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jag cichlids


smcoleman

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congrats on the new purchase, definatly some of the coolest fish around IMO but i have a soft spot for monsters lol

just wonder if you bought the pair or the babies? normally theyre a one per tank fish unless you breed them (which is normally thru a divider due to possible murdering of partner)? beautiful fish, but tank mates are best to only be gravel, water and possible some driftwood :lol: some people get lucky and are able to breed them without dividers, heard a few horror stories from that though, seems if one backs down the other will kill it cause 'its not strong enough to breed with me' sorta thing. highly predatory fish 8)

males are spectactular, often reaching 40-45cm, seen a 50cm one once so need at least a 2 foot wide tank. i wanted to stock my 460L with one lone male but its an emergency tank :cry: females are pretty, but not as pretty, smaller too, maxing round 30-35cm i think.

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I saw that pair the other day when I was in there and they were awesome fully grown and they did have both male and female together in a 3 ft tank with no divider etc I would have thought the female would have taken a bashing too but I guess these guys get on..

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i saw them too when i was up in mt roskill (wanted to take em home), they didnt have babies then but sheesh was it a small tank for a pair. i was actually geniunly surprised they were still in good shape, but i think its a bomb waiting to explode. i have heard many a story about how 'my jag gets on well with all its tank mates', and month later we hear 'it mowed the tank' it does depend on the fishes personality but its like expecting a full grown oscar to not eat a neon, it happens 99.99999% of the time :-?

why is it the pretty big fish are never friendly :lol:

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nice one coleman saw them just last weekend and they moved all the gravel to the sides covering them self from the shop. would love to have some too bad they need such big space on their own.

i've posted another topic their seem to be someone selling these claiming his is a miniature breed, personally never heard of such a breed anyone know any info on the matter?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 742791.htm

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i would put my money on saying their isnt, got a mate in the US whos really into large cichlids (large scale breeder) and im sure in the many convos about jags weve had something would have popped up if there was such a thing, they always get the newer breeds first :(

i wouldnt mind purchasing one of the 'mini' ones and growing it up in my 460L by itself to see if it reaches its full size...

now, since you bought the breeding pair you want at LEAST 500L to get them comfortable, 700L+ would be the ideal. big fish and if your male snaps your female wont have a chance, their bodies are muscle going to those mighty jaws :bow: i know they have bred without a divider but putting em into a new tank stirs a new pot, they both have to re-establish their dominance etc, best to keep one on hand, make it so a good hard push with your hand cant budge it.

p.s. try to keep your hands out of the tank if they breed, might be useful to get a real long siphon (which they will most likely attack anyway) but its better than your precious skin :lol:

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when i brought them i ask the guy if a three foot tank be ok an he said yes but last nite the male was picking on the female so i put her in another tank so i rung hollywood today to ask them an i spoke to another guy an said tthe tank is way to small so ive ordered a new 5foot tank by 18 inchs by 18 inchs i hope they like it fingers x

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Used to have a breeding pair at the first lfs I worked at. Kept in a 3 foot tank with no worries, bred all the time. Bigger tank will be better for them.

With what has probably happened is that the male will want to breed again, as there are no babies, the female isn't ready.

Also new surroundings....

Try a divider until they are comfortable, or she is looking ready to breed agian.

The pair at work were so cool. Great markings, defended the tank so well, against the customers :lol: Bred like rabbits and then some.

Frenchy :D

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I have a breeding pair aswell and I keep them on a four footer with a divider that has a "love door" this means there is a hole on the divider where the female escapes to the other side when the male is getting a bit excited. My male is only around 200mm long and the female is half his size. Another way is to have some target or dart fish so that the male aggression will be focused to them, just make sure that the target fish have somewhere to hide, a divider with holes is ideal.

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did they put poor helen in that jag tank right down the other end! :o i hope not, that massive long tank she was in was too small for her. these are just one of the other fish that shouldnt be able to be sold to the general public *shakes head sadly*

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Giant Gouramis are quickly picked up here when on sale. As long as people know the potential growth & move forward with the fish as they grow whats the problem. The same for jaguars, if they are 15-20cm for example, 3 footer be fine for now, upgrade will be needed & hopefully the LFS said so. :-?

