Starry night / Madagascar / Black Diamond Polleni Cichlid

[Stewey]

HI there.......

Has anyone ever had one of these? I am curious about temperament? Growth? Aggressiveness? Could they live with an Oscar?

Any and all info is great info.

Lastly, If you have a picture of one you have I would love to see it.

Thank you very much

Stew

 

[duanes]

I have kept a couple of the Paratilapia species. P polleni "small spot", and P species "andapa", there are about half dozen more.
Unless the tank is quite large, they don't react well to others of the same species, or other cichlids that look similar. They usually ignore fish that look dissimilar.
They are mostly insectivorous so good pellet works well, they get somewhere between 12" -15", although it takes while to grow to that point. I wouldn't put them in a tank smaller than 6ft.
Small spot male

Andapa below

To avoid aggression, I like keeping them with other Madagascans of the genus Paretroplus

small spot about half grown below

 

[Stewey]

Thank you very much - that's beautiful!!!!! Great info!

I have kept a couple of the Paratilapia species. P polleni "small spot", and P species "andapa", there are about half dozen more.
Unless the tank is quite large, they don't react well to others of the same species, or other cichlids that look similar. They usually ignore fish that look dissimilar.
They are mostly insectivorous so good pellet works well, they get somewhere between 12" -15", although it takes while to grow to that point. I wouldn't put them in a tank smaller than 6ft.
Small spot male

Andapa below

To avoid aggression, I like keeping them with other Madagascans of the genus Paretroplus

small spot about half grown below