A. thomasi vs. the common Krib

[Jayhawk]

I have an African riverine tank in other threads. The current African residents include:
1) 1 African Butterfly Fish
2) 1 Leopard Bush Fish (there were 2, but after a month it turned out both were male - which meant the larger male felt the other was one to many in the tank)
3) 3 Updside down cats

I also have 4 elderly cherry barbs, 1 clown pleco (5 years old and healthy as a horse), and a red tailed shark.

The largest fish in the tank are the bush fish, clown pleco, and red tailed shark all at 2.5 to 3" SL. I do know the bushfish and RTBS reach about 4-5" SL. The tank is a heavily planted 33 gallon tank with a footprint of 36"x12.5".

I'm contemplating adding either kribs or A. thomasi - a pair if possible (I've heard it's hard to sex thomasi) - as an addition to the tank. I've kept kribs, they're gorgeous, and I've spawned them in the past. To me, they're a known commodity and may be more aggressive (when spawning) than I want for the tank.

However, I know nothing of A. thomasi...anyone want to compare thomasi to kribs for me? Are they perhaps a more peaceful option for my tank (which is very peaceful) than kribs?

Thanks,

Eric

 

[tjudy]

I do know the bushfish and RTBS reach about 4-5" SL.

I have seen the leapard ctenopona get much larger than that. I know of one specimen that is at least 9", and a voracious eater of small fish. I would consider one of the smaller ctenopoma for that tank, such as Microctenopoma ansorgii or M. fasciolatus (I may not have gotten that name right). Both are colorful and smaller.

As to your question about the P. pulcher vs. A. thomasi.... I think that they are about the same in aggression, but the A. thomasi do nto grow as large as mature kribs can... therefore their aggression will seem less. They are beautiful fish, and every westie lover should try them at some point.

 

[aquaticclarity]

Shameless plug...

http://forum.apistogramma.com/showthread.php?t=7005&highlight=thomasi



Jeff

 

[Jayhawk]

aquaticclarity - lovely picture of a stunning fish...I want some even more now.

Ted - a 9" leopard bushfish? I have both Helmut Pinter's Laybrinthfish Book and the other labyrinth fish book (can't recall the author or title here from work - lovely hardbound book though), and they both list the max size as 6". Most aquarists I've talked with reported aquarium lengths of 4-5" being the norm. Are you sure it was Ctenopoma acutirostre and not one of it's larger brethern? I can guarantee you if he starts getting that big he'll be off to the LFS for credit! I would love to have M. fasciolatum (I think that's the species you're thinking of), but I can't find any around me and I've grown attached to the leopard bushfish.

As an aside, he's a marvelous fish - kind of like an oscar in personality and eating habits. That mouth of his can suck in crickets like a vacuum cleaner.

Thanks to both of you.

Eric

 

[tjudy]

Yep... it is C. acutiroste. The problem with books, is that sometimes the fish do not read them...:wink: There are many examples of fish that grow larger in captivity than they have ever been caught in the wild. Apistos notably, but also many bettas, killifish and others. Maybe C. acutirostre is one of them. I have an image of the big guy, but there is really nothin in it for scale. I do know that it is very old... at least a decade... and it is a workign cull eater so it gets a lot of protein.

 

[Jayhawk]

I'm pretty sure you're right about fish not reading books...but mine like to at least look at the pictures. ;-)

That's a monster leopard bushfish. They may well grow larger in an aquarium. Being such slow growers, I have some time to decide if it's worth getting a larger tank or if I should trade him in. At 9", I'd want a tank with an 18" width (maybe a 72).

I'd love to see the pic - even without anything for reference. At that size, I'm curious what his coloration was like since I know that changes with age.

Eric

 

[LeviathanGirl]

I wouldn't say the species is a slow grower. They are my absolute favorite culler. Much preferred over the oscars most my fish friends keep as cullers. I had 2 of them grow from 1 inch to 3 inches in around 2 months. I started out feeding them on frozen foods and ended up feeding them on redworms and crickets. I do so love their vacuum eating habbit. Mine would repeatedly stuff themselves till they looked like golf balls, maybe thats why they grew so fast. When I moved across the US, 2 years ago, I didnt have space in the available shipping containers and couldnt bring them with so I left them with my best friend, who keeps them in a 50 gallon in his living room. Their now a bit over 6inches and still stuffing themselves as much as possible on whatever their given. I currently have 1 2inch specimen in my 50 gallon oddball tank and am looking for more in the hopes of obtaining a pair. I'd like to spawn them if possible this time around.:biggrin:

 

[Jayhawk]

I originally thought I had a pair of bushfish. There were two at PetSmart that hung around together and had been there for about 4-6 months. One much larger than the other. I'm as big a labyrinth fish buff as I am a dwarf cichlid nut.

Well, after I brought them home, it only took about a month until I could truly sex the smaller one and the larger one started really picking on the smaller one (size is relative - the big one was 3", the small 2") and I gave the larger fish to a friend who runs a LFS (he wanted it for his home tank).

Back to thomasi vs. kribs - is one species more shy than the other? I prefer outgoing dwarf cichlids if possible...

 

[Jayhawk]

Well, I found a couple of lovely kribs at a LFS today. I'm pretty sure they're both females, but they acted more like a couple than the obvious male huddled in the upper corner of the tank looking all washed out (the two females I bought had dug out what looked like spawning pits).

Anyone ever kept a pair of females before? I'm OK not having a spawning pair (although I've only kept them as male/female pairs before). Another LFS is getting in a good sized shipment of kribs in a couple of weeks, so I could get a male if need be...but if the two females are happy - they can be together for all I care!

Eric