Amphilophus tank idea...

[DMD123]

Ive seen it done and am considering this myself now. With the 3 Hoga settling into the 300g and seemly behaving a bit, I think I want to do an Amphilophus tank.

What I currently have seen available online is Sagittae from Wet Spot, various Midevil that are being called "Midas" and "Red Devil" and some F1 Midas on Aquabid. Im leaning toward some Midas being sold at Imperial Tropicals and possibly some Sagittae.

So it seems that most success in these Amph tanks come from an all male tank. But how many fish do I need to succeed?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[DMD123]

@lloyd378, whatever happened to Shawns amps? Who got the Red devils? The red Isletas? Looking for some other amphs...

 

[DMD123]

I have been in contact with Imperial Tropicals and have really enjoyed how quickly they have got back to me and their honesty.

I asked about their line of Midas and got this response: "Hey David, we feel that they are true Midas and we have had other people who are experts also say the same. They are many generations from the wild. The original fish we believe came from Don Conkel. Let us know if this info helps in anyway!"

I then asked about size and sex and also got a good honest response: "They are on the smaller side of 4" and none are showing any male characteristics at this time. "

I am super impressed with these guys. I just need to figure out if I can raise out 4" fish somewhere until they get large enough to put into the 300g. They would need to be about an 1-1/2" larger to probably not become bichir food.

 

[DMD123]

On the amphilophus topic, I know at one point some years ago I would find 'Red devil' fry at A Place for Pets in Burien. I guess these were from Mel who would on occasion raise some out. I have not seen these available for some time either. I cant remember what the deal was with his fish but they were basically midas but he refereed to them as Red devils.

 

[FishBeast]

I have been in contact with Imperial Tropicals and have really enjoyed how quickly they have got back to me and their honesty.

I asked about their line of Midas and got this response: "Hey David, we feel that they are true Midas and we have had other people who are experts also say the same. They are many generations from the wild. The original fish we believe came from Don Conkel. Let us know if this info helps in anyway!"

I then asked about size and sex and also got a good honest response: "They are on the smaller side of 4" and none are showing any male characteristics at this time. "

I am super impressed with these guys. I just need to figure out if I can raise out 4" fish somewhere until they get large enough to put into the 300g. They would need to be about an 1-1/2" larger to probably not become bichir food.

At least they were knowledgeable enough and also honest! Always a plus in my book. Compare to the sales person you dealt with at Petco recently!

 

[DMD123]

At least they were knowledgeable enough and also honest! Always a plus in my book. Compare to the sales person you dealt with at Petco recently!

Or when you see an ad on Craigslist where someone does not know the meaning of what F1 is and use the term on a fish that is man made and clear not one generation away from wild stock....

 

[DMD123]

Been talking with some amph. guys on other sites and seems like overstocking works so that the aggression is spread. Problem is these guys are also having to do hard core water changes to keep up. I still want some ease in maintenance so I dont want too many big cichlids. I dont want to have to do more than 2 water changes a week.

As time has progress the hoga have mellowed out a lot. I see growth which is really funny because they really dont eat for me. Seems they like to forage off the bottom more than actually eat the falling food during feeding. Even with the good stuff like Krill, bloodworms, brine shrimp they just dont go wild for the food. I have not found that one thing they like yet. I have not been able to determine sex of the fish yet but my guess is that the dominant one is male, the second one is not developing the sloped head as much so thinking female, and littlest is starting to develop head shape similar to largest so leaning toward male. These guys are at a size where they could breed soon so I might be able to determine the sex soon.

Still plugging away at researching what amphs to get and where. Will update as I find more information.

 

[FishBeast]

Been talking with some amph. guys on other sites and seems like overstocking works so that the aggression is spread. Problem is these guys are also having to do hard core water changes to keep up. I still want some ease in maintenance so I dont want too many big cichlids. I dont want to have to do more than 2 water changes a week.

