Central American Cichlids • Pearsei Tank Mates

[swamptrout]

i am after peoples thought's on my stock list.

Pearsei
Melanura
synspilum
oscar

[dsouthworth]

Umm. how big is this tank?

[cage623]

You will need a VERY large tank for that stock list. But if you have it listed in your signature then I am assuming you already have these fish. What do you have them in?

-Cage

[swamptrout]

sorry, i posted late at night just before going to bed.

I have 2 tanks a 180 and a 240.
The fish in this post (and signature) are not yet in existence but a wish list.

if possible i would like the 6 species spread across the 2 tanks....i was hoping for peoples opinions on the wish list.

The pearsei are a definite fish, the rest of the stocking will be built around them.

when giving your stock list or opinion please specify in what tank you think things will go.

thanks in advance

[swamptrout]

just wondering if anybody has an opinion or ideas??

[Chromedome52]

The melanurus and synspilus are currently synonyms, the same species from various locations. The Oscar is a SA species, and they would be better with other SA, softwater species. The pearsei is the largest species on your list; personally, I would get a small group to grow out in the 240 with hopes of a pair forming to breed. Of course, my belief is that all fish are meant to be spawned, and the more rare the species, the more important it is that keepers try to get them to reproduce.

Mo Devlin has posted some fantastic photos of this species in several forums, including this one, I think. If I had a 240, I might consider keeping them myself. It does seem like I've seen mention that they are not particularly nasty for a large fish, but no direct experience.