I just recently acguired a pair of C. nicaraguense, and was wondering people experience with them as far as temperment. I have read a few descriptions on them but unfortunatly fish can not read and do not always behave the way books say they should. The male is about 5" and the female about 4". There tank is 36 x 20 x 14. It has lots of rock work in it and my main question is does anybody see a problem with 4 albino bushynose plecos about 3 to 4" long being added? Please only real experiences as I said I have read what the books have to say about them. Thanks.
Real life exp with nicaraguense
- Thread starter Darkangel
- Start date
well i dont have much experience but i can tell you my short exp. with them. I picked up 6 very tiny juvis from Mojo last month. these little guys are eating like crazy and they are growing like weeds and a re really starting to color up very nicely.They seem to be peacefull they definatly enjoy the company of each other cause they stay in a group and only break off when i clean the tank. My plans are to add a few Flier cichlids and a few Sajicas to the tank for a very colorfull and active, medium sized cichlid community. I will also be adding a Red-tailed shark, a gold nugget pleco, a handfull of different types of cory cats, and possibly some rainbows to add some activity to the top of the tank. Im starting get into the slightly smaller cichlids and set up some highly decorated tanks for them to please the eyes. I just couldnt handle a large tank withonly two big fish, i still have my larger cichlids buit im starting to break up my other tanks and re do all of them.
I have about 4 different plecos in with a variety of SA/CA cichlics , though none over 4" , the plecos are from 3 - 11" and so far the cichlids are not bothering any of them. The plecos are not bothering the cichlids either it is more of an establilshment of terratories within the genuses.
The cichlids know who is king and stay out of the stronger ones way - so far no problems/fights - but you do see the smaller ones clearing way for the bigger more dominant ones.
The plecos pretty much go about their business and have favorite spots where you can usually find a particular one. They also tend to chase other plecos out of their spots on occasion(rarely).
Now keep in mind that this is a 125g with plenty of wood and other hidingspots so adding several plecos into a smaller tank may not provide enough terratory for all of them. However the more structure you can provide, especially wood, the better.
As far as bristlenosed plecos , I had a short experience with them - they chewed up most of my largeleaved plants in a planted tank(3 plecos) . Not much fighting but they will chow down live plants when hungry so it is important to provide plenty of bulk vegetable matter for bristlenoses. Any algae on the tank will be consumed within a day or 2.
The cichlids know who is king and stay out of the stronger ones way - so far no problems/fights - but you do see the smaller ones clearing way for the bigger more dominant ones.
The plecos pretty much go about their business and have favorite spots where you can usually find a particular one. They also tend to chase other plecos out of their spots on occasion(rarely).
Now keep in mind that this is a 125g with plenty of wood and other hidingspots so adding several plecos into a smaller tank may not provide enough terratory for all of them. However the more structure you can provide, especially wood, the better.
As far as bristlenosed plecos , I had a short experience with them - they chewed up most of my largeleaved plants in a planted tank(3 plecos) . Not much fighting but they will chow down live plants when hungry so it is important to provide plenty of bulk vegetable matter for bristlenoses. Any algae on the tank will be consumed within a day or 2.
I am also new to Nicaraquens. I have three females, about 3 inches, and are already colored up nicely. I only want females because they are more colorful. I keep them with my Rift Lake Cichlids because their water requirement is the same-- hard alkaline water. They are peaceful, but do flair their gills from time to time to stand their ground. One unique behavior is that they like to dig, but dig not only with their mouth but also using their body and ventral fins. I have seen a presentation by Ron Coleman in a fish club who took pictures of them in the wild. The pair will dig a tunnel in the river bank to lay the eggs and guard in front of the entrance. So when the flood came, their fry are saved from washing away. In the lake , the pair dig multiple tunnels, not for flood protection but for predation protection. Nics are very colorful fish that resemble Rift Lake cichlid in color and pattern. It looks like a cross between Tropheus or Mbuna with Red Empress in body and head shape, color and pattern.
hey Tiger if you add a single male maybe the females will color up even more with breeding colors?
Hey all - I've kept a pair of Nicaguerense for about 2 years...and IMHO there's nothing not to like about these fish. Their colors are fantastic, temperament is workable with other medium-sized SA-CA species and they're not difficult to breed. However, I'm not sure about keeping them with Rift Lake cichlids. While the water parameters may work, fish from different regions have different body language for submissiveness & dominanace ...etc. Although Nics can adapt, Rift Lake still cichlids thrive in much harder water. One more thing...male Nics can get as big as 9-10". You tank wont be big enough. Hope this helped. Here's pics of my Nics.
Thanks for the info all. gregga I never had plans to add africans, just 4 bushynose plecos. I have no intention of keeping these fish for a long time. All I will be doing is breeding them and once the fry are at a decent size the adults and fry will go. This is just for my clubs BAP. A sort of personal challenge and a learning experience. Thanks again.
Gregga, this is another reason I don't keep male Nics because they get too large and I have no intention to breed them. I don't have tank space to dedicate to CA so I have to mix them with my Rift Lake Cichlid. I also have a few Thorichthy species small and mild temper enough to mix with Africans. I don't maintain my Rift Lake tanks at high pH, just around 7.4, GH 12 and KH 4 and so it is suitable for CA. The hardness is about right but the pH is on the low side for Rift Lake cichid. I know the pH is not ideal for Rift Lake cichlids, but I rather have stable condition than fluctuating parameters because I routinely do large (75%) water change and I don't add salt so the tank parameters approach those of the tap water. I used to add salt but that led to parameters swing and the fish scratched a lot after water change. In term of aggression level, Nic is about the same as Haplochromine. One of my Nic pays special attention to my male C. moori and often flairs gills with him. Look like they want to pair up and one day I may be the first to produce the first cross-continental hybrid.