20 inch ex-Cichlasoma festae

RD.

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There are some males on here that are already in the 14-15" range, such as Balton's male, which is 4-5 yrs old now....... but I have yet to hear of any pushing 20".
 

RD.

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Forrest - I'm aware of the size of Mel's fish. :)

Part of the problem with big fish, in big tanks, is actually getting a tape up against them when they are holding still. Quite often I underestimate the size of fish, and have been a bit shocked when I actually get a tape on them out of the water.
 

Miguel

Ole Dawg
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Dec 28, 2006
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Forrest - I'm aware of the size of Mel's fish. :)

Part of the problem with big fish, in big tanks, is actually getting a tape up against them when they are holding still. Quite often I underestimate the size of fish, and have been a bit shocked when I actually get a tape on them out of the water.

Exactly the same with me. I only perceive their size in the process of netting them when moving between tanks.
 

David R

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Part of the problem with big fish, in big tanks, is actually getting a tape up against them when they are holding still. Quite often I underestimate the size of fish, and have been a bit shocked when I actually get a tape on them out of the water.
Very true! I've long lost count of the number of claimed >12" oscars I have heard of over the ~15 years I have been in the hobby but not once, nowhere on the internet, despite the hundreds of thousands of ocars out there, have I ever seen a picture clearly showing an oscar lying on a tape measure showing a length greater than 12".

I would dearly love to see a 20" male festae though!!
 

terrors r us

Plecostomus
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Feb 23, 2006
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very interesting......fish always surprise us but a 20 inch male festae....not the norm. and maybe under special feeding......,
what could a hobbyist feed to achieve this?
 

fwprawn

Jack Dempsey
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Jul 29, 2011
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We need pics of some of these large fish.

The preserved fish does not look anywhere near 20 inches. There's nothing for size reference. In the photo, it looks like a standard 8 incher. Did I miss something that shows its size?
 
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