P. Sacrimontis

[2ManyHobbies]

I recently acquired a very nice pair of wild P. Sacrimontis. At first the pair got along just great. Super color. Over the past few days, the male has lost some of his color and is chasing the female around quite a bit. As you might expect, the female is being chased around quite a bit and has lost her color. They are both eating quite well, veggie flake and brine shrimp. I am just trying to get them to get along and hopefully even give me some eggs. Any ideas? I have been keeping them at 75 F, pH=6.8 and 100 ppm. Should I separate them until things settle down? Thanks-

 

[tjudy]

Awesome fish. P. sacrimontis can change their color patterns to an amazing variety of different looks, and they all mean something. What color is the belly of your male? Solid red, or green in front of red?

How large is the aquarium? This fish needs space. Use a lot of driftwood or caves to prived paces for the female to hide from the male?

A great way to diffuse the aggression is to have some extra females in the tank. If more P. sacrimontis are hard to get, a few large P. pulcher females will also work. Once there are others in the tank the male and dominant female will settle down adn defend a territory from the others.

Ted

 

[westafrica]

Hi!

I agree with Ted, even if they are alike to P. pulcher, this sp. is more nervous & needs space and a richly decorated tank with visual barriers and hiding places.

Apart from Ted's recommendations, there are 2 other possible solutions :

- put some cichlid juvies or some dithers like Melanotaenia or big Hypessobrycon with them (2-4cm)

- a trick I use when my Pelvicachromis won't pair, sometimes it works : put a small mirror in front of the male along the glass for a few minutes several times a day. Sometimes he will try to attack that mirror, and change his behavior towards the female, displaying in front of her. Sounds funny but not exepensive and it worked several times for me!

In case you fear the female gets killed, you can also put a little PVC pipe at the surface, where the female can hide.

 

[2ManyHobbies]

Thanks for the ideas! It looks like my tank might be too small- I have them essentially by themselves in a planted 29 with lots of caves and driftwood.

I took out the male last night- he was a bit drab- no real color on his belly. As soon as I put him by himself in my growout tank, his stripes became more intense . I did not have time to see if his belly color returned. I am hoping that the female establishes herself in the tank and claims some territory before I put the male back in. I think I am also going to have to 'borrow' the wife's compact so the male will have something to look at. The fish auction is also this weekend. I may have to get some P. pulcher females.

If you have more thoughts it would be appreciated!

 

[Lenny Llambi]

This is why I never get rid of random, unmatched dwarf cichlids. They make great target fish for the species that you are trying to work with.

 

[2ManyHobbies]

I know I am going to be getting a bunch Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'Moliwe' fry this weekend, about 1" in length. Would that help with keeping the male occupied? Or would that be too many fish for the 29 gallon tank?

 

[tjudy]

The P. taeniatus would keep the male occupied, but he male kill a few that are that small. OR he will ignore them because they are too small to be a threat. Hard to say. I do not know if I would want to risk the sacrifice of some P. taeniatus when I could risk a more common and inexpensive P. pulcher.

 

[jmtrops]

I have a wild trio I picked up at the ACA convention. They are in a 55 gallon filled with driftwood, clay caves and plants. I have about 15 tetras for dither fish. I do not see one of the females very often but the pair is out all of the time with the female displaying for the male. Hopefully we will have a spawn in the next few months. A 29 gallon is on the small side for these guys. A standard 30 gallon would be better, the extra 6" length makes a differance.

Jim

 

[georgedv]

Hi everyone.

2ManyHobbies, I have 2 females in separate 55 gal tanks (cuz they hate each other), but no males. I am looking for one but can't find any. These Pelvs are tougher to please then other pelvs that I keep, but their coloration and patterns can match any saltwater fish. These two females destroyed 4 other sacrimontis when they were all juvies and in the same 55 gal tank. So be ready for a higher level of aggression.

jmtrops, I was in Atlanta for the ACA convention and during my first visit I saw some pelv, but they were drab and could not ID them. The next day they were gone.....so it was you!!!! ha ha. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy the two females I have. They are aggressive, but they keep me entertained.

If they lay eggs and I still have no males...I have dibs on at least one male.


g

 

[aquaticclarity]

I've got wild P. sacrimontis for sale at www.aquaticclarity.com Shipping is avaliable for a few more weeks yet this year.

Jeff

 

[jmtrops]

georgedv, I got mine from Dave's. He delivered them to me at the convention and they went right in my cooler. After spending almost a week in the bag the male was red as he could be.

Jim