[CentralCichlid75]

Does anyone know anything about Bleekeri cichlids? I recently got one and don't know too much about them?

What is a good diet for them? Tank mates? etc.

Any information would be great. I do know that they are supposed to get a pretty decent size (8-10in). I bought mine as a juvenile. It seems to be pretty laid back (hasn't shown much aggression).

 

[DrewForDummies]

Just wait, it'll start to tear up everything you have in there. They make for awesome wetpets though, I have the small spot variant and it is easily the most intelligent fish I've ever owned. How big is the tank and does it have any other tank mates?

EDIT: Make sure to feed it a varied diet. I feed mine plankton, brine shrimp, bloodworms, and the occasional silk worm. Another thing, I've noticed that these fish are very prone to ick, so you should keep that in mind as well.

 

[CentralCichlid75]

It is in a 75 gallon with an EBJD, convict, green terror and firemouth.

Do you have any pictures you could post of yours? what size tank is yours in?

 

[DrewForDummies]

Mine is in a 55 gallon tank with a high fish catfish. I honestly recommend you get rid of the convict and the firemouth, the GT and the Bleekeri will make short work of them before they turn on each other. I knew someone who kept one with a Red Devil in a 90 gallon and it was still WW3.

This is a picture of my polleni when she was about 5 inches, shes working on 5.5 inches currently.

http://img843.imageshack.us/i/img1470c.jpg/
I also have a link to my youtube channel that has 2 videos I think of my polleni in my signature.

Did you have any pictures of the fish you can share?

 

[CentralCichlid75]

Yours looks great!!!

I do not have any pictures of it yet. I will work on getting some. I wish I had a good camera to take them with. Would you like me to just post them on this thread whenever I upload them?

 

[69er]

I keep "Sheldon", he's about 4.5" in a 90G with 3 4" Labs and 2 4.5" Acei. I put everyone in at the same time and all is well right now. Going on about 1 yr now. 69er.

 

[jeaninel]

My Polleni is about 4" now. He/she's in a 135 gallon with a female JD, synspillum, and a Jag. They were all bought together and raised in this tank from about 1.5-2" big. The Polleni is pretty laid back but definitely holds his own against the other fish. For the most part they are all getting along pretty good. I attribute this to them all being introduced to the tank at the same time from a young age. I feed mine a varied diet of cichlid pellets, chopped fresh market shrimp, frozen foods (bloodworms, brine shrimp, krill), mysis shrimp, sun dried river shrimp, spirulina flake and the occasional piece of fresh veggie such as zucchini or peas.

One question I have: when do they get their black color? Mine is sometimes black and sometimes the golden color (depending on mood, I guess). Here's a pic of mine in his golden color.

 

[DrewForDummies]

My Polleni still goes gold sometimes. At first I thought she was scared or something, but now I don't know. She is fully grown now (6 inches) and still does the gold thing.. it gets rather annoying but what can you do?

 

[jeaninel]

Haha. I know what you mean. I wish they'd stay that beautiful black all the time. But it's good to know that it's normal.

Another question...how do you sex them? I know the males usually grow larger but I only have the one so nothing to compare it to (They seem to be rather slow growers, don't they?). Is there anything else that distinguishes male from female?

 

[DrewForDummies]

I don't have any experience sexing them because I haven't been able to find a male, but I've heard that its very hard to get them to develop a bond, and even if they do the male and can turn aggressive towards the female for no reason even if they've been breeding for years. Yeah, sadly they grow very slow, so it'll probably be the smallest fish in the tank you have for a while until he gets big enough.

EDIT: Nice looking fish, by the way. The gold decreases when they get bigger but they still turn gold nonetheless.