Two ~16" Xingu, four 10"-16" Meta, and one unknown ~1' peacock bass in 4500 gal

[thebiggerthebetter]

I got four Rio Meta pbass from Wes in Aug 2015 and a bit later two Xingu pbass. They were about 2"-3" and have grown today to ~16" for the Xingu pair and 10"-16" for the Meta. I am a Cichla newbie and these were pretty much my first Cichla.

I wonder if I recall Wes' ID correctly and they can be confirmed.

I was given another pbass by Joe of Joefish Aquatics, Ft. Myers, FL about half a year ago at ~3". Joe thought it could have been caught in FL but we can't be sure at all. A customer brought it and one 6" temensis to Joe's LFS one day. His name is Nabaldashnik and I wonder what the species may be. It has grown very well and reached ~1' currently.

They all learned to take baitfish and pellets after having been fasted several days to a week from the get go.

Here are two videos of them in 4500 gal (the second video is focused only on the unknown pbass):

 

[SheoshScout]

Walking up to that tank would be like taking a step into paradise. Very nice

 

[Mr.AzulBass]

Damn thats a big tank, Damn thats a lot of fish!

 

[kendragon]

I see Azuls and Orinos. Where's the Xingu?

 

[gangster]

I see Azuls and Orinos. Where's the Xingu?

I was just about to say the same.

Great looking azuls and orino's!

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Thank you, mates, much! I appreciate the knowledge and what I believe are the compliments

So the Rio Meta pbass must be the orinocoense you mention, and the ones I bought, IIRC, as "Xingu pbass" from fugupuff must be the azuls (which I suspected because azuls are rather hard to confuse with other pbass when they grow up a bit, right?).

The azuls were too far away in this video. I will post close-up videos of the azuls later then. Not that I doubt your expertise but for my learning and your potential pleasure.

What about the pbass ID in the second video?

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Here is another video that shows the azuls better, much closer but not quite a close-up yet. Will keep at it.

 

[kendragon]

Always nice to see big bass.
Nabaldashnik is a hybrid. Some people call them farmies.

 

[gangster]

Thank you, mates, much! I appreciate the knowledge and what I believe are the compliments

So the Rio Meta pbass must be the orinocoense you mention, and the ones I bought, IIRC, as "Xingu pbass" from fugupuff must be the azuls (which I suspected because azuls are rather hard to confuse with other pbass when they grow up a bit, right?).

The azuls were too far away in this video. I will post close-up videos of the azuls later then. Not that I doubt your expertise but for my learning and your potential pleasure.

What about the pbass ID in the second video?

Yes the Rio Meta are the Orino's. Gorgeous one's at that!
And you are correct about the azuls. They are unlike any of the other cichla as far as their markings go. Their unique color and barring makes them another one of my favorites.
Great job raising them!

I would love to see how big you could grow out some intermedia once they have gone into one of your 4500g/

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Always nice to see big bass.
Nabaldashnik is a hybrid. Some people call them farmies.

Many thanks, bro. Farmies? Are they farmed for ornamental fish trade or to stock waters for anglers? I note many LFS carry relatively poor-looking pbass (like my Nabaldashnik) for cheap, like $10-$20. Are these those farmies?

Nabaldashnik has a big underbite and a huge tongue that's almost sticking out of the mouth. When it was small I was worried it was an enormous mouth-dwelling parasite. Is this indicative of anything?

Yes the Rio Meta are the Orino's. Gorgeous one's at that!
And you are correct about the azuls. They are unlike any of the other cichla as far as their markings go. Their unique color and barring makes them another one of my favorites.
Great job raising them!

I would love to see how big you could grow out some intermedia once they have gone into one of your 4500g/

Thank you, mate! When I see intermedia, they are expensive!

All I have now are:

-- the pbass of this thread - 2 azuls and 4 orino

-- plus a small orino survivor you guys helped me ID (1 out of 10 https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...-i-am-a-survivor-but-kelberi-or-orino.678626/ )

-- and two temensis from Jeff Rapps, currently at ~6"-7" in a 240 gal.

I placed the free temensis I got from JoeFish (along with Nabaldashnik who was only ~3" at the moment) directly into 4500 gal. It was ~7" and was doing ok during the day, learning who to stay away from, but hasn't survived the first night even though I leave a strong night light on.

I learnt from it.