Cichlasoma Ornatum Journal

[mattlee]

sort of near, but in the andes anything is a long drive,id say around 8hrs/../

must be tempting though

you could collect a number of stunning species

will you still be keeping fish, i guess you will some how

 

[mattlee]

the ornatums are still doing fine and growing quite well. i feel the tank is maybe too full now with the adition of the tetras but it will only be until the summer until i get the 6x2x2 to transfer them into.

ive not added any new pics recently as they have not really changed colourwise etc from the last pics i posted.

still trying to get a pic of the EBJD for james though and keep failing..... the jack is getting quite chunky now as well and is quite different from the last few pics i posted. i will get some james i promise

 

[Verminator89]

Glad i'm still in your thoughts for a picture of your EB Jack Can't wait.

 

[mattlee]

 

[Verminator89]

What plec is that Matt? Never seen that before...

I'm drooling over the Jack ofcourse

 

[mattlee]

What plec is that Matt? Never seen that before...

I'm drooling over the Jack ofcourse

the plec is a super red bristlenose but its more an orange/red with speckles if im honest. ive had it from very very small and the bristles have started to appear recently so im guessing its a male.

 

[DRE]

Can I just ask were you got these Ornatums? Are they for sale in Europe?

This is on the top of my wish list no doubt.

 

[mattlee]

Can I just ask were you got these Ornatums? Are they for sale in Europe?

This is on the top of my wish list no doubt.

cichlasoma ornatums are not a commonly available fish to purchase im affraid. i had the last of a group that was imported towards the end of last year through oddball express in staffordshire.
apparently they have not been available in the UK/Europe for over 25 years. the reasons behind this im not 100% sure about but ive heard they live in a very hard to get to area of Colombia. no one knows when the next shipment will be available it could be another 25 years or it could be next week

i do however know someone that is selling a group that are the same size as mine at £50 each and i know of someone selling a 5-6 inch male and female for £200. these are not cheap fish to purchase due to their rarity and demand, and im sure most people that buy them wont ever sell them without an extremely great reason

 

[mattlee]

the fish were in a good photogenic mood today so here are a few more pics. even the EBJD was up for a pic or two....

the addition of the colombian tetras was a great move not just to bring out the orntums from their shy stage but they look stunning, i hope the colouration of these guys can be seen on the pics

 

[mattlee]

just a couple of pics to show how much these fish have grown and coloured up since the day i picked them up

their first few days in my tanks- december 2010

hot they look today- march 2011

 

[DRE]

Great looking. What temperament do they have? Aggressive or not?

I saw a discussing on cichlidae regarding whether the ornatums released to the hobby last year was really cichlasoma Gephyrum a very similar looking species just from a different area. Have you heard any discussings regarding your fish?

 

[mattlee]

they seem quite well behaved so far just the odd typical cichlid nip here and there.....

all i know is what they were imported as which is cichlasoma ornatum from the rio san juan colombia. if you read the first post in this topic there is a small comment on the cichlasoma gephyrum which if i remember right might be a cross breed between ornatums and atromaculatums

 

[DRE]

Any updates? New pics? Have they colored up anything yet?

In Sweden we have found a set of Cichlids misslabelled as Caquetaia Umbrifera. We believe they are Cichlasoma Gephyrum or Ornatum.

I managed to get 4. Very small, just less 2 inches.

 

[mattlee]

Any updates? New pics? Have they colored up anything yet?

In Sweden we have found a set of Cichlids misslabelled as Caquetaia Umbrifera. We believe they are Cichlasoma Gephyrum or Ornatum.

I managed to get 4. Very small, just less 2 inches.

not much change since the last update. these are quite slow growers so i doubt there will be much change until they reach 5-6 inches now....

get some pics of them up and ill see if they look like mine

 

[always4lora]

Jealous there are a couple of these on AC but they're too far away