Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

DMD123

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Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

So I have three of these guys growing out in my 210g. They came from The Wet Spot in Portland. Ive liked the look of the bifa ever since I saw the one madness was raising and knew I wanted to try some out in my tank. Interesting but one of the three is a much darker color than the others, makes me wonder... :scratch:

So a lot of my info has been internet stuff like this: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?404325-Vieja-Bifasciatus-variety-Info

They call the "Rio Chacamax" bifa a "mellow", "community vieja", which I hope it turns out to be.

So any thought on this fish from those who have experience with it.
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Mean and nasty. :violent:

They can be very aggressive, because of their shear size. I have had no issues with mine being overly aggressive. I have a 12" WC Bifa, and he has been awesome. Soon picking him up a WC female. :cheers:

You will enjoy them. They can reach 16" long and are a very tall fish. They love spinach, and the spinach will help with their color.
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Do you know what area your WC is from?
1) Rio Candeleria
2) Rio Chacamax
3) Rio Grijalva
4) Rio Carolina

The MFK post said that from most experiences the "Rio Chacamax" bifa were pretty mellow in comparison. I never thought to try spinach, do you blanch it first or serve full up raw?
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

I bought 1 of those veggie clips that stick to the inside of the tank and I put the spinach in that. I feed it raw.

I believe my bifa is a chacamax
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Could the aggressive 'mean and nasty' behavior you spoke of be due to the fact there are female fish in with them? Not necessarily another female bifa but just another vieja type they got the hots for.... :scratch:

Right now mine bicker amongst themselves but show no aggression toward other fish. The Freddy has attitude and has his little territory so I see some potential trouble from him. The bleekeri is a hider and no one even looks at him.
 

Zerc

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

DMD123 said:
The bleekeri is a hider and no one even looks at him.

:cheers: :cheers:

He will hide less when hes bigger don't worry!

how big is he now?
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

He is a wee little guy about 2". Was very light colored when I got him, almost white. With in 24hrs of being in my tank he was black. I guess he was stress in the little fish store tank. Im sure when he gets more comfortable he will be a monster. :D
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Could very well be the presence of females in the tank, that cause the more aggression. Almost positive thats the reason.
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

I hope to have got males by choosing the biggest fish out of all the batches I picked from. I would have also bought three of the friedrichsthalii but only one stood out as bigger than its tank mates and he was double their size. The bleekeri were too expensive to get more than the one. The hoga Im pretty sure is male and at this point a perfect community fish. A little muscle flex when the new fish were introduced but no chasing or anything from him. So now time to grow out these little bifa and see what I got and how they get along.
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

They should get along nicely. And what you have is definitely a Hoga. I have 16 left, They are all Hoga off spring.
 

Drd62

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

DMD123 said:
Could the aggressive 'mean and nasty' behavior you spoke of be due to the fact there are female fish in with them? Not necessarily another female bifa but just another vieja type they got the hots for.... :scratch:

Right now mine bicker amongst themselves but show no aggression toward other fish. The Freddy has attitude and has his little territory so I see some potential trouble from him. The bleekeri is a hider and no one even looks at him.
I have a Bi fa that is 14.5" and comes from the Rio Chacamax. As Madness indicated, they can be mean and nasty and will definitely throw their weight around if given the chance. Mine through his shear size runs the tank but he doesn't mess with his tank mates that much. He loves Spinach as well as his equally large Bocourti tank mate. I will take a few pieces and put in a little water and heat it for a few seconds which softens it and then attach it to a veggie clip which they readily devour. :lol:
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

One thing I have noticed is that the three are constantly bickering amongst themselves. No aggression at all toward the other fish in their size bracket. They totally ignore the bleekeri and freddy. The hoga is twice their size so they give him a lot of space, even though he could care less about them.

I will need to try some spinach out for sure.

Any pics Drd62? I would love to see what I have to look forward to in a big beastly bifa.
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

If drd's is a chcamax then mine is a diff location. Drds is a much taller bodied bifa, like my p original male. This new guy is much more streamlined, he is reaching 13" and is not very tall. He is from a faster moving area.(water) not that i don't like the tall bodied bifa, but i think the streamlined one is a better looking fish.
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

The Rio Chacamax also seen to be a little bit different in coloration. The red in the head seems a bit different.
 

DMD123

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Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Ya that is exactly my other male, not my new male.
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Just did an edit on the post as you posted. Sorry

Could you give a bit of info on the new pictures posted?
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Same location, Cavamart has some awesome equipment and picture taking ability, he its able to capture the reds. Mine do have more yellowish/orange in the body, but same fish. When i get home i will take a picture of my new male.
 

Madness

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

This my new male Bifa, as you can see, he is considerably more streamlined. And IMO, a much better looking Bifa. :D

photobucket-32064-1343678060296.jpg

photobucket-24348-1343678074701.jpg

photobucket-32500-1343678088982.jpg


Same fish, different angle and lighting.
photobucket-12345-1343678102080.jpg

photobucket-32737-1343678117697.jpg
 

DMD123

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Re: Vieja bifasciatum "Rio Chacamax"

Nice looking fish... but I like the big, fat, tall ones better. :tongue:
 
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