Hi guys, wanna post here my cichla pleizonas and document their growth. this might come handy for future pleiozona owners, and for anyone wanting to research on them.
i got these fishes back in november of 2011, they were 4.5inches back then and now about a foot long already, they have been eating live fish since november, sometimes i give them hikari cichlid gold but unfortunately i cant find the large pellet variety here anymore. im going to divide the pics into five stages from november 2011 to just about yesterday.
#1 November 2011, took shots in the petshop because i had a feeling these guys were different. the colors, 4 bars, and the spangling sucked me back in the cichla game and mfk after 5 years.
#2 Mid-November 2011, took four home. they were housed in a 75 gal with smaller tems and monocs while their 600 gallon home is being set up. some of the pleiozonas have more yellow cheek coloring than the other.
#3 Mid-December 2011, about a week after transferring to their new home. Patterns remain slightly the same except on one or two fishes, spanglings turned to blackish blotches. i'm liking the transformation...
#4 March 2012, settled in the tank really well. pleiozonas have their growth spurt turned on because of the enormous space. feeding is now every other day to cut back on costs. abdominal blotches are now in all 4, colors, have intensified especially on two of the pleiozonas. those black bar like colorings in the forehead have also developed.
#5 July 2012 most recent photos, they are really big now, well im sure there's more room to grow, but growth spurt is kind of at a halt now, or a slower pace. scales have gotten much bigger and so beautiful especially if you look at them close up.. there are some signs of nuchal humps like black markings in that area but i haven't seen humps yet. 3 of the pleiozonas are really golden yellow and i have one that is more subued. he is pic number 2 below..
So that's it for now. sorry for the pic load. hope everyones having a great weekend!
i got these fishes back in november of 2011, they were 4.5inches back then and now about a foot long already, they have been eating live fish since november, sometimes i give them hikari cichlid gold but unfortunately i cant find the large pellet variety here anymore. im going to divide the pics into five stages from november 2011 to just about yesterday.
#1 November 2011, took shots in the petshop because i had a feeling these guys were different. the colors, 4 bars, and the spangling sucked me back in the cichla game and mfk after 5 years.
#2 Mid-November 2011, took four home. they were housed in a 75 gal with smaller tems and monocs while their 600 gallon home is being set up. some of the pleiozonas have more yellow cheek coloring than the other.
#3 Mid-December 2011, about a week after transferring to their new home. Patterns remain slightly the same except on one or two fishes, spanglings turned to blackish blotches. i'm liking the transformation...
#4 March 2012, settled in the tank really well. pleiozonas have their growth spurt turned on because of the enormous space. feeding is now every other day to cut back on costs. abdominal blotches are now in all 4, colors, have intensified especially on two of the pleiozonas. those black bar like colorings in the forehead have also developed.
#5 July 2012 most recent photos, they are really big now, well im sure there's more room to grow, but growth spurt is kind of at a halt now, or a slower pace. scales have gotten much bigger and so beautiful especially if you look at them close up.. there are some signs of nuchal humps like black markings in that area but i haven't seen humps yet. 3 of the pleiozonas are really golden yellow and i have one that is more subued. he is pic number 2 below..
So that's it for now. sorry for the pic load. hope everyones having a great weekend!
