I recently purchased one of these cichlids and I'm looking for good info on them as there is slim to none online. Mainly feeding, and if there are any other species from Madagascar that would do well with them and other sa ca cichlids. I really fell in love with this fish and if there are more like it I would be interested
I've had one for 4 years now. Initially, he did not eat at all, but eventually settled in and started eating. Nowadays I feed mostly Hikari carnivore pellets with a few treats here are there. Earlier he was pretty tolerant with any non-darker fish, but recently got a little more aggressive. So I've actually cleared out his tank and he now has a 75g to himself -- trying to figure out what to do next. If yours is young, I think it would be fine with other fish, possibly. Good luck!
I've kept Madagascar cichlids for about 2 decades, they are some of my favorites. Paratilapia are primarily insectivores ( terrestrial and aquatic), and are very hard on others of the same genus. But any of the other Madagascans such as the genus Paretroplus and Ptychochromis work well as tank mates. (oops just noticed the original posting date on this)
Paretroplus menerambo
Paretroplus maculatus
If you choose either of the above Paretroplus although slow growers, they do get large (14+" for menerambo, slightly smaller for maculatus) so a large tank is rquired (6ft or more)and they do best in groups of 4 or more
a smaller Paretroplus is kieneri
Ptychochromis sp "tarantsy
below is a video of Paratilapia small spot housed with Paretroplus maculatus in a 6ft tank
If yours is young, I think it would be fine with other fish, possibly. Good luck!
