Looking for some help with a new member of the family

[lilfishie]

black dorsal = female

Hard to tell but it looks like an Escondido. Vontahillo's has the larger pearls on the body, but the side view of your carpinte makes it harder to discern.
Nice looking fish. As madness said, Carpinte can be very nasty as far as temperment, but their coloring can be very attractive..

Thanks. I am happy with him so far. I think we will get along.
The previous owner confirmed he is an Escondido.
Yeah, he is showing a bit of aggression to the pleco in the tank with him, but not bad. Just moves it along if he doesn't like were its at.

 

[Madness]

I am sorry, yes the dorsal will have a black blotch not a completely black

 

[lilfishie]

I am sorry, yes the dorsal will have a black blotch not a completely black

Okay, perfect. Now I know more about what to look for.
Thanks

 

[lilfishie]

Okay, so he has started rearranging the tank. LOL! He's cool. Its his tank, he can do what he wants.

 

[fishman09]

Black in the dorsal does not always mean female from what I have seen, but as a rule is generally right. That being said looks male. And If you weren't provided with locale then telling by visual cues the origin is basically impossible to tell and is just easier to think of it as some sort of LFS strain of carpinits with no real local attached to it.

As far as setup goes some will say differently but as a solo fish/pair a 75 is a good tank size and planted most likely wont do well as he will more than like eat/uproot plants.

Best food by far IMO is NLS (New Life Spectrum).

 

[lilfishie]

Thanks for all the info.
I will check out the NLS. See if I can find it at any of the LFS's. He's eating good. He really likes bloodworms.
He will be moved into a 55 gal tank when I get all my SW fish out of it and into the 240. I wish I had a bigger tank for him. Maybe one day I'll swap it out for the 90...OH I will do that. I will take down the 90 SW and move him into it. Perfect!
I removed most of the plants from the tank. he has dug a hole in the substrait under one of the pieces of bog wood and is hanging out there. When I move him, the tank will be more suited for him.

 

[lilfishie]

Okay, I'm back with another question.

I want to set up the best habitat for this guy that I can. What would be suggested as far as rock work or bog wood. I know I dont want anything that he can knock down, cuase I get the feeling he could easily if it was not stable.

 

[anthony]

I was at a place for pets today and he had a whole talk of carpintis,I think they were around 6 bucks there was a couple of good looking little ones .I was tempted but just said no. They were about 2" btw

 

[lilfishie]

Oh, boy those are small!

I wonder how this guy would take to them.

I have to get this tank up and running first. Maybe they will still have some or will have them again.

 

[lilfishie]

Well the tank is getting closer to being set up. I have some plant substrate and small rock on one side and some larger rock on the other side and kinda blended them. I picked up some nice pieces of malaysian driftwood from Cory. I dont know if I should put a clay pot in for him or not at this point. I think I will. I am also thinking I may see if I can find another hopefully female to put in the tank first. Then introduce him. She would have to be an older, good size one though.

 

[lilfishie]

finally got his new home set up and its full of water. need to stop and get some test kits and some more filters. He may get moved in next weekend. we'll see how it tests.

 

[lilfishie]

so what do you think? Female? Dorsal fin is rounded at the tip, not long and pointed like my male.

 

[lilfishie]

Well I dont think so. found out it is a mix and 8+" long. little too big. probably not female. Kinda got a comical smile with the dots off the corner of the mouth. LOL!