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Paratilapia sp. ''Andapa''

Hannibal

Hannibal

Members
I was checking out Dave's list to see if there was anything that I wanted to pick up and came across these guys. Does anyone here keep them or have you ever kept them before? I have a 5ft 120 or so acrylic tank that will be getting setup soon and was thinking about picking 6 or so up. From what I have briefly read they are gentle giants and don't require a 500 gallon tank to thrive. I am going to continue to research them but figured I would check here to see if anyone would chime in on their experiences.

Thanks!

Chris
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Cool fish. I've never kept them but thought that they acted more like New World cichlids (get big, pair bond, substrate spawners). I'd guess that you'd end up with a pair after they hit sexual maturity, but maybe not be able to keep others in the tank.
 
Hannibal

Hannibal

Members
Tony said:
I've never kept them, but they sound like awesome fish, Chris and that tank may be good for them.

Found this thread on MFK. A few good posts on their mannerisms...

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?570095-Paratilapia-sp-Andapa
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Thanks Tony, I read through this one earlier and it had some pretty good information in it. It's actually what led me to believe I could keep them in the tank. I still owe you the dimensions of the pre drilled holes in my tank...I haven't forgotten. ;)


jonclark96 said:
Cool fish. I've never kept them but thought that they acted more like New World cichlids (get big, pair bond, substrate spawners). I'd guess that you'd end up with a pair after they hit sexual maturity, but maybe not be able to keep others in the tank.
Click to expand...
From what I have read, they do get bigger and they do pair off. But it said that if you raise them up as a group they may bicker but are pretty tolerable of each other. Of course much like humans every fish is different when it comes to temperament.


Localzoo said:
Ohh man those sound awesome

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
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Exactly what I was thinking!!!
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Hannibal said:
Thanks Tony, I read through this one earlier and it had some pretty good information in it. It's actually what led me to believe I could keep them in the tank. I still owe you the dimensions of the pre drilled holes in my tank...I haven't forgotten. ;)
Click to expand...


Tis ok... I still owe you pics and dimensions on that sump. ;)
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I've never kept this specific Paratilapia but have kept both "small spot" and "large spot" and have found them to be ROUGH on each other...especially the "big spot"

I've grown out a group of 5 or 6 a couple of times and ended up with a really nice male both times.

They're more like South Americans in behavior than Rift Lakes or CA's: could be bullied by Central Americans (other than say, gentle giants) or rift lake fish (torn to pieces).

They also get big.

Matt
 
Hannibal

Hannibal

Members
dogofwar said:
I've never kept this specific Paratilapia but have kept both "small spot" and "large spot" and have found them to be ROUGH on each other...especially the "big spot"

I've grown out a group of 5 or 6 a couple of times and ended up with a really nice male both times.

They're more like South Americans in behavior than Rift Lakes or CA's: could be bullied by Central Americans (other than say, gentle giants) or rift lake fish (torn to pieces).

They also get big.

Matt
Click to expand...

Thanks Matt!

I will be prepared to move and/or separate as needed. Do you happen to remember how quickly they grow?
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
They're a fish that, from my experience, that grows more based on place in the pecking order vs. food or conditions.

I had a group of them in a 4' tank...the biggest one grew to 6-7" in under a year and many of them stayed small. I removed the big boy (he had killed a couple) and the next biggest one blew up.

Matt
 
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