Nice discus

Electric Blue Jack Dempsey x Texas Cichlid hybrid, in action:





The little fish is very aggressive. He is in the grow out tank now where the only adult fish are two male peacocks that make a good alpha and omega (high conspecific male aggression otherwise peaceful). There are three Venustus, a Tiger Oscar, and a very small yellow lab (1 inch) that somehow made it in my Mbuna tank for a couple months long enough for me to see him and catch him, and two tiny African spotted leaf fish. Also have about 16 jeweled cichlid fry I liberated from a pair that has been mating in my aggressive community, making large swaths of the area a war zone. None of the fish are damaged, and it is a huge tank...large enough to house pairs of jeweled cichlid, a paired up couple of blood parrots that are large enough to cause trouble, and there are a bunch of convicts that are just tough fish. This little hybrid pictured is a badass and I look forward to introducing him to my aggressive New World community.

These were the best pics I could get, he is constantly chasing the three Venustus.



Here is a pic of King Rowdy, my Green "Escondido" Texas Cichlid. They're supposed to be a little smaller and a little less aggressive than the normal Texas Cichlids, but you couldn't tell that from King Rowdy. You can see the parrots in the cave behind them. The jeweled have been in the bush behind them in the pic, and the rest of the fish have been on the other side of the tank.

This post was edited by Skinned on Dec 10 2015 10:27pm

are these fresh or salt water fishes?

Fresh water tropical fish. All are from somewhere in Africa or Central and South America.

Central and South American Cichlids are generally bigger and smarter than Africans, but Africans get all the pretty colors and you can really pack em in a tank. Mbuna (colorful rock fish from Lake Malawi) do better in big crowds because it displaces the aggression.

Central Americans are big and territorial...and smart. I have a CA cichlids that let me pet them and they show off for me and nobody else. Good examples of CAs are Flowerhorns, Red Devils, Midas Cichlids, Black Nasty, Beani Cichlid, Convict Cichlids, Jack Dempseys....they are big rowdy aggressive territorial fish. They are impressive as hell.

South Americans are a bit smaller and less rowdy than the Central Americans. They have the Geophagus (eartheater) family which are a lot of fun, as well as the Green Terror, one of my favorite fish. Oscars are SA cichlids, probably the most famous type. They are big guys, but not heavy hitters like the CA's, which even when they are a little smaller they have the muscle, the dentition, and the attitude to wreck an oscar usual, which generally like to be left alone.

Usually CA and SA cichlids are classified to go together, but in my experience the CA are a qualitative level in power and aggression higher than SA cichlids, so keep together at your own risk. I'm going to get a new 6 ft tank to put my SA's in, give me something to do I'll probably wait and do it for myself as my grad school graduation present next April

But I've never done a saltwater setup. It looks hard, and the fish are expensive. These guys are like 5-15 when they're babies.

This post was edited by Skinned on Dec 12 2015 05:51pm

Electric Blue Jack Dempsey



Can see smaller EBJD female in background



Honduran Pearl Convict
Smaller female in the big bush below.



Sorry for sideways pic gonna have my STEM degree possessing wife help me with this :/

Flowerhorn and Blood Parrot beefing over turf (a homemade mechanical/chemical filter made with a powerhead). Dwarf Frontosa who lives among them swimming past. He keeps to himself mostly.


Paratilapia Bleekeri, a Madagascar Cichlid. Also called the Starry Night Cichlid. When he gets pissed or is feeling alpha he gets pitch black and his spots get real bright.


This post was edited by Skinned on Dec 12 2015 11:54pm

oh boy, those tank gonna be nightmare in a year or so when those fish all grown up. u got ur self electric jack demsy/flowerhorn/severum all mixed together in such small tank. all known for being aggressive

Tank is enormous, and the ELJD, Severem, and the Green Terror going to go to SA tank with the Oscar, geophagus, and red ceibals when they grow out more. I'm really enjoying watching them. Plus if I get any bad citizens, I'll give him or her away.

I have some jeweled cichlid producing an amazing amount of fry which I'll stuff with highly nutruitious food then stuff those in my babies. If they are well fed and there is always some light one (simulated moonlight) then the school of dither fish keeps the flowerhorns, red texas cichlid, the salvini, and the beani super busy. I have six giant danios and three quickly growing tin foil barbs that keep them tired Even when they catch a giant danio, which hasn't happened yet, they are $3

The danios and tinfoil barbs are great dither fish, and I'll just give the tinfoil barbs to a LFS when they get a foot long and get three more to grow out. I did have 12 smaller danios but that was before I instituted my simulated moonlight policy (lights turned off the flowerhorn went into hunt mode). I went and bought 30 tiger barbs because people said they were tough and good for dithering, but the green texas (King Rowdy) killed them all over three days. King Rowdy mostly fights with the parrots and Bleekeri now.

If you notice none of my fish are missing pieces, they never miss a meal, and they're colored brightly and happy.

The Central American tank is 6 feet long, over 2 feet tall, and 2 feet deep, with lots of territories, caves, hiding spots, it is heavily planted and even has a lot of floating plants for cover.

My Malawi tank has been getting aggressive lately. I might just go all OB Peacock in it and give away my Mbuna, as long as I like them. The OBs are tough as hell too. Maybe if I buy a dozen hollow cichlid stones things will be better.

But you are right though, the flowerhorn could flip his shit and murder half the fish in there one day He also lets me feed him from hand.

This post was edited by Skinned on Dec 13 2015 12:20am

it not going to matter when ur severum grown up. they will mess all that shit up bad, I learn my lesson with serverum and plants the hard way. and trust me brah, u be better off preping a spare tank now for the flowerhorn or ejd.

They are assholes. I have java ferns and anubus plants jammed into holes in driftwood pieces. I do have one large amazon sword that managed to say alive, but it is because some jeweled cichlids were breeding in it all the time, and even though they were very small they ran everybody off. I have so many baby jeweled cichlids

I have a bunch of yellow labs in an egg tumbler we extracted from momma's mouth. I have another OB peacock with a mouthful of babies. It is insane. These fish be fucking. The blood parrots keep trying and failing.

You keep severem? I love them.

I almost bought a young yellow jaguar cichlid the other night. Glad I didn't lol.

This post was edited by Skinned on Dec 13 2015 12:25am