Do you have Kenyi experience?

1938 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Cook.MN, Apr 29, 2008

edouthirt

Discussion Starter · Apr 28, 2008

I'm looking for an expert opinion on Kenyi...

I have 2 females in my 60 gallon tank (48 in long) along with 5 red zebras, 5 yellow labs, and soon to be 6 acei. At first I had decided that I was going to take the kenyi out because of their reputation for being very aggressive... but right now, everyone is getting along "swimingly" (pardon the pun) even though everyone is sexually mature and hormones are racing (not quite full grown however about 3.5 inches currently).

My question is... are male kenyis the bad boys? or are the girls just as bad? I would like to avoid removing them... but also don't really want to play the wait and see game if I am without a doubt going to have a problem with them eventually.

These are my first Kenyi and I bought them not knowing anything about the species (duh... not smart, I know!)... forgive me

Thanks in advance for any insight!!

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edouthirt

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 28, 2008

That said however, at 3.5 inches, there's no guarantee these are both females unless you've vented them to be sure. I've seen males stay blue past 4 inches, particularly if they're not the dominant male in the tank.

Wow... I had no idea that it can take them that long to color. I have a tragic story that might explain why I assume that they are both female. I actually bought a trio of them and a male (in my mind the only male) started to color up. Soon after I moved them into the current tank along with a couple nylons full of gravel from the old tank (was trying to help the bio-spira). I neglected to cut off the excess tail of the nylons and the male kenyi swam into one of them and got stuck and died.

I know that the story was completely unrelated but use this is a warning if you plan on putting nylons full of gravel in your tank... CUT OFF THE TAIL END!!! Fish can be curious!

Anyways... back to the point...

Keep an eye on the two, it's not usually a good idea to keep only two of the same fish together, even if it is two females.

Would I be better off if I removed one of them... I really don't want to get rid of both unless I absolutely have to... I like the contrast between them (striped) and the other three species (all solid colors)... plus I'm sorta attached to them after seeing them grow up and all...

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edouthirt

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 29, 2008

Dewdrop,

Thanks for the heads up on acei! I'll be sure to keep on eye on them and see if they look stressed or unhappy once they get bigger...

Chances are I will eventually be getting a bigger tank anyway.

If I find it necessary to get rid of the Kenyi, I will definitely consider maingano. Thanks again!

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