Pics of my Blackbelt

[Bmeasure]

Just wanted to give some pics of my Blackbelt Cichlid (Veija Maculicauda):

http://community.webshots.com/photo/300543381/316541580wHjOXD
http://community.webshots.com/photo/300543381/316541518VImBpL
http://community.webshots.com/photo/300543381/300560161CxPFuo
http://community.webshots.com/photo/300543381/316541620WuXZWc
http://community.webshots.com/photo/300543381/316541668KZrplY

He's about 9" presently. Name is Bruce (Lee, of coarse!) ;)

[Harry Tolen]

Nice photos. The blackbelt looks great. I am somewhat surprised that the plants in there aren't showing more wear and tear. By the way, great background on that tank. Did you create it yourself?

[Bmeasure]

Everything you see is made by me, with the exception of: Filstar XP3, Sump Return Pump, and Return plumbing. I didn't "make" the lights, but they are AH supply kits and you have to assemble/build yourself. Oh, and I didn't make the fish either....I leave those props to God! :bowing: Don't know if you've checked out the link in my signature, but there are many pics of my setup.

[Entombed]

real nice! I've obviously never kept a blackbelt before but are there different variants? I've seen photo's of blackbelts looking like Bmeasure's with the whiter body colour and then I've also seen alot with a darker body colour??

[Bmeasure]

Depending on his mood, he can shift colors quite a bit. He can get in moods where he completely loose all the red color under his chin, become a pale whitish-grey, and his fins only have a slight pinkish-red tint.....this usually happens if I allow the pH to rise (low CO2 in tank, or sump water level is too low) but he does it occasionally without provocation (at least that I know of). To be honest, he normally has a bit more red under his chin than in these pics. I just added my custom canopy with more than double the light that he was used to before. I will simply tell you that I have searched long and hard to find VERY few cichlids (especially tankbusters) with his vibrant colors! I don't skimp on the quality of food I feed. He still isn't fully grown yet either ;) He's only at 9"...I expect at least 12"...if not larger!