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Anyone know aything about these?

NE 1 at ALL?

I have kept these in a 55 with angelfish. I agree with the profile on this site except for the size. They indicate here that festivum will get to 3.1" but I had a few that were around 6".
Nice and peaceful with other fish but will bicker with their own species. If you are going to keep a few together, as with all cichlids, make sure that there are a few hiding spaces (driftwood, rocks, some big plants etc.).
Good luck.

Beautiful fish. Adult males will have extended finage, and develope a more boney, flatter forehead (not the most noticeable difference though).

They can grow up to 6 inches, but stay around the 4 to 5 inch mark. Males grow larger also.

They will greatly appreciate a densly planted aquarium, will tall plants such as val, hygro, rotala (sp?) and the like (I am not that good with plants, and i think these are tall growing plants). They will become less timid if these are provided.

They should be kept with other peaceful fish, but not small fish which an adult could swallow whole. They may nip at fancy finned species. They are great fish overall though.

-- Gomer

[span class="edited"][Edited by Gomer 2004-07-06 19:41][/span]

They act and behave much like angels, hence the reputation they have as being ideal angelfish tankmates--which they aren't always (youngsters are fairly nippy). If you plan on keeping more than a pair in a tank, you'll be needing one that's fairly large. I'd say about 15ish gallons per fish, as they aren't incredibly active, or incredibly sessile. You'll need (as aforementioned) either maximum plantage or other hiding spaces to build up terrtories. I've had some nasties that tend to bully the others--those should be returned to the lfs promptly, for when they're mean, they're really mean. Otherwise, they're wonderful fish.

P.S. Although I've never really had a problem with fests and small fish (aka inch long young cardys), I wouldn't risk it if you have much to lose.

Could you keep 1 in a 29g?

I have kept juvies in a 40 gallon, but an adult male needs atleast a 55 gallon to thrive. Great fish. Feeding live/frozen foods enchances their color vs. feeding flake/staple food. Temperment is very peaceful, with fish of the same size. I have an adult male festivum in with 4 medium adult angels and one adult female severum. Choose tank mates wisely. They will pick on most fish less then half the size of them.

David