Cribroheros robertsoni (pics and input)

[cjdesmit]

Chris,have you tried soaking their food in garlic?
Fish seem to love it. It's good for their immune system and can be good at getting fish eating again.

I have actually. I've soaked it in garlic and I am offering NLS thera A which contains a good amount of it as well.

I've chatted with quite a few individuals via social media that have kept them and they all said they are simply not big eaters. Hoping it's nothing to be overly concerned about. I'm going to keep an eye on them over the next week and if they begin to look worse I'll most likely treat with something like API General Cure or Seachems Metroplex.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Just wanted to share a couple pics of some newer pickups and perhaps get a bit of input on them. Someone brought in a very large group of C. robertsoni into my LFS and I decided to grab a decent sized group. I ended up with 8 and have had them in quarantine for the past month. I just moved them into my 220gal display a couple days ago and they seem to be doing well, much less reclusive and way more tolerant of each other with the new found space.

View attachment 1295570

View attachment 1295571

I'm looking for input on what strain these may be. I know Jim Cumming has some that show the red/pink on their fins and throat and his are "Rio Jutiapa". If I was to guess, I'd say mine are from the same origin?

Also, for anyone who has experience with this species, have you found them to be picky eaters? I can't get them to eat any pelleted food. They will only accept flake food, which I'd prefer not to feed as it makes such a mess...

Thanks.

Chris,I may be well off the mark here but are you sure they are infact robertsoni?
They look a lot like the closely related Cribroheros diquis.
A very simular fish to robertsoni that shows more red than the typical blue robertsoni. I could be wrong here but may be worth looking into.

 

[cjdesmit]

Chris,I may be well off the mark here but are you sure they are infact robertsoni?
They look a lot like the closely related Cribroheros diquis.
A very simular fish to robertsoni that shows more red than the typical blue robertsoni. I could be wrong here but may be worth looking into.

Stan, certainly a thought. I honestly was completely unaware of that species. I've been doing quite a bit of research and have found many others that have similar fish to mine and they are all considered C. robertsoni. I believe there are multiple strains and/or collection points (like most cichlids) and these are thought to be from Honduras?

Also worth noting, from what I've read there are two common body shapes: the more commonly seen broader bodied robertsoni and the slimmer more elongated variant. The slimmer variant, like the ones I have are said to be found in more riverine conditions.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Stan, certainly a thought. I honestly was completely unaware of that species. I've been doing quite a bit of research and have found many others that have similar fish to mine and they are all considered C. robertsoni. I believe there are multiple strains and/or collection points (like most cichlids) and these are thought to be from Honduras?

Also worth noting, from what I've read there are two common body shapes: the more commonly seen broader bodied robertsoni and the slimmer more elongated variant. The slimmer variant, like the ones I have are said to be found in more riverine conditions.

Your probably right mate. It was the first picture in this thread that made me think of diquis. Not just because of the red but the staggered barring too.
They look more like robertsoni on the second picture though.
There is a member on here that keeps a lot of robertsoni. He was named cichlidfish but changed his user name to Toiletcar more recently. Hopefully he can chime in.

 

[Toiletcar]

Just wanted to share a couple pics of some newer pickups and perhaps get a bit of input on them. Someone brought in a very large group of C. robertsoni into my LFS and I decided to grab a decent sized group. I ended up with 8 and have had them in quarantine for the past month. I just moved them into my 220gal display a couple days ago and they seem to be doing well, much less reclusive and way more tolerant of each other with the new found space.

View attachment 1295570

View attachment 1295571

I'm looking for input on what strain these may be. I know Jim Cumming has some that show the red/pink on their fins and throat and his are "Rio Jutiapa". If I was to guess, I'd say mine are from the same origin?

Also, for anyone who has experience with this species, have you found them to be picky eaters? I can't get them to eat any pelleted food. They will only accept flake food, which I'd prefer not to feed as it makes such a mess...

Thanks.

I think I may be able to shed some light on the subject.

1. Your fish is indeed the same as Jim’s. They are the Rio Jutiapa Honduras species. They do vary in color with the distinctive red, which other robertsoni lack. They may be classified as a new species as now they are considered cf. robertsoni. Other differences are that robertsoni have more blue and get slightly bigger. There isn’t much difference in regular robertsoni other than riverine fish tend to have a more slender elongated body.
2. Sunken in belly-only worry if they aren’t eating and have white stringy poo. As young fish, they have this appearance. They should be greedy eaters and NLS sinking pellets.
3. Keeping them in groups in a tank that size is ideal. Many people warn of conspecific aggression, but IMO that only happens when you have a smaller tank w/ fewer fish. I have 2 in a 150g now and are doing ok. But that could change. As far as I know these are the regular robertsoni.

 

[cjdesmit]

I think I may be able to shed some light on the subject.

1. Your fish is indeed the same as Jim’s. They are the Rio Jutiapa Honduras species. They do vary in color with the distinctive red, which other robertsoni lack. They may be classified as a new species as now they are considered cf. robertsoni. Other differences are that robertsoni have more blue and get slightly bigger. There isn’t much difference in regular robertsoni other than riverine fish tend to have a more slender elongated body.
2. Sunken in belly-only worry if they aren’t eating and have white stringy poo. As young fish, they have this appearance. They should be greedy eaters and NLS sinking pellets.
3. Keeping them in groups in a tank that size is ideal. Many people warn of conspecific aggression, but IMO that only happens when you have a smaller tank w/ fewer fish. I have 2 in a 150g now and are doing ok. But that could change. As far as I know these are the regular robertsoni.

