Amphilophus Citrinellus Creamcicle midas. Overnight nuchal hump development.....

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A bit off topic and i know the answer will be a firm no but one of the better LFS in my area has some nice small devils for sale. They say they are "lazy" and a single specimen can be kept in a 3 foot tank. Im very sceptical but the reason im asking you guys is this store is normally very honest about tank sizes and such things and genrerally really know their stuff.
Whats your opininon?
 
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Negative, Amphs are a very active and intelligent group of fish. My male flies solo in a 6ft tank, a 4ft 90 is on the small side.
Agree
A 3 ft tank is totally inadequate for these large, active species.
The reason some people believe they seem to be an inactive, species, if put in such a confining enclosure, what else can they do but sulk, in anticipation of the relief of an imminent death.
I realize this is a bit anthropomorphic but consider
These are species from the "great Lakes", of Nicaragua incarcerated in a cell the size of a puddle.
 
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I think that might be a bit on the anthropomorphic side, but yeah, a mature male Amph cit/devil, can easily reach 13-14" over time. My male is now 10+ yrs old, and easily in that size range.

One thing I will add, is according to the research I have done over the years, Amphs from these bodies of water (crater lakes) spend a good portion of their time in a lair made out of rocks/boulders. They aren't exactly Mako sharks that cruise the shallows of the entire lake all day looking for prey. Far too dangerous for an Amph that wants to reach maturity.

I think back to my early yrs of bass fishing along the shoreline of the Detroit River, and species such as Rock Bass, and Smallmouth Bass. The largest, oldest, and most experienced fish, were found in the thickest tangle of underwater structure. Large rocks, or in my case broken up slabs of concrete along the water's edge, is where the largest and oldest fish were to be caught. And even then, I had to coax those older fish out with a live crayfish, hooked through the tail, and then fed down into the caverns. They didn't get to be that size/age by making the mistakes smaller/younger fish made. .

That doesn't make a 3ft tank a good long-term home for an Amph, but a captive bred fish that has never experienced open water, such as a large river or lake, IME will adapt quite well to most reasonably sized puddles. ;)
 
Negative, Amphs are a very active and intelligent group of fish. My male flies solo in a 6ft tank, a 4ft 90 is on the small side.
Agree
A 3 ft tank is totally inadequate for these large, active species.
The reason some people believe they seem to be an inactive, species, if put in such a confining enclosure, what else can they do but sulk, in anticipation of the relief of an imminent death.
I realize this is a bit anthropomorphic but consider
These are species from the "great Lakes", of Nicaragua incarcerated in a cell the size of a puddle.

I was pretty sure the answer would be no, I’m happy with my acaras so wasn’t really considering doing it but was wondering why a LFS that normally pushes the correct way to keep fish would be adamant this particular fish would be fine in a 3 footer?
Maybe they are selling slow and they need to move them before they get too big.
 
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