Contaminants in S. cf. bleheri/Square Head shipment

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Did any one out there get any of the Steatocranus cf. bleheri that Toyin had for sale a few months back? The fish were later identified as S. Square Head by Anton and Ted. I'm asking for the following reason. I received six juvies through a joint order with Ted and Jeff. Five of the fish are putting on size like crazy, whereas the sixth specimen grows WAY slower and displays a slightly different coloration. I suspect that fish might be a species other than Square Head and came in as a contaminant. Did anybody else buy some of these fish when they were available and made similar observations?

Janos

 

[aquaticclarity]

Janos,

Ted can confirm this but I believe that is were the Steatocranus sp. dwarf that he has came from. It's a much smaller and much more aggressive Steatocranus. So much so that pairs don't always get along well and they REALLY don't like any other sp. dwarf in the tank.

Jeff

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Thanks, Jeff. Let's wait and see what Ted has to add. If mine truly is sp. Dwarf I'd like to get a few extra ones or pass my single specimen on to someone who keeps them. The sp. Dwarf doesn't mess at all with the Square Heads in the tank. (Well, they are 3 to 4 times his/her size.)

Janos

 

[tjudy]

That is probably a sp. dwarf. According to Toyin they came in together, and according to Anton they are found very near each other, if not sympatrically.

I have two males and 1 female. The males show have nice elongated dorsal and anal fins. If you have a female I will send you my extra male. They do better in pairs. Any more than two in a tank = death and destruction... I had 8... :frown:

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

This thread made me think about how very frequently the smallest fish can be the most aggressive. I have a some rather small Neolamp splendens that are beating the crap out of Tilapia gutterosa that are 3 times there size. And I have a young pair of Hemichromis cf. guttatus that are dominating a pair of full grown Tilapia joka. I guess when you're small, you've got to be mean...

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Ted,

I'll try to sex my specimen tomorrow and let you know. Thanks for the offer.

Janos