View attachment 1297707 View attachment 1297708

Thanks for chiming in toiletcar. Not many people seem to keep this species so anything beyond the basic care is hard to come by. I was genuinely concerned about their health so I ended up running a 4 day treatment of API General Cure. Yesterday was the final day of treatment and I did a large 80% water change. They are significantly more active, sifting through the sand and squabbling amongst each other much more than previously. So, hopefully whatever it was is gone now...

I just fed them for the first time since the beginning of the treatment (this past Tuesday) and some of them did consume the NLS. Others still lacked interest however they seem to be eating bits and pieces produced by the feeding of the other fish, as well as sifting through the sand endlessly. From what little feces I have seen from them, it was normal looking (both before and after treatment) so that is a plus. I talked to many via social media that have kept them and they all assured me that they were simply not big eaters?

Your two do look like the "traditional" robertsoni. My group of 8 were extremely conspecific aggressive when I had them in a 40B for quarantine however now that they are in the 220 they are much more tolerant of each other. They are in with a pair of pearsei and a group of T. pasionis so that helps break up any tension as well.

Feel free to share any other tips or suggestions you may have in regards to the species.

Thanks.

 

[Toiletcar]

Thanks for chiming in toiletcar. Not many people seem to keep this species so anything beyond the basic care is hard to come by. I was genuinely concerned about their health so I ended up running a 4 day treatment of API General Cure. Yesterday was the final day of treatment and I did a large 80% water change. They are significantly more active, sifting through the sand and squabbling amongst each other much more than previously. So, hopefully whatever it was is gone now...

I just fed them for the first time since the beginning of the treatment (this past Tuesday) and some of them did consume the NLS. Others still lacked interest however they seem to be eating bits and pieces produced by the feeding of the other fish, as well as sifting through the sand endlessly. From what little feces I have seen from them, it was normal looking (both before and after treatment) so that is a plus. I talked to many via social media that have kept them and they all assured me that they were simply not big eaters?

Your two do look like the "traditional" robertsoni. My group of 8 were extremely conspecific aggressive when I had them in a 40B for quarantine however now that they are in the 220 they are much more tolerant of each other. They are in with a pair of pearsei and a group of T. pasionis so that helps break up any tension as well.

Feel free to share any other tips or suggestions you may have in regards to the species.

Thanks.

Sounds like you are doing everything right to me. The pearsi and pasionis make excellent tankmates as robertsoni as all are very peaceful species. Most people probably don’t keep them because they are aggressive brutes. They also are very slow growers, which requires a lot of patience and keep in the long term. They sure are worth the wait IMO.
One good thing about them is they are very hardy fish. Yours should bounce back. Just make sure there is no aggression too. They are very sensitive and will get bloat if too.
You’re fish are beautiful btw.

This is the female regular robertsoni I had for 11 years. She got about 10”, which is big for a robertsoni. Most top out around 8-10”, males being bigger.
Also included current tankmates.

 

[cjdesmit]

You confused me a bit in your last post.. so have you found them to be hardy or sensitive? From my short stint with the species they seem to be a bit more sensitive than other CA's I've kept.

Nice group of Thorichthys. I started with a group of 10 pasionis but am down to 7 now and I think I only have 1 male. Kind of a bummer but they are turning out to be stunning fish.

So what exactly are you feeding your robertsoni? After offering the NLS thera A earlier today, I offered some flake food this evening and they all greedily ate that. While they were in QT they would only eat flake food as well...

 

[cjdesmit]

View attachment 1297735 View attachment 1297736 View attachment 1297737 View attachment 1297738 View attachment 1297739 View attachment 1297740 View attachment 1297741 View attachment 1297742 View attachment 1297743 View attachment 1297744 View attachment 1297745 View attachment 1297746 View attachment 1297747 View attachment 1297748 View attachment 1297749

Quick update along with a few more pics...

They really seem to be coming around. Still refusing pellets however they are all eagerly eating flake food. Very strange behavior, when feeding a food they refuse they will literally go up to it and smell it and then violently shake there head. Have you ever seen this? Their overall activity is way up as is the aggression. There is much more bickering now that they are apparently feeling better.

Threw in a couple pics of my T. pasionis as well since you shared yours.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Quick update along with a few more pics...

They really seem to be coming around. Still refusing pellets however they are all eagerly eating flake food. Very strange behavior, when feeding a food they refuse they will literally go up to it and smell it and then violently shake there head. Have you ever seen this? Their overall activity is way up as is the aggression. There is much more bickering now that they are apparently feeling better.

Threw in a couple pics of my T. pasionis as well since you shared yours.
View attachment 1298075 View attachment 1298073 View attachment 1298070 View attachment 1298072 View attachment 1298071 View attachment 1298074

Nice pics and fish Chris.
I still have never seen robertsoni with barring like yours. They are stunning though.