“Not the Cupids” again…

I printed up the Seriously Fish article on these guys, and am going to drop it off at the semi local pet store, and see if I can talk the aquarium manager into taking them… it’s funny, they say these need to be kept in a group… they still aren’t fighting anyone else, but constantly fight amongst themselves… they are slowly starting to color up, and extend their fins, but they bash anything in the tank, that gets in the way… they are like 4 brothers watching professional wrestling in the living room… stuff gets broken… the big angel is mad at them, he got knocked into something, and has an abrasion on his side… I think it’s time to try to get them out of there ( the 2 - 45’s in this built in group are really hard to catch fish out of )

I can’t see the need to keep them in a group, from witnessing my tank, they are all independent, and won’t allow any of their brothers near them… while no issues with the other fish…

This makes me want to keep one of them, is that really a bad idea??? Between them, and all the Cory’s, they are keeping the black sand bottom looking great..

They can be extremely social. You may have been unlucky and gotten all males. Mine rarely fought and cruised around in a loose group.

Lone ones can become aggressive with tankmates. They become grouchy.

If you are talking about b. cupido i ahve a group of 7 and they never fight.

@anewbie ... sorry, I was making reference to my old thread... Where I ordered Cupids, & they sent me Earth Eaters... (Geophagus Dicrozoster )( which you actually identified ) they were supposed to be cupids... these Geo's could be a professional wrestling tag team...

Magnum Man said:

@anewbie ... sorry, I was making reference to my old thread... Geophagus Dicrozoster ( which you actually identified ) they were supposed to be cupids...

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My b. cupido are among the most timid fishes i own; I added a group of m. egregius (great fish); which helped calm them down. I would not keep them solo or in a small group; it might help if the tank was setup more like my blackwater aquariums but i didn't start it that way.
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the b. wavarni (i only have one because the others were doa and no has had them in stock for a long time); is more out going but not sure if it is species difference or his aquarium which is setup much more like a blackwater aquarium (they are a true blackwater species - this is a recent picture of that aquarium):

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and a recent picture of my b. cupido:

I've had groups of both cupido and wavrini, several years past. I found them both equally shy. It's a really nice Cichlid, and to me, those photos show really well cared for fish. The markings on them look happy. Before I moved my cupido to their own tank, they were not good looking fish, but on their own, they were like yours.
I hate to say this @Magnum Man , but the fish you didn't get is a stunner. I just don't think they'd adapt well to your busy tanks.

GaryE said:

I've had groups of both cupido and wavrini, several years past. I found them both equally shy. It's a really nice Cichlid, and to me, those photos show really well cared for fish. The markings on them look happy. Before I moved my cupido to their own tank, they were not good looking fish, but on their own, they were like yours.
I hate to say this @Magnum Man , but the fish you didn't get is a stunner. I just don't think they'd adapt well to your busy tanks.

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If i had to do it over i would use finer substrate; one day i might still shovel out the substrate and replace it with pool filter sand. The substrate in there isn't super coarse but it could be finer. The tank is 4ft x 4ft so it will be a project... I'm getting too old to lift hundreds of pounds of substrate

@anewbie what’s this fish? Cropped from your photo

Mesonauta egregius.

They get kind of big and chunky bodied as they grow, but are nice fish to keep.

Common name around here, is Festivums...

GaryE said:

Mesonauta egregius.

They get kind of big and chunky bodied as they grow, but are nice fish to keep.

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So far they are staying very small; I have some 3 year old m. Festivum which as you say are quite large and chunky. Also the pattern on the m. egregius is nicer; i have a breeding pair (same size as the ones in the picture) that constantly show 'stress' pattern.

Last but least the behavior of the two species is a bit difference; with the egregius a bit friendlier (perhaps too friendly) and the festivum a bit more stand-offish.