No need to scour. Just ask. We won’t tell you to, “use the search function” like so many others will say. We are all here to help.
Intermedia are pretty typical for cichla. Like all Pbass, the key is to get them onto prepared foods. If you can source ones that are pellet trained, you’re golden. I think Wes has them now in stock if I’m not mistaken. He’s a vendor here and has his own sub forum. His contact info should be there somewhere.
As with all bass, you’ll need plenty of filtration and clean water to keep them happy and healthy. I’d recommend you plumb a sump that’s at least 100 gallons. I like K1 sumps but you can also go with a simple poret foam and “Matrix” (or other standard bio media) setup. I like to pair sumps with a closed loop as well so an additional FX6 plumbed directly into the tank coupled with your sump would work well.
Keep temps at 82 F give or take and feed them daily when small and skip days when they grow. I’m not a fan of power feeding but have found that they still grow really fast. As a matter of fact, I’ve been surprised at how quickly mine grew. With mine being large, I only feed them 4 times a week on average. I hate obese fish and it isn’t good for them to be fat. Remember that they do not burn as many calories/fat in an aquarium like they would in the wild. Keep them slim by not over-feeding. Others will disagree. Up to you what you decide.
I use pellets as a staple being particularly fond of Hikari products. Mine eat Massivore, Cichlids Gold, and Carnivore Food sticks. I supplement the pellets with Freeze Dried Krill, Dried unsalted Anchovy, and frozen smelt and market shrimp. Every so often, I’ll catch a lizard and toss it in for them too. To be honest, most of the time they eat pellets.
They generally ignore other tankmates too large for them to eat and they stay in the middle of the water column, though they will rise to the top begging you for food. Good tankmates would be larger lugubris Crenicichla, larger laterally compressed Heroine cichlids like Hoplarchus , Hero’s, or Hypselecara, along with Astronotus and Caquetaia. I’d stay away from any acara types and most earth eaters as the bass can swallow them when full grown.
lunsforj
had his internedia swallow his Sataniperca Lilith which is among the largest growing Satanoperca. If you insist on eartheaters, stick to Altifrons or Winemilleri and get them grown since the bass will quickly outpace them and then eat them.
Larger catfish that stay 24” and under would make great bottom mates, as would stingrays and larger plecos. Arowana also make great mates. Other suitable tankmates are Red Hook or Wide Bar silver dollars, Flagtail Prochilodus, and larger growing Leporinus species. Notice I’m recommending all SA Amazonian fish. I’m a weirdo like that. I’d avoid CA cichlids tankmates along with Andean species like Mesoheros species, or umbees. They’re simply too aggressive for the cichla to be comfortable.
Let me know if you’d like more info but this should give you a good start.
tcav88
. For your size tank I would get a group and grow them out, thinning down along the way to arrive at a trio or two pairs of bass in your tank. Give or take 1 or 2 if you add tankmates.
