I was wondering if there is a good site for fish temperment pairings (or maybe one needs to be created!). Recently I have had a bit of bad luck with my pairings. I usually go with what the various fish books and resources say about fish I have never owned before. However, recently I have had some sour experiences. I first lost two Green Terrors which were killed by the combined efforts of a Midas and Flowerhorn. I also lost a Red Tail-Tiger Shovelnose cat hybrid to a flowerhorn and another was badly beaten. I had never kept Green Terrors or the mentioned cats, but all the resources listed them as aggressive species. I figured that they were and I found out the hard way how wrong they were. I've been fishkeeping for years and years and have had success with many fish. Rarely do I ever have bad luck anymore, except when I experiment with fish that are new to me. On particular fish atlas I use, uses a Skull and crossbone symbol to denote an aggressive fish and a Heart to denote a peaceful community fish. I wish regarding that example that they would come up with some different ratings. An Oscar for example is given the skull and cross bones, but why? From my experience OScars are really peaceful fish (when given enough room) they simply eat whatever is smaller than them. Red Devils on the other hand are truly nasty fish. Now I have learned that Green Terrors are more like Oscars than they are a Red Devil or a Flowerhorn. Like I said, I've been keeping fish for a long time (20 years) and I still have trouble sometimes. I can only imagine what it would be like for a beginner in the hobby. YOu can argue, research research research, but oftentimes the information gained, as was my experience with the GT's and hybrid cats is incorrect. Also I wish books would start publishing you need x amount of gallons or space per y species of fish. I don't fall into the 1 inch per gallon myth and havent since I was very young, but I can see how a new person to the hobby would. Especially when I see the bad information being given out by places such as PetSmart and Petco. It would be so much better to see regularly in books that a full grown oscar needs 50 gallons per fish, as a hardline rule. Granted there will always be varying temperments among individual fish, but there must be a better way than putting a heart or a skull and cross bones next to a fish and being able to figure out what to do... And that's my vent for the day!
Is there a good site for temperment pairing?
- Thread starter Demonfish
- Start date
no I don't think there is such a site because, as you said, the temperament of individual fish will vary. other things that can affect success are tank size, water temp, amount/types of tank decor, size of fish when introduced together, sex ration of fish involved etc. there are no hard and fast rules saying that this species can be kept with this other species because what works for one person may not necessarily work for another for whatever reason. when it comes to aggressive cichlids it really is all about trial and error. the only way to know for sure is to try and always have a back up plan for if/when you start seeing problems arise. there are a few general guidelines you can go by though.
1. you will see the most aggression between 2 or more males of the same species (ie 2 male red devils in same tank)
2. you will see the second most aggression between 2 or more males of species similar in appearance (ie. male jaguar and male motaguense or male red devil and male festae)
3. the warmer the water, the more aggressive the fish will be
4. the younger the fish are when they're introduced together, the better chance you'll have of success.
5. mixing already matured cichlids can be very difficult, if not impossible
6. the larger the tank the better your chances of success
7. live foods increase aggressiveness (something I've read but can't comment on from personal experience)
8. in community cichlid setups it's best to keep all one sex. having different sexes will eventually lead to some hybrid pairing and therefore spawning aggression
hope that helps you out a little
1. you will see the most aggression between 2 or more males of the same species (ie 2 male red devils in same tank)
2. you will see the second most aggression between 2 or more males of species similar in appearance (ie. male jaguar and male motaguense or male red devil and male festae)
3. the warmer the water, the more aggressive the fish will be
4. the younger the fish are when they're introduced together, the better chance you'll have of success.
5. mixing already matured cichlids can be very difficult, if not impossible
6. the larger the tank the better your chances of success
7. live foods increase aggressiveness (something I've read but can't comment on from personal experience)
8. in community cichlid setups it's best to keep all one sex. having different sexes will eventually lead to some hybrid pairing and therefore spawning aggression
hope that helps you out a little
I believe that i know what book you are talking about,i would say that it is a pretty old book,newer books and magazines are more up to date.But you are right.