What should I do with this guy? Mayan cichlid?

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choomanji

choomanji

Exodon
MFK Member
May 10, 2016
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Looking for some advice. Picked this guy up a couple months ago at lfs where he was mislabeled as red tiger mota. (Can someone confirm whether he is a Mayan cichlid? That's my guess). I didn't think he was a mota and he had such a bad split fin that I convinced them to give me a good discount. :) They said he killed everything that was put in the tank. well, took him home and put him in a 40 and he was trying to dominate the severum and firemouth, and then when I moved in a large convict, the convict totally beat him up despite him trying to hold his ground. I ended up getting rid of the convict. Now for the past month, this guy has been in a 20 by himself so he could heal, but the main split isn't healing, only the fraying on the edges have healed. Should I try to repair it by cutting the tail? I've seen the video from "king of diy" but I'm a little nervous to do it. And I'm not sure I can trust him in my 100gal with severums, geos, Rams, and tetras. So was thinking of waiting for a good deal on a larger tank and he would be the only guy unless I can find another Mayan. What to do? What to do?

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Yes you have a female Mayan. I'm not sure about the tail, it may heal on its own. I would definitely keep her in a separate tank from your other fish. Mayans are very aggressive and she could get 12". You'll definitely need a bigger tank.
 
I agree that it looks like a female uropthalmus.
When the split passes into the flesh of the caudal, it will usually not rejoin, no matter what you do. And looks to me as if it has gone past the fin, and into the tail.
 
Thanks. I also thought that the split may be too far in. Bummer. So I'm guessing if she were to have tankmates in a larger tank, it would have to be aggressive cichlids too?
 
I haven't kept Mayaheros uropthalmus in anything smaller than a 150 gal, and in that tank they were not particularly aggressive. A 40 gal is only large enough for 1 individual, and then that would only work temporarily. Below is a video of how they live in nature, and should give you an indication of the space they prefer.
 
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Tank size will matter w/ aggression in choosing tank mates like most CA cichlids. I personally would keep w/ similar temperament CA cichlids. JDs might be a good choice.
 
duanes said:
I haven't kept Mayaheros uropthalmus in anything smaller than a 150 gal, and in that tank they were not particularly aggressive. A 40 gal is only large enough for 1 individual, and then that would only work temporarily. Below is a video of how they live in nature, and should give you an indication of the space they prefer.
Click to expand...

I saw this video before and thought it was pretty awesome. I think I have a little more time to find a bigger tank.

Always a guessing game with the SA cichlids. She bullied a JD and was ok with a severum and firemouth, then was bullied by a convict. I guess I would just have to try different tankmates. Who knows...I may just keep her by herself. We'll see...
 
choomanji said:
I saw this video before and thought it was pretty awesome. I think I have a little more time to find a bigger tank.

Always a guessing game with the SA cichlids. She bullied a JD and was ok with a severum and firemouth, then was bullied by a convict. I guess I would just have to try different tankmates. Who knows...I may just keep her by herself. We'll see...
Click to expand...

They are CA cichlids, which means temperaments will vary. So it's a hit or miss. Also aquarium behavior is very different than wild. Keeping her solo for now is w good idea. She will need to heal anyway. She has a lot of potential to be a gorgeous fish.
 
Thanks cichlidfish cichlidfish ! Yes sorry for the mixup. I meant CA...since I have been setting up a SA biotope...duhr on my part. Haha. I am very curious how she will look as she grows. Tho I really don't think the tail will heal on its own since there has been no sign of it getting better. She basically has seemingly permanent tears on the tail, the dorsal fin and left pectoral fin.

Anyone read about using vitamin B to heal tears?
 
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