Tank Mate For My Tex

[foley69]

i was thinking of getting a senegal birchir for my 55 with my texas but i didnt know if it would be big enough i want some kind of fish for it as it seem bare

 

[minxfishy]

Personally I wouldnt do it, not that I know anything about birchirs, so I could be wrong, but as Ive said, its gonna be dependent on the personality of that Texas once it hits maturity, until then he will be fairly safe, but be ready to rehome quickly when he turns and he will get aggressive, it will almost seem, overnight!

 

[foley69]

ah okay well if not a senegal is there anything else that i could add that will make the tank more lively

 

[shroob]

I personally wouldn't add anything, a 55 with a texas isn't alot of room for anything else. Plus you got the texas's mean attitude when it hits maturity as minx said. Give it a couple of months and you'll find the texas will fill out the tank.

 

[foley69]

well ist 2-3" now so cant see it growing too big in a couple of months

 

[shroob]

Young texas can grow at a rate of an inch per month with good feeding/water changes (0.75" I would say is average for a young texas), but slow down at the 6-7" mark. They don't grow as fast as an oscar or red devil but they arn't slow growers either, while the tank may look empty now in a few months you'll have a fish thats got attitude and the bulk to back it up.

What sort of texas have you got out of interest cyanoguttatus or carpintis? Cyan's grow abit larger so I would expect their growth rates to be faster when younger.

 

[minxfishy]

Yep trust me mate, he will grow big fast, I couldnt believe the growth rate of mine. Once he hits 5-6" in about 4 months time if not sooner, then he will get mean.

 

[foley69]

i have a cyan as he has green speckles rather than blue and black spoldges on him

out of interest minx what do you feed your tex i am feeding mine sinking catfish pellets and i am going to get some frozen beef heart and prawnes tomorrow

 

[minxfishy]

Tetra doromin is his staples, he turned his nose up at hikari! Plus the usual bloodworms, prawns, cockles, mussel.

 

[foley69]

ah good i just got some frozen beefheart today gona give it a try later on with hsi usual feeding of sinkers

 

[shroob]

I would advise against feeding beefheart even as a treat. Most fish find it hard to digest mammalian fats and the use of beefheart isn't promoted as much as it was in todays fishkeeping (its main advocate was by discus breeders), plus it polutes water alot. A better alternative would be krill, shrimp, worms, silversides as the occasional treat and for texas cichlids veg - a large part of their diet is vegetable matter.

 

[foley69]

well i have algea wafers what other good veg could i feed it

 

[shroob]

I feed peas, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, courgette, banana. I blanched the veg and deshelled the peas.

 

[markandhisfish]

i can vouch for krill i give it to my fish and they thrive on it . its also said to be a good " conditioning" food. other frozen food i use regularly for my cichlids are red mosquito larvae black mosquito larvae mysis shrimp fine cockels cichlid mix tubifex bloodworm prawns a ( £5 bag from iceland has lasted me ages ) another plus with the prawns is they are a good source of protein. but i usualy give once or twice a week as a treat . along with a good quality flake . altho abviously not all at once lol. and every sunday before water change they get a "livefood feast" in the form of a big bag of daphnia and a big bag of bloodworm

what are silversides shroob?

 

[shroob]

i can vouch for krill i give it to my fish and they thrive on it . its also said to be a good " conditioning" food. other frozen food i use regularly for my cichlids are red mosquito larvae black mosquito larvae mysis shrimp fine cockels cichlid mix tubifex bloodworm prawns a ( £5 bag from iceland has lasted me ages ) another plus with the prawns is they are a good source of protein. but i usualy give once or twice a week as a treat . along with a good quality flake . altho abviously not all at once lol. and every sunday before water change they get a "livefood feast" in the form of a big bag of daphnia and a big bag of bloodworm

what are silversides shroob?

They're small silver fish, think they are also called lance fish. I think theres a variety of small marine fish sold under the name 'silversides'. They are ok as a treat but used sparingly. My polypterus love them.