Cichlasoma Ornatum Journal

[mattlee]

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

just down the road from me but dont have any room in any tanks........

 

[mattlee]

not really much been happening lately in the ornatum tank. maybe a bit of growth but nothing mega and colouration seems to have stayed the same.

i have removed and sold on the super red bristlenose as it was just making too much mess that is my last pleco ever i think as i just cant keep on top of their poo......
2 colombian tetras have been removed after getting black marks all over them which i didnt want spreading onto any other fish although all seems well.
im also tempted to sell the EBJD as i feel the 4ft tank they are currently in is getting slightly cramped and i cant upgrade until about july/august time

stocking today is -

6 x cichlasoma ornatum
10 x colombian tetra
1 x electric blue jack dempsey

 

[mattlee]

i found a half eaten colombian tetra today

not sure if the fish was attacked or died but its tail half was missing along with its eyes

i did a large water change last night that doesnt really bother them but i did remove most of the decor and give it a good clean, maybe it was too shocked by all of this as all of the others seem fine....

or have a got some killer cichlids on my hands

 

[england]

Hmmmm killers,,,hope not....but i am still looking forward to there progress..

 

[mattlee]

nothing much to report back really they have grown slightly and no more tetras have been eaten so maybe the tetra died of natural causes and was seen as a spot of lunch by the others.

im tempted to change the substrate to black as i think the very light play sand does wash the colours out a bit. maybe a complete decor, substarte and background change coming soon.

i am also moving on the EBJD now as i feel there are too many cichlids in a 4ft tank with 6 ornatums and 1 EBJD so he is going to a mates tank pretty soon probably when i do the tank change.

 

[mattlee]

i found another dead colombian tetra today

ive done a huge water change and gave the tank and decor a good clean. also removed the sand as i think im going to go black

 

[Kerber13]

Poor tetra how big will these guys get? My lfs got them in a couple of days ago and I'm tempted to start a whole new tank

 

[mattlee]

Poor tetra how big will these guys get? My lfs got them in a couple of days ago and I'm tempted to start a whole new tank

the tetra get quite big bodied and about 2-2.5 inches in length and the ornatums are a bit of a mystery as not many people have them but the bigggest wild caught is about 10 inches i believe.

 

[mattlee]

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?

i have been directed to this from someone on another forum which discusses the differences etc and it includes comments from jeff rapps who imported these to the UK from the USA.

http/www.cichlidae.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7890&start=40

 

[mattlee]

i added 2 spotted bulldog plecos to the tank yesterday and within minutes they were getting battered by the ornatums so were swiftly removed minus most of their fins
i added them to try and help a few algae issue due to the tank being in the comnservatory
ill be returning the plecos to the lfs as they will surely die in there within a day or so....!

i have also taken the EBJD to chris' house as the tank is getting a little crowded with 7 cichlids that are needing more room now so the tank stocking now is -

6 x cichlasoma ornatum
8 x colombian tetra

 

[england]

Little treat for you buddy,.
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqKOsB9CyCw&feature=player_embedded#at=20

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jrnh05OjMs&feature=player_embedded

 

[mattlee]

thanks Nelly they look stunning

mine are not far behind them in colouration just not quite as green/yellow yet, they have grown though and the biggest is looking about 4.5 inches now.

im upgrading their tank in about 2 months to a 6ft so hopefully they will have a growth spurt in that.

ive been trying to find any information on sexing these ornatums but so far can find nothing as i would be tempted to try putting a pair in a seperate tank to see what happened. it would also be nice to know what size/age these fish are mature enough to breed but as there is very little info on them i guess ill have to wait and find out myself

 

[mattlee]

just took a few pics as im trying to work out what ratio of male and female fish i have, although im struggling to get any info regarding the different sexes and mine all look very similar with no obvious differences except size at the minute....
the pics are pretty crap and dont show the colours off that well but ive not posted any for a while . ill try abd get some when its dark outside and the conservatory isnt so bright.

 

[DRE]

I check here more or less evry day to see updates. Great to see some pics. Happy to see that they are growing good.

Any rivalties yet?


I have a set of 4 and a thread here about those:
http/www.ciklid.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63805

They look very similar in size.

 

[england]

There looking good bro