As time has progress the hoga have mellowed out a lot. I see growth which is really funny because they really dont eat for me. Seems they like to forage off the bottom more than actually eat the falling food during feeding. Even with the good stuff like Krill, bloodworms, brine shrimp they just dont go wild for the food. I have not found that one thing they like yet. I have not been able to determine sex of the fish yet but my guess is that the dominant one is male, the second one is not developing the sloped head as much so thinking female, and littlest is starting to develop head shape similar to largest so leaning toward male. These guys are at a size where they could breed soon so I might be able to determine the sex soon.

Still plugging away at researching what amphs to get and where. Will update as I find more information.

Interesting. Are they big sand sifters like the geos, etc? They're still getting that nutrition in, which is great! Hopefully they can breed for you soon.

 

[DMD123]

Interesting. Are they big sand sifters like the geos, etc? They're still getting that nutrition in, which is great! Hopefully they can breed for you soon.

Not really sand sifters but typical amph diggers. They dig around the mopani like they are trying to find something.
I dont want them to breed! lol I just want to be able to sex them.
I really am looking for a bunch of large hump headed males.

 

[DMD123]

A little Hoga update

 

[FishBeast]

They are coloring up really nicely and the nuchal humps are coming in.

 

[DMD123]

I think I might begin my amph tank with just a lame old Petsmart Red Devil. My Lakewood store has been getting them in pretty regular. I will see if I spot one that interests me and put him in the 20L to grow out.

 

[Betty]

What would be a minimum tank size for the hoga?

 

[DMD123]

Typical size of adult fish would be 11"-13", so I would not go less than 75 gallons for a solo fish.

Been talking with some people doing what I want to do and they recommend the overstock methods like what is commonly done with Africans. But I dont want the maintenance level that would be required to do lets say 7-10 large amphs in my 300g. I would be doing at least 4 water changes a week to keep up. I want to keep it simple

 

[DMD123]

So I stopped at Petsmart and found a possible new keeper... A red devil mutt

 

[lloyd378]

Shawn lost his entire amph tank to a heater malfunction about 2 years back. I really think that propelled him into getting rid of the other tanks.

he still has barred midas and saggitae I believe as he has 1 300g tank left.

mid you’re looking to heavily stock, that’s what I would recommend as well ..... I do have 4 chanco that came from Mel omaras pair sitting in a tank with no plans for them. They are slightly smaller than the hoga but were living with them in my 180. If you want them, they are yours

 

[lloyd378]

When I had the seven in my 180 I just did one water change a week.... kept the temps in mid 70s to lower aggression and fed them once a day with a day to fast once a week

 

[DMD123]

The little guy seems a bit skittish in the tank by itself, didnt stop it from eating a bunch of bloodworms! Very good sign in a new fish when it eats so quickly. I think I need to add some dithers to make it more comfy. I have used tetras and platys in the past and that really seemed to ease the tension for new fish. So tomorrow will involve finding the new guy a couple tankmates.

Been super psyched that the Hoga have settled in and are eating. They all had some fat bellies tonight. I bought some Omega One sinking cichlid pellets that were smaller than the Dainichi I had fed them and they were just the right size so the fish fed well.

The Petsmart in Lakewood has one more Red devil but it look sad compared to the one I got. Was considering trying to find some more locally at other Petsmart’s and hopefully get one good male out of the batch.... kind of feel like that might just be too much to tryin a 20L. Happy to have found a colorful fish to hopefully add the the big tank.

 

[DMD123]

@lloyd378, whats your take on the Chanco aggression level? I went back and watched Shawns old videos and the Chanco seemed pretty mellow. Then I also had watched how bossy his hoga could be. I actually think his hoga was more aggressive.

 

[lloyd378]

Hoga are typically more aggressive but chanco can be ruff through their teenage years .....

mine have been socialized since birth so I can’t say what would happen if there was only one.

I do have a glass banger large 13” male chanco that’s always lived by itself and it shows as he can’t be put with anything .

I would rank aggression as top
Trimac
Hoga
Midas
Chanco
Devil
Barred Midas / red isletas
Sagittae
Amarilla
Lyonsi