[JanS]

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

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]

how about an oscar? just kidding...

ound: 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]

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... :lol:

 

[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

 

[cs_gardener]

They are beautiful fish with such vibrant colors. I was so intent on watching their displays that I didn't even notice the algae until she spit out that clump.

 

[JanS]

Great catch on the shimmy action Bryce, and great video! Bohemian Rhapsody?? LOL!

Sorry I missed your prior questions on the caves (I don't know how), but it looks like you have it covered.
Like I said before, another thing that works well is the 3 or 4" untreated clay flower pots that you can find in places like Wal-Mart for about 35 cents. If you just turn them upside down at an angle and leave just enough room for them to belly under, they absolutely love them.

Keep us posted on the progress.

 

[davemonkey]

Nice video of some gorgeous fish!

 

[jazzlvr123]

very nice

 

[Mud Pie Mama]

Very nice action on the video. They'll probably have eggs in there by tonight. You can tell because the female will stay inside of the pipe and not come out much.

I also ordered P. taeniatus "Moliwe" from Twofishguyz back in January. Great fish, easy care, don't mind me at all. And, yes, smart guys! Clearly won a place in my heart.

 

[OhioPlantedtankguy]

My vote a Small to Medium School of Clown Loaches they are FUNNY to watch and very playful, mine used to play "tag" with my mollys, they would swim really fast at the molly and Kinda spin at the last second and "smack" the molly with their tail then take off and hide then do it all over again, VERY fun fish!

 

[milalic]

Bryce,

what size is the PVC tube and did you cover the back side of it or is it open on both sides?

thanks

 

[Tex Gal]

You're going to have so many you won't know what to do with them all! So glad you're good at this photography thing, because I will look forward to pxs of them taking the fry around the tank to graze! D:

 

[BryceM]

milalic,

I think the PVC tube is actually a 1-1/2" coupler. It's about 4 or 5 inches long and open on both sides. The back end is pretty much burried in the substrate and closed off by a wall of plants.

Tex Gal,

So far they haven't actually spawned, at least as far as I can tell. They more or less hang out by the pipe and they still occasionally display to each other. Maybe something isn't quite to their liking. The thing is pretty much front and center and my young children are always poking their faces around to see what's happening. Besides, there are just tons and tons of fish in that tank - over 100 last time I counted.

I really suspect they'd be better off in a dedicated breeding setup. I'm not really sure I want to go to that much effort right now.

 

[ed seeley]

They'll breed in there, just give them time. Whether any babies survive your Congos is another matter!!!! As soon as you don't see the female leaving the tunnel she will have spawned.