Steatocranus casuarius

[cosmiccow]

Hi,
I saw these guys last week at the LFS and I had to have them!
They had about a dozen and said they had had them for a long time. Not a big seller. This is the same store were I got my trio of nanochromis parilus.

I plan on putting them in a 36"x18" tank (65 gal.) soon. They are temporarily in my planted 29 gal. In this tank I have a pair of GBR's, some cory's and a few random danios.

I bought a male and a female that we thought might be paired. So far they have been compatible but seem to hang out in seperate areas of the bottom of the tank. It is too soon for me to tell if they are paired. They seem more mellow then the parilus, especially the male.

I've read up on this species but one thing I'm not sure about is if they are compatible with cory's? I see them chasing them, mostly during feeding, but I have not seen any "real" aggression. I really want to keep these with some cory's. I have no plans on breeding any fish I own. Can any one comment on this endeavor? Any tips or ideas?

Thanks, Tony

 

[tjudy]

They should not have any problems with cories. S. casuarius is pretty forgiving. The males can bet pretty big, but are very slow growing. They like spawning caves with small openings... just large enough for the male to get into. They want to be able to sit in it with their big face blocking the entrance.

 

[Simon Morgan]

I have no plans on breeding any fish I own

If you have a genuine pair you might not have any say in the matter! Chances are when they are large enough they will breed. They won't harm the corys unless they do breed and even then the corys usually learn to stay away.

 

[cosmiccow]

Thanks for the replies!
I made the move yesterday, and so far, all is well!

It seems the female is more annoyed with the cories then the male. She chases them a bit while the male just looks at them.

Regarding "pairing", does sharing the same cave indicate the two are "paired"?

 

[Simon Morgan]

Yes, it sounds like they have bonded!

 

[cosmiccow]

Well its true you can't stop a genuine pair from breeding! The problem its my GBR pair that did last night, (probably not a good mix?).
Needless to say they are defending their eggs and chasing all intruders successfully, so far....
The GBR pair are not full grown and I have little experience with this species until recently. This is their first spawn.
Will the GBR's be able to stand up to the S. casuarius? So far there have been a couple of 'stand offs" but no serious fighting. Is it inevitable that the two species will clash together? I'm trying to decide if I need to separate them?
Again, thanks for any tips or ideas!

Tony

 

[viejo]

I hate acronyms .. WTH are GBRs? ...

 

[ed seeley]

GBRs are German Blue Rams. Or Mikrogeophagus ramirezi in latin! :biggrin: