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Oooooooohhh! That Quetzal cichlid is neat looking! Found some other pics of it online. Having lived in Guatemala, I'm kind of partial to the idea of having one of those!

Unfortunately I doubt I'll find anything in my area. Pretty limited pickins in this part of Indiana. I think my best bet would be to get a pair of JD's or a pair of Texans. I think I won't try to mix a JD with Texas in a 75 because I have a real guilt complex when anything happens to my fish.

Thanks to all for the inputs! I'll keep checking to see what else comes up, but right now the frontrunners are the JD and the Texas (of course, if I did find a Quetzal, it would win hands-down!).

What about a male Green terror or a red devil? They are both very nice fish!!/:'

I'm all about keeping my fish happy. If he needs a tank larger than 75-G, I'll work something out.

K

iv seen one around the 15 inch mark and my male is around 10 inches now. he was in a 75 but it was just too small all he did was sit in his flower pot all day looking sad. so i went out and got him a 150 and hes much happyer. if you do decide this way you might also want to invest in cages for your heater and filter. and anything else that is breakable in the tank. big fish like to amuse themselfs by breaking things.

Jimmy, granted I've never kept synspilum to adult size, but I've constantly seen the max. size listed at 12-14". I've never heard of any keeper on the dozens of websites I frequent even claiming to have a synspilum larger than 12".

um hate to spoil the party but a synspilum will get way to big for a 75. jason you know this. they get way bigger then oscars and can get quitee grumpy. i dont think its a good idea. sorry

Wow, Jason! Very nice of you to remember me! I'd love to take the guy, or gal , since I still haven't done anything about the tank yet. I'll send you a private message with some ideas for pick-up.

If you're still interested in synspilum, I have an extra one that I'd give to you if you'd like. I have 2 synspilum that are both about 6-6.5". This one I'll give you I'll call Syn#1 and the other is Syn#2. What happened is both were in my 150 gallon and Syn#1 ruled the tank often chasing Syn#2. Neither are very colorful yet, but I've read they can take a really long time to fully color up. I moved out Syn#1 to see if Syn#2 would color up some more, which he did a little. Syn#1 was then in my 75 with a smaller 4" pure red devil. Well, I got the full tank divider finished and moved the red devil to my 125 so I could put my small (2" or less) grammodes into the 75. For fear of Syn#1 killing the much smaller grammodes I moved him back to the 150. Well, Syn#2 became ruler of the 150 in the absence of Syn#1 and when I put them back together Syn#2 took quite an exception to Syn#1 and he took a little bit of a beating. I moved Syn#1 back into the 75. Syn#1 is swimming around now and made home in a good sized clay pot. He's not bothering the grammodes but I need to get him out just in case. He didn't take much of a beating...was more stressed than anything. Hardly any physical damage and what was done can easily be cured with time...a little melafix would speed things up. It's entirely up to you. If you're interested let me know and we can make arrangements on where to meet.

If you'd like to see pics of this fish, click the www on this post, go to page 2 and check the Paratheraps synspilum gallery. All but a couple of the pics are of Syn#1, and the ones that aren't of him are labelled either "new synspilum" or "my other synspilum". BTW, I call him "him" for simplicity's sake...I have no clue as to the sex at the moment. these are very difficult to sex. I'd say if you bought a smaller green terror, jack dempsey, carpintis etc. they would be fine together in your 75...at the very least for a year or 2.



Last edited by jason_r_s at 20-Jan-2005 08:46

SpecialK, superlion is another FP hoosier and she's up in Lafayette. If you can get down to Indy, there's an lfs on the west side called Uncle Bill's on 38th st. this lfs usually has a really good selection of CA/SA cichlids. They order from Jeff Rapps occasionally as well as a couple other great distributers that have a wide selection. About anything you could want they can get.

oh dont worry about them finding food. they will be under your hand to be fed before you pop open the hood. could prolly even hand feed them bloodworms and such at that age. wouldnt suggest it when they are full grown though lol.

Hey Jason - Fellow Hoosier! I'm between Frankfort and Lafayette about 45 minutes north of Indy. Any good LFS down there in your area?

By the way - I went to the big chain pet store in Lafayette last evening to see what they have. They had a managuense, and a few JDs, Green Terror, and Texas. They were all so TINY! Like 1/2" babies! They'd be lost in my 75-gallon and I don't have anything smaller to "grow them out" in.

What do all of you guys think - will it be ok to get a couple teenie-weenie guys when they're so small? Will they be able to find food in that 75-gallon? It will look so bare with just a couple tiny guys. I guess I could put some small silver dollars to grow up with as dithers and help it look more populated.

Last edited by specialk at 16-Jan-2005 08:03

specialk, what part of Indiana do you live in? I live in Columbus...about 45 min. south of Indy.

i forgot bout the JD id like to aquire one soon for my 55 when i upgrade my shoal of red bellies into a 90 or a 180 that im hoping for just hafta convince the g/f lol

Hey folks - I have an available 75-gallon. What's the best "Wet Pet" cichlid? I'd like to keep two preferably, but I'm open to a wet pet cichlid that will do better as a single. Prefer CA/SA cichlids as I've got a 210 full of Africans.

Thanks!

Paratheraps synspilum is sometimes called either the Quetzal or Red-head cichlid. Here is a profile from this site on the synspilum.

As for a JD and texas in a 75, well it will depend on the personalities of the 2 fish you get. if you get them very young and grow them up together with a few dithers you may be ok. but if they don't get along one will wind up severely beaten or dead. I'd bet if you have trouble from either it would probably be the texas. a pair of texas or JD would be fine in a 75.

Last edited by jason_r_s at 20-Jan-2005 08:22

I vote for the JD i have 2 and they are soooooo cool

Cichlidae - what is the Synspilum? Having trouble finding out if you're talking about the Quetzal cichlid or something else. Common name?

All of Jason's suggestions are good. I also would suggest the carpinte(hericthys carpintis). that fish is amazing, defiantely would be my next choice of fish if i had room. I would also suggest the Synspilum. Mine is still a little baby, but is showing some major pesonality. Another fish i suggest is the motagua cichlid(parachromis motaguensis). I have a couple of these little guys growing out in a 75G with a divider and hoping for a pair. They are close relative of Jags, but their gold and black coloration is awesome and their teeth are stunning

I'm liking these suggestions you folks are giving me! I've been researching the ones you guys are coming back with. I have to say that red-bellies and piranhas are out. Though those black pirahnas sure are striking!

I have to say that I really like the looks of the JD, the Jag, the Texan, and the Green Terror. I haven't found any good pics of a Red Devil/Midas that I like. I prefer a larger fish, but I'm dealing with a 75-gal here and no plans to "upgrade" in the future.

I'm reading some conflicting information on the Jag... If I wanted one of those, it would have to be the only fish, right?

But let's say I wanted a JD - I could do a pair of JD's or a JD with a Texan, right?

Keep the suggestions coming!

P.S. I've been at this a long time - I've got filtration lined up (2 Penguin 400's and 1 Rena Filstar XP-2 canister) to accomodate a big and messy fish or two.

i would vote for the JD. just because everyone and thier grandfather has a oscar. i dont have the nerve to pet a texan either lol.