Amphilophus amarillo

Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Like Michael, I saw a target of opportunity at the convention on Saturday and jumped on it. One of Dan's donations was a bag of Amphilophus amarillo.

There's a lot of info on the web about the genus, but not a lot on this particular species. And the info that I can find varies widely regarding temperament.

Being a relative newbie to the Monster Fish scene, I only know the genus as big rowdy folks (Trimacs, Midas, Red Devils), but heard that these guys aren't as bad as those guys. Are these a variation of hogoboomorum?

I'm keeping a pair of Mo's Parachromis Yellow Head La Ceiba together in a 48"x18" tank. With a divider, I hope to keep them in there forever. With the larger size of these guys, would they be ok in a 75 as well?

Can a pair be kept with any other fish in a 6 footer or is this asking for trouble? I was thinking that maybe significantly smaller/different looking fish may not post a threat and would be ignored? Any chance of this?

I'd like to eventually move them in with the my firemouths, Panamensis and HRPs in the 125 once they put on a bit more size. How long will this work for? Would they be compatible with any of those three fish or would they end up chew toys?

I'd guess that keeping a single specimen in there would not be an issue, but where's the fun in that?

Thanks in advance.


(Not my guys, but dang, that's a good looking fish...)
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jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Hogaboomorum and amarillo are differnt species, although similar just like most of the fish in the midas complex. I've not kept them, but maybe will get a few of yours once you start to thin the crowd.

I kept some hogaboomorum that I got from Mo a year or two ago. I had 4 in my 180 along with a bunch of other fish. They got along relatively well, but there was usually a nipped fin or two. I ended up selling them when I decided to take the tank in a different direction. Ended up that it was 3 males and a female. One male went to a separate buyer and the pair killed the 3rd wheel for the new Owner. Not sure what happened after that. The moral of the story is that once they get to breeding size, they will most likely be too aggressive to keep with other fish. They should be okay until they get to 6" or so.

You could probably keep a pair in a divided 75 as adults, but it would be tight.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
jonclark96 said:
Hogaboomorum and amarillo are differnt species, although similar just like most of the fish in the midas complex. I've not kept them, but maybe will get a few of yours once you start to thin the crowd.

I kept some hogaboomorum that I got from Mo a year or two ago. I had 4 in my 180 along with a bunch of other fish. They got along relatively well, but there was usually a nipped fin or two. I ended up selling them when I decided to take the tank in a different direction. Ended up that it was 3 males and a female. One male went to a separate buyer and the pair killed the 3rd wheel for the new Owner. Not sure what happened after that. The moral of the story is that once they get to breeding size, they will most likely be too aggressive to keep with other fish. They should be okay until they get to 6" or so.

You could probably keep a pair in a divided 75 as adults, but it would be tight.
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Cool. Thanks Jon. I guess I have a lot to think about.

Would they be ok with Cyps?
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Sure, the cyps will give them something to chase around (and eventually destroy). They are awesome looking fish when they get bigger. Definitely potential glass bangers.
 
gravel_digger

gravel_digger

Members
The Hogs are no joke once they start putting on size. I started out with 3 about a year ago and now I am down to 2 that I have to keep separated. The big male is slightly crazy and by himself at this time. he has a bad habit of tearing off the intake tubes on the the ac-70s on the tank for whatever reason. this individual fish is probably one of the nastiest fish personality wise i have ever owned.

He completely shredded the other 2 that were in with him so now he is by his self on permanent lockdown.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
gravel_digger said:
The Hogs are no joke once they start putting on size. I started out with 3 about a year ago and now I am down to 2 that I have to keep separated. The big male is slightly crazy and by himself at this time. he has a bad habit of tearing off the intake tubes on the the ac-70s on the tank for whatever reason. this individual fish is probably one of the nastiest fish personality wise i have ever owned.

He completely shredded the other 2 that were in with him so now he is by his self on permanent lockdown.
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Sweet. :rolleyes:
 
AquaStudent

AquaStudent

CCA Members
gravel_digger said:
The Hogs are no joke once they start putting on size. I started out with 3 about a year ago and now I am down to 2 that I have to keep separated. The big male is slightly crazy and by himself at this time. he has a bad habit of tearing off the intake tubes on the the ac-70s on the tank for whatever reason. this individual fish is probably one of the nastiest fish personality wise i have ever owned.

He completely shredded the other 2 that were in with him so now he is by his self on permanent lockdown.
Click to expand...

So I suppose the "Monster" Fish categorization is rather fitting. Don't put the tank too close to your chair :p
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
blkmjk said:
Where is the update on these beasts?

Drew
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Oooohhh... thanks for the reminder.

They were shredding their tankmates in the 125, so I moved the group to their own 90 about a month ago. Doing fine so far. Will take some video/pics tonight. :)
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Yup. Biggest ones are probably 3.5"-4" now. Will be interested to get some guesses on breakdown of sexes. Will definitely post up a video.... will be easier to compare them.
 
1bigdovii

1bigdovii

Members
Cool you got some amarillos Tony. They are great fish. I they act pertty similar to the hogas i have personality wise. I havent had nearly the aggression issues with the amarillos yet though. I got a group of f0 amarillos from rapps back in april. Mine are currently 4"-5.5" and in a 120gallon tank.
If there is any info you need just let me know buddy. Im no expert on them but have learned a little from keeping them:)

Sent from my SCH-I500 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
1bigdovii said:
Cool you got some amarillos Tony. They are great fish. I they act pertty similar to the hogas i have personality wise. I havent had nearly the aggression issues with the amarillos yet though. I got a group of f0 amarillos from rapps back in april. Mine are currently 4"-5.5" and in a 120gallon tank.
If there is any info you need just let me know buddy. Im no expert on them but have learned a little from keeping them:)

Sent from my SCH-I500 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Click to expand...

Sure do appreciate it, Chuck. :)

Didn't have a chance to change the water and take pics last night (new drift wood in there making tannins go nuts), but have a fish night planned tonight.
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I have 3 that I got from the same batch as Tony at AquaMania. I had them in a 75 where they were growing like wild fire (and frankly getting a bit rowdy for their less aggressive tankmates). I moved them into my 180 about 3 months ago where they are the smallest fish in the tank and their growth has slowed down quite a bit. I'd guess the largest is around 4" now. I'll try to get pics before too long.
 
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