Thinking About Getting Into Some Africans

[Ferris]

BTW, I noticed above the mention of crabro. I've had both chipokae and crabro before but never in the same tank. IME, crabros are pretty darn feisty. Do you think the crabro would back down to the chipokae?

I only ask because it sounds like a crabro is the one more wanted and I'm afraid if the crabro doesn't back down the chipokae would kill it and I'd feel bad suggesting one.

IMO Crabro get a bad rap - they are not even close to Chipokae when it comes to aggression, more like Lombardoi - just one of the more aggressive common species (when i say common - i mean readily available )

Every Crabro i have kept, male and female, have been somewhere in the middle order of the tank hierarchy, if not lower. I have yet to see this famed aggression in many years of keeping them. My current female is the wimp of the tank, although she is in with all males

Did i mention - i like them.

 

[dthoffsett]

BTW, I noticed above the mention of crabro. I've had both chipokae and crabro before but never in the same tank. IME, crabros are pretty darn feisty. Do you think the crabro would back down to the chipokae?

I only ask because it sounds like a crabro is the one more wanted and I'm afraid if the crabro doesn't back down the chipokae would kill it and I'd feel bad suggesting one.

IMO Crabro get a bad rap - they are not even close to Chipokae when it comes to aggression, more like Lombardoi - just one of the more aggressive common species (when i say common - i mean readily available )

Every Crabro i have kept, male and female, have been somewhere in the middle order of the tank hierarchy, if not lower. I have yet to see this famed aggression in many years of keeping them. My current female is the wimp of the tank, although she is in with all males

Did i mention - i like them.

Yep, my girlie doesn't seem to be in the hierarchy at all. She goes where she likes, and everyone leaves her alone, though I've never seen her pick a fight. And she's in with relatively peaceful fish. P.acei, L.caeruleus, and M.callainos, the callainos can be pretty feisty at times.
And lately she's been giving me a heck of a show. In the wild crabros live in caves with a certain catfish (can't remember the name) they'll turn darker to steal the catfish's eggs, then when the catfish come back they'll go to the lighter barred color so the catfish won't attack. Anyways, around feeding time, my crabro has been turning really dark, and later in the day she lightens up again. I need to catch some pics of it.

Does your girl change colors Ferris?

 

[Ferris]

Does your girl change colors Ferris?

Does she ever! - She's often almost completely black if any of the males get a bit feisty and shows more brown that yellow most of the time. She's got bags of character, as have all the Crabro's i've kept, especially the females.