I know "ideal world syndrome" this dosen't happen often enough, I have seen a few oscars with overshot gill plates, hunched backs... :evil: from being in to small a tank.

Try a Murray River Cod or a Barramundi. These are easily sold here when available. I hate seeing them for sale. If they live long enough, :( they end up at Farms, or water worlds...if they are lucky. The boys had a Barra in a 10.5ft tank & had to pass it on :o

At least a Jaguar or Giant Gourami can be housed in a nice sized tank. GG-6 footer for example.

Frenchy :D

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thing is the shops here very rarely educate about the size. i saw no signs on the baby pacu tank at a store and at another store a sign that said they only grew to 20cm (when quizzing staff member she didnt know they get 2 foot long and was very shocked they sold them). it is a very common thing to see fish put down or given to the national aquarium once they get 'too big'

GG are cute things (ok, so sorta ugly but i like ugly things), same with pacu and people buy them thinking they will go ok in their four footer. a fish that grows over 50cm should, IMO, have warning labels on the tank, it should be inforced. your average hobbiest doesnt have a 8x4x4 lying around for a giant gourami (using the 4Lx2Lx2L rule, L being length of fish), not to mention most people who did have tanks that size wouldnt use it for one of them (i myself would, i love monster fish :lol: )

i guess i just expect too much from shops that sell stuff, in my mind you should know at least basic info to be able to sell something. its illegal to house a horse in a room it cant run in, it should be the same for fish!

edit- i dont think jags fall into the above catagory, they arent a massive fish so are easier to house.

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the thing thats annoying me the most with hollywoods is that i asked two guys there bout the size of tank i was putting the jags in an both said a 3 foot wood be fine its like they dont care who they sell two if i new they needed a 5foot plus tank i wooded of brought the fish now i like them so much ive had it get a new tank an set up for them

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Well that sucks, :evil: don't worry same thing happens here & to often too, it's like here u go pretty fishy for you catch ya later. I get the horse part, my first Border Collie came from a pet store & not one question was asked about my lifestyle, size of house....lucky being a kiwi & all, we know our sheep dogs :lol:

That is one good thing about Brad{Freaky Fish-owner Aquariums Alive}. He remembers his customers; therefore & he does give good advice & because of it gets good sales as people trust him.{deviant looking bugger though(jok) :lol: } Any new customers who look at tankbusters get asked a couple questions first, or at least told about there size potential, eating habits....

Frenchy :D

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Thanx Justin

yeah i dont like when people have been duped by other shops just to get the sale

I had a customer in this week who had been sold these fish all together at the same time

Ill let you know the tank size at the end

6 guppy

3 Tiger Barbs

3 Sailfin Molly

10 Neon Tetra

3 Gold Fish

and 3 C moori or Blue Dolphins

All fish were small between 3 and 5cm

all these fish for an 18" tank in one sale approx 30l

i couldnt believe how long this lost went on for

When i advised her there was way to many fish she was very surprised

also i told her her C moori will grow to about 25 to 30cm she wasnt happy with the store involved

i did get the stores name out of her and i strongly advised her to go back and ask why she was sold these fish for this size tank

Brad

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Let me see all have different water requiements.

A betting man could run a few books here, :evil:

Who kills the neons first.

What fish will die from parasites first. {passed on from gold fish}

Then the guppies & mollies will be harrased by the tiger barbs. What idiot would sell 2 cichlids to her too, as Brad mentioned the size part aswell. This is a really F.....

Is there an authority to report to here Brad.

Frenchy :D

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hey smcoleman- dont despair! IMO jags are one of the best fish around (im a big fish nut) and are pretty to match. you will fall more in love with them and they will become like a pet dog, they are really cool fish. i mean, who can resist that 45cm monster sitting in the back corner watching over his domain? its a bonus for you that you have managed to get a breeding pair that can tolerate each other in every day life.

keri- we have two pet shops i like here, one has a small selection that doesnt really cater for my needs but has a knowledgable owner and the other has a faily knowledgable person and alot of selection. if only there were more around that werent in it for the money.

i feel sad the fish industry gets ignored- pretty much every other animal gets laws protecting it but not our hobby :cry:

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