If I put the kels and the motas/festae in one tank and fed live, they would be the only ones that could actually eat the live food.

I'll probably just have to try different combinations and see how they work the best. I wish I had a 125 or 180 instead of this 75.

 

[pwmin]

now my larger azul has fin rot :Irked: This bs always happens when I go away for a day as I do like every weekend. Hopefully the salt and mela will do the trick. I was going to add the kelberi tonight but IDK if that will create more stress for the affected fish or if it'll actually be better having more in there since the kelberi shouldn't pick on the azul but rather will probably be chased taking the focus off of the injured fish. What do you think about that?