Are Festivum‘s as weirdly freaky as angels

[Magnum Man]

Are they as mentally unstable over their lives, or do they tend to be a little more stable over their lives???

I often see them recommended as a replacement for angels in a community tank… I’ve never kept them???

thoughts???

 

[Colin_T]

What do you mean by stable / unstable?

They aren't inbred like angelfish so are generally healthier and have fewer deformities. Temperament wise they are similar to angelfish.

 

[GaryE]

There are several species in the group, all with the same basic body plan. Sizes vary.

I found Mesonauta egregius to be several times the body weight of an angel, and overall larger. They grew into big clunkers, with none of the elegance of their youth. They weren't the most interesting Cichlid I've ever known - mildly aggressive lumps of fish matter.

I didn't like them. I got them 3 times to figure that out. One time, I think they were M insignus, which could have grown to 20cm. In those days, I didn't quarantine, and they never got a chance to prove their size.

Both other times, I gave them to fish club friends who had large Amazon tanks.

They're almost always sold as M festivus.

 

[Magnum Man]

I find angel fish “pretty”, but not very angelic as they mature, as many as I’ve had, I’ve never had them pair up, and every time I’ve tried them, I end up with a single angel per tank… they must have to be kept only a in large groups, or single angel per tank… since these are often recommended as a replacement for angels, I was just wondering if they are as psychotic

These caught my eye, but are never in stock, so I’ve never tried them….

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www.dansfish.com

 

[Magnum Man]

Mutt… ( pet store angel ) has been growing rapidly, and feels the need to be tank boss… it generally is peaceful to everyone, except at feeding time, when it battles everyone into the corners… it’s a pig, I expect because it’s hungry, with it’s rapid growth, but it seems it would rather guard the food, than eat it… it’s been challenging me to find a way to feed… lately I’ve been pinching off smaller pieces of tubeflex worm cubes, as a snack / appetizer, and once a million pieces are floating around, I add the main course… that seems to lessen the aggression at feeding time, but I don’t like to feed the same thing everyday, but the smaller floating foods spread around the tank gives everyone a chance to eat, and seems to appease the angel

 

[GaryE]

If the fish were slender like an angel, or moved like an angel, they would be an option. I found them as aggressive among themselves as any angel, but heavier bodied (bioload) and nowhere near as nice as a scalare, I know in the older texts from Axelrod, for example, he said they could replace angels, and I bit on that hook.

The pleasure in watching angels, to me, is on how they move. They are a graceful fish, when they aren't committing murder. Mesonauta have the angel style 'feelers'/modified fins, but to me, the comparison ends right there. I really wanted that fish at one time, but found it grew into an unattractive fish, in time.

I found them as aggressive as angels - no more, no less. I always bought groups, as I would for angels, and they always established a pecking order that necessitated moving the weakest to another tank. I had them in a 75, with the low ranked fish going into a 55 to recover before I rehomed them via our fish club.

Many people love them though.

I always bought small groups of angels and grew them out. And I always had to move some of them to other tanks. I had a pair of Colombian wild caught scalare that had become enormous, with great fin growth before I moved. I didn't think they'd survive a winter move with a 10 hour drive to a temporary set up. For all the aggravation they caused me, I miss them and would get more in a heartbeat. There, I had started with 4. One was killed, one was rehomed and the pair never spawned, but were huge.

 

[Magnum Man]

Well knowing how I stock tanks, I have no room for them anyway, I was just curious about them, with no experience