Synspilum

[Full3R]

I bought one of these knowing it exceeds 1 foot in length but thats about all i know, can someone give me some info on this fish


also does anyone know a long bodied cichlid that is marked similar to a frontosa?

[jman]

if your talking about the red head:

The Quetzal is another large cichlid that develops a large hump on its head. These become very colorful fish as they mature, and take their common name from a large and colorful Guatemalan bird. As the Quetzal matures, it develops from a silver and black color, to a powerful adult containing almost all the colors in the rainbow. The head is olive\pink, the gills and forhead and belly are red, the anal and ventral fins are a metalic blue, and the rest of the body and fins range from yellow to olive with black-marked scales, and green-tipped dorsal and caudal fins. This is one of the largest cichlids, reaching a length of 16" for a male if supplied with a healthy diet and regular water changes. They are often found in brackish waters.

If several males are kept together, the dominant one may develop a hump on its head. The Quetzal is hard to sex, as there are no apparent differences in the two sexes, except that the male gets much larger and develops brighter colors when mature. Females may develop the hump on their heads too.

In the aquarium, the Quetzal spends most of its time sifting through the vegetation and roaming the tank. In nature, the fish lives in slow-moving rivers and streams. Typically, Quetzals have the same temperment as Oscars, however they are much more shy. Young specimens will dart away at the slightest disturbance if not kept with other Quetzals or suitable tankmates. As this fish grows, it gains much more confidence.

Adults spawn on flat rocks which are cleaned by them. The female lays around 1000-2000 eggs. Some eggs will drift away and are eaten by the parents. The fry hatch in three days. The parents keep them hidden under rocks or in caves, until they become free-swimming a few days later. Feed the free-swimming fry or they will peck and eat at the parents' mucus and fins for food, which is not good for the parents.

[Full3R]

Awesome thanx alot, now i know why mine is shy, it needs friends of its own kind, so since they have the same tempramant as oscars does anyone think they are suitable tank mates?

[jeffs99dime]

if your talking about the red head:

The Quetzal is another large cichlid that develops a large hump on its head. These become very colorful fish as they mature, and take their common name from a large and colorful Guatemalan bird. As the Quetzal matures, it develops from a silver and black color, to a powerful adult containing almost all the colors in the rainbow. The head is olive\pink, the gills and forhead and belly are red, the anal and ventral fins are a metalic blue, and the rest of the body and fins range from yellow to olive with black-marked scales, and green-tipped dorsal and caudal fins. This is one of the largest cichlids, reaching a length of 16" for a male if supplied with a healthy diet and regular water changes. They are often found in brackish waters.

If several males are kept together, the dominant one may develop a hump on its head. The Quetzal is hard to sex, as there are no apparent differences in the two sexes, except that the male gets much larger and develops brighter colors when mature. Females may develop the hump on their heads too.

In the aquarium, the Quetzal spends most of its time sifting through the vegetation and roaming the tank. In nature, the fish lives in slow-moving rivers and streams. Typically, Quetzals have the same temperment as Oscars, however they are much more shy. Young specimens will dart away at the slightest disturbance if not kept with other Quetzals or suitable tankmates. As this fish grows, it gains much more confidence.

Adults spawn on flat rocks which are cleaned by them. The female lays around 1000-2000 eggs. Some eggs will drift away and are eaten by the parents. The fry hatch in three days. The parents keep them hidden under rocks or in caves, until they become free-swimming a few days later. Feed the free-swimming fry or they will peck and eat at the parents' mucus and fins for food, which is not good for the parents.

very informative post jman! good on ya!

[jman]

depending on the oscars as far as size and how they grow determines wether or not the oscars will do anything to the red head.
Trying with oscars at a mid- size seems to be a great tactic.

[Full3R]

does anyone know of the blue long bodied cichlid i described before?

[jeffs99dime]

sounds like a peacock cichlid to me.

[jman]

does anyone know of the blue long bodied cichlid i described before?

where did you describe it earlier?

[Full3R]

it was at the bottom of my first post

Jeffs99ime according to the seller this fish gets to over 30cm long and is from what he said quite carnivourous

[jeffs99dime]

oh. i didn't see that part. lol. okay. maybe it's not a peacock.--sorry bout' that

[jman]

only think similar i have is Tretocephalus Cichlid but i will do more research but i know my fish is similar to frontosa

[Juannie]

I've actually got a female synspilum, she's currently in a tank with my rather large pleco and oscar. She gets very very aggressive when she's laying eggs - which is way too regular for my liking. I have them in a 4foot tank whcih seems to be fine for now. In the future they'll have to be moved because they're rather large now. She has tried to bite me when she's laid/laying eggs, though when she's not she's a beautiful girl, though very very shy. I've found them to be a very hardy fish as well, with the most beautiful colours. You should make sure there are plenty of caves or hiding places for them as well. She eats a good variety of food but won't hand feed like my oscar. I have been told synspilums are very hard to partner up unless you do it when they're both small.