I need a "show" fish for a 180g community - Ideas?

[JanS]

Wow, they are indeed beautiful Bryce. I can't even imagine how colorful they're going to be when they start breeding.

Originally Posted by Tex Gal

Jan, do those caves have an exit as well as an entrance for water circulation? They seem like they would blend right in with the tank environment very well.

They come in all sorts of configurations, but most of my fish like the ones with just the front hole. I suppose they feel more secure that way.
Yes, the do blend in very nicely and I've had to add a ton of them to the tanks so all of the fish have one to call their own.

[rich_one]

those are really incredible... wow! nice catch!

[ed seeley]

Very nice Bryce, but you just wait until the females fatten up and start displaying - you ain't seen nothing yet!!!!!

[BryceM]

Jan,

Do they make those caves in any bigger sizes? I looked on Aquabid for a minute or two. Most of what I saw looks too small to even hold two of these fish. The females aren't too big, but the males are almost as big as a full-grown congo tetra male.

ed,

Just today I'm noticing a bit of territorial behavior. One female in particular has the most brilliant yellow accents set against a rich, deep purple background. Simply amazing. I'm in danger of becoming a Westie nut.

[davemonkey]

Originally Posted by wrkucera

how about an oscar? just kidding...

I nearly spewed coffee all over my computer when I read that! Can you imagine what a pair of Oscars would do to your beautifully planted aquarium?!

Seriously though, very nice fish you got. How have they been with your plants? Any picking at the leaves or digging?

-Dave

[ed seeley]

Originally Posted by BryceM

Jan,

Do they make those caves in any bigger sizes? I looked on Aquabid for a minute or two. Most of what I saw looks too small to even hold two of these fish. The females aren't too big, but the males are almost as big as a full-grown congo tetra male.

ed,

Just today I'm noticing a bit of territorial behavior. One female in particular has the most brilliant yellow accents set against a rich, deep purple background. Simply amazing. I'm in danger of becoming a Westie nut.

Just wait mate, you'll be hooked in no time! Completely my favourite group of cichlids, so much better than South American dwarfs! For caves I find coconut shells are great too and easy to find and make holes in. My taeniatus and suboccelatus love them.

In your tank I bet you'll find they all eventually have their own little area and then just skirmish at the border of their territories. Should be a really great display - I'm even more jealous of your tank now...

[BryceM]

So one of the females has developed a deep purple coloration and a big 'ol gut. She's also taken a liking to a particular area of Blyxa around the base of a large Lagenandra meeboldii 'pink'. I'm still waiting to receive some appropriate spawning caves. For now, I added a small glass jar which is partially burried in the substrate - not ideal, but it's what I have. Waiting. Watching. These fish have been cleaning up a little thread algae in the tank with gusto too. What great fish!

[ingg]

You made me go buy some Moliwe for one of my tanks, heh. I'd had a pair of "Nyete"... then a flag fish decided the female had to go, and killer her before the pair ever even spawned.

[BryceM]

So a pair of the 'Moliwe' have clearly claimed the front left corner of the tank as their own. They've been chasing away all of the other fish & shrimp for the past week or two. The female is an incredible deep purple and she's looking a little plump.

I dropped in a small section of 1-1/2" PVC pipe and they were both inside within a couple of minutes. They're very, very intelligent fish. They're wild caught but are still absolutely unconcerned about my arm thrashing around in the tank.

About 10 minutes after putting the pipe in they started doing some impressive shimmy dance behavior......

Guess we'll see how they do in a pretty crowded community tank.

Here's a video of their display.

Don't pay any attention to the BBA and thread algae everywhere. Believe it or not, it's better than it was a couple of weeks ago. My favorite part of the video is when she spits some BBA out of her new nest.

[mats808]

Hey BryceM,
Cool video. Moliwe's are a nice form of taeniatus. Thanks for sharing
aaron